Let’s Boycott Women’s Fashion Mags
October 18th 2007 07:55
After spending the last few years surveying advertisements in women’s fashion magazines, I have come to the conclusion they both arise from and contribute to misogynistic stereotypes of women in the American culture. According to a 1999 study, by the time the average American woman is 17 years old she has received 250,000 advertisement messages through the media.
The most offensive advertisement I came across is one for the shoe brand Royal Elastics. In the ad a man’s shoe is inches away from a woman’s face. Her eyes are closed, and her mouth is open. What is the ad saying to women?
In an ad for Clearasil two spotted dogs are shown, one of them with less spots. The copy reads, “Clearer skin in just 3 days.” A bitch is a female dog, so by inference is the ad implying that women are bitches?
Advertisements for designer clothes are some of the worst offenders. In a Moschino advertisement a woman’s head is shown resting on a counter. Her hands are up on the counter, but look like they are not connected to anything. Her head does not look like it has a body. A Cesare Paciotti ad features a female model dressed scantily, lying in the fetal position, with a vacant look on her face. A woman is sitting on a chair in a skimpy black dress and stilettos with her legs spread wide open in a Valentino ad. What are these ads communicating to women?
A University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) study released in March 2007 found that all women are “equally and negatively affected” after viewing advertisements in women’s magazines for only three minutes. Laurie Mintz, the associate professor of education and counseling psychology in the MU College of Education, said, “Surprisingly, we found that weight was not a factor. Viewing these pictures was just bad for everyone. It had been thought that women who are heavier feel worse than a thinner woman after viewing pictures of the thin ideal in the mass media. The study results do not support that theory.”
The MU study measured how 81 women felt about themselves after viewing models in women’s magazines. In every case, the women reported their level of satisfaction with their bodies dropped. “These unrealistic images of women, who are often airbrushed or partially computer generated, have a detrimental impact on women and how they feel about themselves,” Mintz said.
Cultivation theory, developed by George Gerbner in the mid-1960s, says that media exposure cultivates beliefs and attitudes in people which mirror the messages in media. What attitudes and beliefs are cultivated in women when they depict the advertisements I cited earlier? It is my assertion that women are cultivating acquiescence to misogynism and then internalizing it. The only way we can fight against it is to stop looking buying women’s fashion magazines. Is anyone up for a boycott?
The most offensive advertisement I came across is one for the shoe brand Royal Elastics. In the ad a man’s shoe is inches away from a woman’s face. Her eyes are closed, and her mouth is open. What is the ad saying to women?
In an ad for Clearasil two spotted dogs are shown, one of them with less spots. The copy reads, “Clearer skin in just 3 days.” A bitch is a female dog, so by inference is the ad implying that women are bitches?
Advertisements for designer clothes are some of the worst offenders. In a Moschino advertisement a woman’s head is shown resting on a counter. Her hands are up on the counter, but look like they are not connected to anything. Her head does not look like it has a body. A Cesare Paciotti ad features a female model dressed scantily, lying in the fetal position, with a vacant look on her face. A woman is sitting on a chair in a skimpy black dress and stilettos with her legs spread wide open in a Valentino ad. What are these ads communicating to women?
A University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) study released in March 2007 found that all women are “equally and negatively affected” after viewing advertisements in women’s magazines for only three minutes. Laurie Mintz, the associate professor of education and counseling psychology in the MU College of Education, said, “Surprisingly, we found that weight was not a factor. Viewing these pictures was just bad for everyone. It had been thought that women who are heavier feel worse than a thinner woman after viewing pictures of the thin ideal in the mass media. The study results do not support that theory.”
The MU study measured how 81 women felt about themselves after viewing models in women’s magazines. In every case, the women reported their level of satisfaction with their bodies dropped. “These unrealistic images of women, who are often airbrushed or partially computer generated, have a detrimental impact on women and how they feel about themselves,” Mintz said.
Cultivation theory, developed by George Gerbner in the mid-1960s, says that media exposure cultivates beliefs and attitudes in people which mirror the messages in media. What attitudes and beliefs are cultivated in women when they depict the advertisements I cited earlier? It is my assertion that women are cultivating acquiescence to misogynism and then internalizing it. The only way we can fight against it is to stop looking buying women’s fashion magazines. Is anyone up for a boycott?
| 70 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Julie Vaux
Books Well Read
Strange Situations
The Purple Challenge
The only person in our household (NOT ME!) who buys them gets them for the puzzle section!
I buy the Sydney Morning Herald and occassionally I buy New Scientist or the Fortean Times as a treat if I have cash left over after food shopping!
So called "womens' magazines far too often prove that fashion is not the same thing as style!
Comment by Gina-Marie Cheeseman
The Truthteller
The most sexist advertisements are in those magazines. I really hope more women will stop buying them.