By Mehak Anwar, Editor in Chief, Emerson College
Despite the claim that 21st century America is a progressive hub of equality for all, sexism still runs rampant throughout various aspects of our society. Take for example, gender inequality in the workplace. Not only do women make 75 cents to every dollar men make, but it's much harder for women to procure positions of power in the workplace that men are able to procure with significantly more ease. It's also interesting to note that when a woman does have the status of authority she's often criticized for being too work-driven or a crazy control freak who doesn't pay enough attention to her family, whereas a man with the same position is praised for his dedication to the job or company. This is only one example of gender discrimination in our society, and it's important to remember that the key player feeding into this kind of sexism is the mass media. Discrimination against both men and women in advertising causes both genders to develop complexes and puts them at unequal social standings.
Historically, women in advertising have been portrayed as fragile, feeble-minded, and dependent on their male counterparts; unfortunately, this depiction remains true today. Take, for example, the famous Dolce & Gabbana perfume advertisement that depicts three men surrounding a woman. The men are standing quite stolidly, and one man is holding her hands down. The women is obviously in a submissive position and her eyes are closed. Her impossibly thin torso is thrust upward toward the man holding her down, indicating that she's giving herself to him, whether it's willingly or not. This is, essentially, a gang-bang. This ad obviously sends a problematic message to both sexes, telling girls and women that it's sexy and acceptable to submit to men, and telling boys and men that it's reasonable and normal to be violent or controlling towards females. It's also saying “violence is sexy whether or not there's consent” an idea that largely feeds into rape culture.
Conversely, a man in a cologne advertisement would never be portrayed that way. The ad would show his entire body, which would likely be very toned and slightly rugged (because to be a man, you must have high levels of testosterone!) his eyes would be staring directly into the camera, and his body language would indicate stoicism and unbounded virility. He would never shy away from the camera or have a shrunken posture. The obvious issue that arises from the comparison of how men and women are depicted in multi-media advertising is that women are sent the message that they are both weaker and less important than men, and the only way to be truly sexy, besides being a 00, is to give into mens' whim. However, there is another less apparent message that's being sent out exclusively to young boys and men which, in my opinion, is just as bad. Young boys are learning that the only way to truly “be a man” is to be unfalteringly strong and tough and always assert power over women, and anything that deviates from this “true” masculinity makes them weak and feeble-minded, just like women. Men with slightly effeminate characteristics constantly have their sexuality under scrutiny, and men who do actually identify with the LGBTQ community are instantly “less than” a real man because some part of their identity doesn't correspond perfectly with what is portrayed as the ideal man. Though many people would argue that this sort of advertising is predominately sexist towards women, I would say it's equally (if not more) sexist towards men and limits the definition of what a man can be and do in order to be recognized, accepted, and validated in todays society.
A lot of people are under the misconception that sexism in our media only exists towards women, and a lot of people also think that the true meaning of the feminist movement is to only boost the status of women in our society and world by ignoring, putting down, or hating men. Feminism, in reality, is the advocacy of equality between women, men, and gender non-conforming people. It seeks to promote respect for all sorts people and eliminate gender bias while still acknowledging gender expression. Sexism in the media and advertising is a step backwards in achieving this sort of equality because as long as the public is being fed messages (whether they're subtle or direct) about the inferiority of a certain gender or the superiority of another, we'll never be able to reach a place of peaceful coexistence.
Despite the claim that 21st century America is a progressive hub of equality for all, sexism still runs rampant throughout various aspects of our society. Take for example, gender inequality in the workplace. Not only do women make 75 cents to every dollar men make, but it's much harder for women to procure positions of power in the workplace that men are able to procure with significantly more ease. It's also interesting to note that when a woman does have the status of authority she's often criticized for being too work-driven or a crazy control freak who doesn't pay enough attention to her family, whereas a man with the same position is praised for his dedication to the job or company. This is only one example of gender discrimination in our society, and it's important to remember that the key player feeding into this kind of sexism is the mass media. Discrimination against both men and women in advertising causes both genders to develop complexes and puts them at unequal social standings.
Historically, women in advertising have been portrayed as fragile, feeble-minded, and dependent on their male counterparts; unfortunately, this depiction remains true today. Take, for example, the famous Dolce & Gabbana perfume advertisement that depicts three men surrounding a woman. The men are standing quite stolidly, and one man is holding her hands down. The women is obviously in a submissive position and her eyes are closed. Her impossibly thin torso is thrust upward toward the man holding her down, indicating that she's giving herself to him, whether it's willingly or not. This is, essentially, a gang-bang. This ad obviously sends a problematic message to both sexes, telling girls and women that it's sexy and acceptable to submit to men, and telling boys and men that it's reasonable and normal to be violent or controlling towards females. It's also saying “violence is sexy whether or not there's consent” an idea that largely feeds into rape culture.
Conversely, a man in a cologne advertisement would never be portrayed that way. The ad would show his entire body, which would likely be very toned and slightly rugged (because to be a man, you must have high levels of testosterone!) his eyes would be staring directly into the camera, and his body language would indicate stoicism and unbounded virility. He would never shy away from the camera or have a shrunken posture. The obvious issue that arises from the comparison of how men and women are depicted in multi-media advertising is that women are sent the message that they are both weaker and less important than men, and the only way to be truly sexy, besides being a 00, is to give into mens' whim. However, there is another less apparent message that's being sent out exclusively to young boys and men which, in my opinion, is just as bad. Young boys are learning that the only way to truly “be a man” is to be unfalteringly strong and tough and always assert power over women, and anything that deviates from this “true” masculinity makes them weak and feeble-minded, just like women. Men with slightly effeminate characteristics constantly have their sexuality under scrutiny, and men who do actually identify with the LGBTQ community are instantly “less than” a real man because some part of their identity doesn't correspond perfectly with what is portrayed as the ideal man. Though many people would argue that this sort of advertising is predominately sexist towards women, I would say it's equally (if not more) sexist towards men and limits the definition of what a man can be and do in order to be recognized, accepted, and validated in todays society.
A lot of people are under the misconception that sexism in our media only exists towards women, and a lot of people also think that the true meaning of the feminist movement is to only boost the status of women in our society and world by ignoring, putting down, or hating men. Feminism, in reality, is the advocacy of equality between women, men, and gender non-conforming people. It seeks to promote respect for all sorts people and eliminate gender bias while still acknowledging gender expression. Sexism in the media and advertising is a step backwards in achieving this sort of equality because as long as the public is being fed messages (whether they're subtle or direct) about the inferiority of a certain gender or the superiority of another, we'll never be able to reach a place of peaceful coexistence.