This ad does not necessarily suggest a certain body image, other than mentioning one has to be beautiful, but advocates more of a loose behavior. Which could be damaging to a teenagers self-esteem, self-image and future. The ad itself is not realistic. It is in a fashion magazine that supports the fashion industry and calls "healthy women physically flawed"(Chernik601) all the while advertising a candy, that half these girls they are reaching out to will have to convince themselves into not eating. In her article titles, The Body Politic, Abra Fortune Chernik wrote, "As long as society accepts the physical, sexual and economic abuse of women, popular culture will prefer women who resemble little girls" (Chernik 601). It is this acceptance as a society that is convincing these young children to be "Ms. Popular" and in order to do so you must be skinny and pretty. It is not realistic or honorable for women to believe that in order to be popular she needs to lower her morals. Women who are not considered by society aesthetically pleasing would still be just as eligible to be popular if society and the media would not place such high standards on men and women of all ages. "I observed a woman held up by her culture as the physical ideal because she was starving, self -obsessed, and powerless, a woman called beautiful because she threatened no one but herself" (Chernik 601).
I have younger cousins who are in junior high, and high school. It scares me to think that these kind of influences are posted all over all the media they come in contact with everyday. Girls, and boys, who feel bogged down by the influence of society should be speaking out, making their own place in society, showing society and the system that beauty comes in all different sizes, shapes and colors. Chernik said it perfectly when she wrote, "For the first time in history, young women have the opportunity to create a world in our image. But many of us concentrate instead on recreating the shape of our thighs"(Chernik 602). Young people all around the world need to realize its time to observe not what they see in the mirror, but who they could be without the influence of it.
Works Cited
Chernik, Abra Fortune. "The Body Politic". Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010.
Hessinger, Corey. "Cult of True Womanhood: Alive and Well In Cosmopolitan Magazine". 4, Febuary, 2010
Andee. I agree. This is how society is pressuring us. Its this idea that trains us to be insecure and fearful of rejection. Well-spoken!
ReplyDeleteFirst off I would like to say I think this was a great ad to chose to analyze. In magazines like the one you referenced, I feel like ads like this go somewhat unnoticed yet they are just as harmful as ones with some unrealistic model. I found the text on this ad actually creepy because it is personifying the candy and came off to me like they are trying to give it sex appeal. "Tends to act innocent, she isn't" is exactly what you were talking about with the Chernik quote about women resembling little girls. The fact that its candy in the ad along with the text aimed at a younger crowd, this ad goes beyond in its harmful message and I think your analysis was dead on.
ReplyDeleteExcellent ad choice Andee! We often forget how subtle ads, the ones without the "half naked" women, can be some of the most damaging. I would recommend this ad to genderads.com if you get a chance.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great ad choice. I thought it was interesting to see that something such subtle as a candy ad had negative advertising.This magazine is using something as candy to show what the normal is and what it is to be popular. This is setting up a list of rules to follow to be"ms popular" . The problem i see with this and has been discussed in class is that these are things that are unattainble. also the people who read these magazine are the privelged and only the privalged can attain them if at all possible.
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