One can easily figure out what type of product is being sold, teen's magazine. Seventeen magazine is a very well known and popular teen magazine in the United States. The advertisers are trying to promote a "happy"feeling or appeal by casting a beautiful female on the cover. The advertisers are trying to appeal to teenage girls by emphasizing on body image topics. The appeal of the cover of this product is intended for young girls who might struggle with self- esteem and therefore look up to beautiful actresses such as the one on the cover who seems to be "perfect". The famous actress affects the interpretation of the ad. She represents what is "beautiful" in America which still is white, blue eyes & blond. She appeals to the majority of teen girls who read the magazine because they aspire to be what is considered beautiful in this country. If the actress was of a different race or gender she wouldnt appeal as much to the teen fan base. Why is that? That is based on the stereotype of what beauty is in this country. Women of color or ethnic women are not the majority and seen as too exotic. Women who arent white do not fit the "mold" society has constructed over many years. Gender also comes into play. A young guy wouldnt appeal to teen girls because of socialization. Boys aren't supposed to worry about body image or clothes. At least that's what our society tells us. Therefore a young guy would not market or appeal well to young females. The add grabs the readers attention by making the beautiful actress the center point of the magazine. The young actress is the focus of the magazine. The magazine also displays bold and bright text. Those bright text are used to catch the readers attention and make the reader ponder on whats inside the magazine. The bold text in a way is a teaser to the reader, the reader wants to know more. I do not feel this product is aimed towards myself. This product is aimed at young teen girls between the ages of 12 to 15. Also the magazine targets the majority in this country. In this case the majority is white teenage girls.This ad is significant because of its impact on young girls and their self image. The author, Jean Kilbourne touches on this very subject in the article, "The More you Subtract the More you add". She acknowledges how we live in a society that values woman based on their body. We live in a society that believes that woman most always look beautiful. At a young age girls are given mostly compliments on the way they look. For example, "well isnt she beautiful". While boys are praised and complimented on other attributes such as, "he is so smart". Therefore from a young age girls are being constantly feed the message that their importance is superficial. Kilbourne states, "Primarily girls are told by advertisers that what is most important about them is their perfume, clothing, bodies, & their beauty" (Kilbourne, 232). We see these types of messages over and over again in the media. The message that women are only as good as they look. Society continues to embed in our young girls that women are supposed to be just beautiful beings and nothing more. Its time that this message changes and our society accepts how we damage our own future, that is teen girls.
GENDER BUSTING by Michaela
ReplyDeleteMy gender busting act was a simple one, I wore a pink dress to my mother’s house for my grandmothers 86 birthday celebration. I almost always wear long pants and I never wear dresses, especially pink ones! My father did not seem to notice at all but my mother looked at me like I was insane when I walked in the door. I would not say that it was a positive reaction, just one of confusion. She actually said, “What are you wearing?” It was pretty funny until my grandmother saw me. I was actually insulted by her reaction. I guess she thought I was turning over a new leaf or something because she decided to start talking about every fashion choice that I had made up to that point and critiquing it. A few of my favorite comments were, “I guess you just didn’t care about what people thought of you.” And “You always looked like a boy. I don’t know why you didn’t care about yourself.” It was as if my previous appearance had personally offended my grandmother as a woman and as a family member. It seemed that she felt it was a poor reflection on her as my grandmother that I did not spend time on my appearance before I walked out of the door every morning. She genuinely seemed insulted and a tiny bit angry that I do not take “better care” of myself before I leave the house. She does obviously come from a much different generation with different expectations and practices but I guess I was expecting a little more sense from someone who had lived through the Great Depression. My grandmother has had a terribly trying life and I was shocked to see her get worked up at all about something that I see as petty. This exercise was an eye opener for me. I love and respect my grandmother enormously but I think I truly lost a little of that respect for her on Sunday. She made a bigger deal about me wearing a dress than she did when I was accepted into college.
Michaela,
ReplyDeleteThis is a powerful exercise because we feel inside how others view us or value us. You brought out a lot of feelings by just wearing a pink dress. Her generation negotiated gender in few ways while you negotiate gender in more broad terms. I am glad you see your value as a women independent of how you look or dress.