Despite the handful of advertisements that portray racial
stereotypes in todays society, gender stereotyping is much more common. In
commercials and advertisements, women are portrayed as domestic housewives or
sex symbols. Rarely, but more often than 10 years ago, do we see women in
strong positions that are higher or equal to men. Here are some examples:
As you can see in the advertisements above, they all have
one thing in common: they portray woman as sex objects. One of them is an ad
for men; one is an ad for women, and the Gucci one can be for both men and
women. In the beginning of advertising, women were placed in ads because they
were the ones generally making the every day purchases. The women would be portrayed
as domestic housewives. Where as the men would be the ones who made the big
purchases such as cars or business products, and women would be in the ads to
enhance the experience and make the object look more sexy; they were used as a
sex symbol. This started the trend of looking at women in advertisements as sex
symbols. These trends are recognizable, but women tend to stay quiet and not
protest because it has been going on for so long.
However, there is hope in raising awareness. Today, women
are beginning to make a stand in the media by empowering women. Many military
recruiting advertisements show strong women who are taking charge of their commands
and promoting equality for women. Also, Dove has many campaigns that promote woman’s
beauty and how we come in many different shapes and sizes. There are only a few
of these campaigns, but they go viral quickly. When my generation takes charge
of advertising, a shift towards gender equality will make a big difference.
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