Media

Kianni Johnson

Media 384

March 17, 2017

What is Our Media Telling Us!?

            Growing up, media, as well as advertising made it clear that you had to be perfect.  It was plastered all over commercials, magazines and billboards. In the end, you end up growing up tainted with the idea that if you don't look like these specific advertisements, then perhaps you are ugly. As Kellner insists, “Ads work in party by generating dissatisfaction and by offering images of transformation, of a “new you.”” (Kellner, 130) While there are arguments against the idea of “sex-selling”, it is still very unfortunate that it is a prominent theme in advertising and in life. Advertisements tend to zoom in on both men and women’s physical body, making it apparent that it is their physicality’s, that carry more weight than their personalities could ever. As Kilbourne mentions, “The sex object is a mannequin, a shell. Conventional beauty is her only attribute.” (Kilbourne, 122) Woman are constantly body shamed and get used for they body parts, as opposed to a person with a brain.

            Growing up, Hannah Montana, or Miley Cyrus was one of my favorite Disney characters. I remember watching her over the years and eventually having to say goodbye to the show. However, the end of the show did not dismiss my admiration, it continued onto her original singing career of Miley Cyrus which I also enjoyed. Nonetheless, I can remember how much hate and bashing she received over “growing up”. No one wanted her to sing songs half naked while she was still considered to be a “Disney kid.” I never thought of it as a problem, because I knew that people grow up and things change and what she was doing/wearing didn't alter her talent for me. However, in many cases it was her performances in bra and underwear which ultimately received the most controversial attention.

Ms. magazine cover

Ms. magazine is an example of an American liberal feminist magazine co-founded by a feminist and sociopolitical activist Gloria Steinem. Ms.’s goal is to be “more than a magazine, a movement.” In her article “Sex, Lies, and Advertising,” Steinem discusses how advertising affect the content of women’s magazines. Per Steinem, advertisement limits freedom of the press. The job of Ms. magazine is to stand out from the crowd by pushing for their ads to be independent. In addition, they wanted their advertisers to be of non-gendered products and services. However, this was not an easy task to obtain and it took several years and lots of patience. Steinem says, “Thus begins ten years of knocking on hostile doors, presenting endless documentation, and hiring full-time saleswoman in Detroit: all necessary before Ms. gets any real results.” (Steinem, 113) Eventually, Ms. magazine becomes ad-free and its content is independent by advertisers’ influence but that doesn't take away from the stress and pressure Steinem encounters on a regular basis. She says, “My not-so-healthy response is constant worry. Also, an obsession with finding one more rescue. There is hardly a night when I don't wake up with sweaty palms and pounding heart, scared that we won’t be able to pay the printer or the post office; scared that closing our doors will hurt the women’s movement.” (Steinem, 118) 

            Advertisements in print don't stray away from the same idea of having sex sell. With all the power of computers and Photoshop, it is incredibly easy for someone to provide readers with an unrealistic idea of beauty. Re-touching and angles go a long way when it comes down to what is perfection. As mentioned in class, there have been many Photoshop fails which are tragic and hilarious. Kilbourne also mentions this when he says, “A woman is conditioned to view her face as a mask and her body as an object, as things separate from and more important than her real self, constantly in need of alteration, improvement and disguise.” (Kilbourne, 122)

#AerieReal

            One specific media example that I am a proud consumer of is American Eagle’s women’s line which is Aerie. I am a local shopper at the store and I also follow them on social media, Instagram: @Aerie and use their hashtag, #AerieReal. I was introduced to this brand by a friend and at first, it was just a place to shop. However, the more I shopped there it was hard to miss their very broad and direct advertisements about showing the REAL body and not using any touchups on their images. This became important to me as I struggled with constant weight change and not always being able to feel good in what I wore. Going onto their website/Instagram and seeing girls of all sizes and shapes being represented in such a positive way was truly inspiring. Also, their adorable coupons which said things like “You don't need a prince for saving”, or “Love the swim you’re in” made me a sucker for their company. Aerie’s mission is to show off how girls are in real life in lingerie, embracing their “flaws”. They share the message that not every woman has a flat belly and some girls do have stretch marks. Aerie’s Brand representative Jenny Altman, also runs another website called “I Love a Good” with a goal to change the way women share, shop and view intimates. In an interview, when asked what she likes most about the message behind #AerieReal is that it is REALLY for REAL GIRLS. She says, “Although she does other things like dress celebrities for red-carpet events, they are all airbrushed and never look real. Aerie embraces the way girls are supposed to look; natural and beautiful. It’s authentic.” (Altman)

            Children ultimately grow up encountering many messages about gender and sexuality from media and advertisements as well. Gender stereotypes are inflicted onto our youth and they learn early on things that a boy should do, that a girl shouldn't and vice versa. This is a video I have watched before in a child psychology class and it illustrates how children are taught to associate certain goals/task with a specific gender. Zooming in on the effect that these ideas can have on girls, as well as what Kilbourne mentions, women are always either displayed as a housewife or a sex object. Therefore, girls grow up assuming that they are only capable of obtaining those two lifestyles. Kilbourne also points out that, “Adolescents are particularly vulnerable, however, because they are new and inexperienced consumers and are the primary targets of many advertisements.  (Kilbourne, 121) We are ultimately brainwashing our youth. 

Love this quote.

            Another source of media that I binge watch is Grey’s Anatomy, which is a show originally aired on ABC network. Grey’s differentiates itself from the other medical shows like ‘House’ by presenting a diverse world of doctors. The cast includes members of all different race making it more realistic and relatable to its audience. The cast is also mixed among men and women, which both have strong and important roles so one doesn't rise above another. They even present viewers with different types of relationship, such as a lesbian couple who eventually has a baby. (SPOILER ALERT, oops.) Nonetheless, while the women in Grey’s do speak about men, the show also focuses on medicine and other issues. They even offer some very good advice like when Cristina says, “Oh, sure beautiful. I’m brilliant. If you want to appease me, compliment my brain.” Grey’s produce, Shonda Rhimes is the first African-American woman to create and executive produce a Top 10 network series, which is Grey’s Anatomy. Grey’s is run on ABC network which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The Chairman of The Walt Disney Company is Robert Iger, which is the steward of the world’s largest media company. 

Lush Valentine's Day 

          Clark also makes a lot of interesting points in her article. She insists that, “The fact that many lesbians prefer not to be identified because they fear discrimination poses an additional obstacle to targeting them.” (Clarke, 143) Me being a lesbian who works in a catholic school filled with amazing people who are constantly asking me about having a boyfriend is tough. Besides being able to tell them that I just want to focus on school now, it can be weird and sometimes I feel like I am living a double life when it comes to what I can or cannot disclose to them. Nonetheless, I love where I work and I still believe in God, even though I am a lesbian. Back to Clark’s article, it is always nice to see same sex couples sell a product. As Clark says, “But “gayness: remains in the eye of the beholder: gays and lesbians can read into an ad certain sub textual elements that correspond to experiences with or representations of gay/lesbian subculture.” (Clark, 144) Recently, Lush which is a favorite store of mine advertised their Valentine’s day making me love them that much more. Growing up, I didn't see much of that on television nor in advertisements, so you can imagine how difficult it can be to try to figure life out when you are constantly presented with the same heterosexual images everywhere.

Works Cited

Clark, Danae. “Commodity Lesbianism.” pp. 142-151.

Kellner, Douglas. “Reading Images Critically: Toward a Postmodern Pedagogy.” pp. 126-132.

Kilbourne, Jean. Beauty and the Beast of Advertising. Advertising (pp. 121-125)

Steinem, Gloria. “Sex, Lies and Advertising.” pp. 112-120.

"INTRODUCING JENNY ALTMAN! AERIE’S STYLE AND FIT EXPERT." Blog post. Http://blog.ae.com/2014/03/18/introducing-jenny-altman-aeries-style-and-fit-expert/. Web.