In Jean Kilbourne's video
Killing Us Softly she discusses the connection between everyday advertisements and women--most of which were very negative. Take this "
got milk?" ad for instance... Everything about this is objectifying women. A lot of ads are
for men and this one is no exception. Since this ad is obviously for a man, everything in it is also for a man. This seemingly happy women holding
HER baby (which
SHE gave birth to) is for a man. The milk that is feeding the baby is even for a man because without it... this woman's breasts (which are
HERS, they are stuck to
HER body) wouldn't be of any use for the man. What I gather from this ad is that this woman, who I assume is looking at a man (the father of her baby), is giving herself up to him. Girls are taught to devalue themselves while boys are taught to devalue these girls as well. Most of these teachings are learned subconsciously. This woman is an object. You better buy milk so you can use your girl! "Because her boobs are for
YOU... not
YOUR baby" "Milk helps
YOU take back what's
YOURS".
Everything is for a man and women have no meaning alone... a man adds purpose to a woman's life.
Another point that Jean Kilbourne made was the fact that girls are told to be pure yet sexy at the same time. Even adult women are told this. This is why we see grown women looking like children because apparently "innocence is sexier than you think." This angelic girl in the ad above looks to be no older than 10 and she already symbolizes sex with her make-up done, Marilyn Monroe styled hair, and her lips partly opened.
Over time, innocence and sexy have become a pair.
We see young girls like this everywhere, it has become a norm. There are high heels for babies and even a popular show called "Toddlers and Tiaras" which is a glittery display of this issue. I ask myself... How is this okay? and why?
A little girl is now a sex symbol.
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
~ Raising little girls to be erotically suggestive since the mid 1900s ~
So true! It's disgusting how they make little girls out to be sex symbols... These girls are going to grow up to be self conscious and always feeling they'll never be skinny enough, pretty enough, or just, enough.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cheyenne about how disgusting this is, as well as the blog post about how innocence and sexy have become a pair. I really do think that this kind of behavior should stop. I see this stuff on tv, and I'm like "wow, really?"
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