"In advertising, it is obvious that "sex
sells" as women are often represented in ads from an explicitly sexual
angle: their desirability is what sells"
To what extent are
women represented in a sexualised and objectified way in the aspirational
television advertising that isproduced by the beauty industry?
Females are regularly represented in a
sexualised and objectified way in aspirational television advertising that is
produced by the beauty industry. This investigation explores whether
these sexually provocative yet aspirational advertisements do or do not
influence female consumer lifestyles, and whether media effects such as the
cultivation theory are used to make this possible.
The cultivation theory is a social theory which examines the long-term
effects of television which states that people
gradually come to accept the view of the world as it is portrayed on
television, and can also be conveyed within aspirational adverts as
they are viewed frequently. Therefore “many of these images are idealised,
representing life more
as it is imagined than as it actually exists”...1. Loren
Coleman's "Copycat theory" suggests that viewers model
themselves on the representations that they see in the hope that they will gain
the idealistic lifestyles that are created as "Television’s roles in
agenda-setting, gatekeeping and cultural leadership clearly continue to be
crucial" 2.
The aspirational advertising texts that will be explored in this
investigation, will look at why women are sexualised and objectified in advertising that is produced
by the beauty industry and how modern day advertising techniques have changed, starting
with a Chanel No.5 perfume and Beyoncé’s ‘Heat’
fragrance.
Furthermore, as “advertising operates predominantly
by changing consumer tastes” 3,
when audiences view female characters pursuing their needs and wants whilst
living glamorous lives, they aspire to be like the characters they view, and
consequently end up mimicking them. In Beyoncé’s ‘Heat’ fragrance, the main female protagonist, which is Beyoncé herself,
possesses various dominant characteristics, which are reinforced within the
advert with the use of film language. This is shown as the majority of the
advert is constructed in a dark room which is slightly aluminous with a hint of
red. As Beyoncé is seen to be wearing a low cut, sleek red dress throughout the
advert, this immediately connotes that she is the central protagonist whereas
the colour red could connote a seductive erotic attraction and sophistication.
Beyoncé is a world renowned music artist who is
viewed by the audience to be sexy, powerful and seductive. This stereotype is
clearly established within the first few seconds of the advert as many close up
and medium shots are used to highlight the protagonists glowing body and
sexually provocative clothing.
This is shown in the first second of the text
where the audience views a close up shot of the perfume bottle from a low angle
shot with the use of high key lighting to create emphasis on the perfume lid as
it is lifted into the air as though it was an angel, which could be an attempt
to connote to the audience that the perfume is angelic whereas the top
lighting surrounding the product shows that it may also have a fiery
side which connotes power and importance.
We then see Beyoncé seductively lying nude in a
bathtub in an attempt to capture the male gaze and shows the audience the
attractiveness of the character. “Laura
Mulvey’s theory of the ‘male gaze’ is important; as she contends that
scopophilia (the basic human sexual drive to look at other human beings) has
been ‘organised’ by society’s patriarchal definition of looking as a male
activity, and being looked at as a female ‘passivity’. Male power means that
any social representation of women is constructed either as a fetishized
spectacle or as a spectacle for the purpose of male voyeuristic pleasure.” 4
This can be seen within the texts in this investigation as the female
protagonists sexually objectify themselves to manipulate men as Mulvey’s theory argues that in nearly all media representations of
women, the viewer is put in the masculine subject position, with the figure of
the woman on screen as the object of desire. As “female characters, according
to Mulvey, are there just to be looked at In this way, the camera is like the
eyes of a man, so we as the audience watch the images through the male gaze” 5 and view the text in a masculine perception.
As "Young women
are especially susceptible to objectification, they are often taught that power, respect, and wealth can
be derived from one's outward appearance” 6. This can be seen in
Beyoncé’s Heat perfume advert with the use of a red warmth glow following her
every step whilst matching her red coloured dress that connotes to the target
audience of the advert which would mostly be young females of the ages 16-24
that if you were to purchase the perfume, you will become sexy and powerful
such as Beyoncé which can be seen in the advert as Beyoncé says "catch the
fever” 7.
Therefore women are represented in a sexualised and
objectified way in aspirational television advertisingacross the beauty industry “as the hypodermic needle theory suggests that audiences are affected by
what they see in the media” 8. This is because “Men are visually aroused
by women's bodies and less sensitive to their arousal by women's personalities
because they are trained early into that response” 9. Which
is shown within this advert as it attempts to sensationalise sex
in order to engage male viewers as the sensationalism of sex reflects the zeitgeist
in our society today.
Furthermore,
this desirability is created due to scopophilia where:
"... Put simply, scopophilia is the pleasure of watching" 10 and this particular desirability entices both
the male and female gaze into accepting the values and ideologies that are
shown in the text which are predominantly alternative representations where all
the power and dominance is with the female character rather than the stereotypical
dominant male. This can be seen within the texts in this investigation as the
female protagonists sexually objectify themselves in an attempt to manipulate
men and provide voyeuristic pleasure which is a very desirable trait to many
females and will therefore persuade them to buy the product as the media
“brainwashes its audience with base, deceptive promises and appeals, designed
to promote materialism” 11 which alongside deception, also brings with it false
hope of turning ones desirability into reality.
However, a pluralistic ideology could suggest
that audiences are in fact intelligent and will not be so passive in believing
that imitating these representations is what is needed in order for them to achieve
the perfect lifestyles and therefore aspirational adverts may not be as
influential as they may seem.
Females are continually sexualised in aspirational television adverts
because: "Social progress can be measured by the social position of the female
sex." 12 Which suggests that audiences, who view these
aspirational, sexualised and often glamourized beauty product adverts, believe
that by purchasing the product they can make social progress and gain power
with the use of their outside image.
This can be seen as a Marxist view as Karl Marx’s Marxism theory
suggests that thedominant groups within the hierarchy of society are in control
with power and influence over the subordinate group.Which
can be viewed in aspirational adverts such as Beyoncé’s Heat fragrance and
Jennifer Lopez’s Fiat advert as the elite, being Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez
themselves are “focused upon, reinforcing their perceived importance” 13.
This is also successful in reinforcing the ideologies which state that
the elite possess the very idealistic lives which others would aspire to
obtain, hence reinforcing the Marxist ideas of the bourgeoisie, who control the means of production, as they choose
to represent the elite in leading roles within the media.
Moreover, many people could argue that the objectification of women is
empowering and consider it as an important move forwardtowards the sexual
revolution where men and women are seen to be equal. However, degrading or not,
the objectification of
women is a social fact that is found in various media texts which is
then used to influence many features of our post-feminist society
as "The media is dominated by images of women as
sex objects whose value is based on their appearance. These portrayals can
potentially limit girls' self-perceptions and influence their attitudes regarding
the importance of appearance." 14
This is because females who view sexualised
aspirational adverts such as Beyoncé’s Heat fragrance, “develop an expected
physical appearance for themselves, based on observations of others; and are
aware that others are likely to observe as well as the sexual objectification
and self-objectification of women is believed to influence social gender roles and inequalities between
the sexes" 15. Furthermore, "Pro-feminist cultural critics
such as Robert Jensen and Sut Jhally accuse mass
media and advertising of promoting the objectification of women to help
promote goods and services" 16.
This could be due to the media creating a sense of hyper
reality which is a condition in which "reality" has been
replaced by simulacra to persuade their audiences that this is reality and this
is what you should be like, and to be like this you need to buy our product as
“It
is the possession of a 'sexy body' that is presented as a women's key (if not
sole) source of identity” 17.
In contrast, a second text which is a 1984 Chanel No.5 perfume
advert also entices the male gaze by providing its audience a voyeuristic gaze which
is a gaze that “...Objectifies the recipient of the gaze in a non-sexual
manner, rather through admiration.” 18 However,
the female protagonist in the Chanel advert is implicitly sexualised and
objectified as a character of class and sophistication whereas Beyoncé who
features in a contemporary text is explicitly sexualised purely to seduce the
male gaze.
When this advert is compared to a more recent and
modern contemporary text such as, Beyoncé’s heat fragrance advert, we can see similarities between the two texts
as body is a big factor which is highlighted within both texts
through the use of frequent close up and medium shots of the female body.
Another similarity between the two texts is that both females within the texts
occupy the same coloured dress (red) which connotes fiery, heat, love, romance
and seductive. This is in relation to persona and roles of the females within
the adverts as they are shown to be sexualised in an attempt to seduce viewers
as "all
media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary
values." 19
Furthermore,
differences between the two texts are also evident. This is shown within the
historical text as the female protagonist parades more facial emotions and laughter in
contrast to the contemporary text where the protagonist is more serious as
she endeavours to seduce the audience by attempting to show dominance and
power, which is shown as we view a close up pan shot of Beyoncé’s legs, which
could connote that women are powerful in this day and age as they can seduce men
when they want and whenever they want as the fetishization of Beyoncé’s
legs engage the male gaze by providing voyeuristic pleasure in an attempt to
eliminate the patriarchal society.
Moreover, the main
difference between the two texts being examined in this investigation is the use
of different ethnicities as the contemporary text shows a black female protagonist
compared to the historical text where all character are white. This could
suggest that over time society has become less racist and accepted different
cultures into mainstream media as advertisements are viewed wherever we go with
the introduction of web 2.0 and mobile technology such as the iPhone and
YouTube, the 2.0 theory is born as it allows the public to view an array of
videos and adverts on the move. Also due to the rise in UGC, audiences can also
view banned advertisements online such as, Dakota Fanning's Marc Jacobs
Perfume ad which was banned
in UK for being sexually provocative. This therefore shows just how much freedom
audiences in this day and age really have, in contrast to previous generations.
Another difference between the two texts is that more skin and nudity is
shown within Beyoncé’s modern contemporary text rather than Chanel’s historical
text, as the audience views Beyoncé topless yet seductively covering her
breasts while lying in a bathtub in the first few seconds of the text as well
as the use of many more sexual gratifications such as orgasmic facial
expressions.
This could be due to today’s generation becoming desensitized to
sexual exposure which results in audiences becoming less sensitive towards sex
and sexual behaviours they view on television and adverts as they are
increasingly being exposed to sexual acts and connotations due to the fact that
sex sells.
However, these sexualised and often glamourized
adverts have arguably had an negative impact on audiences as both the copycat
and cultivation theory suggest that audiences can be certainly influenced, as
they aspire the lifestyles they see in aspirational adverts which has led to
the censorship of many adverts constructed for the beauty industry by Ofcom. For
example, Beyoncé’s Heat perfume was banned from daytime TV.
The ad campaign which was run by the perfume
company Coty UK, featured Beyoncé wearing a short red dress and acting
seductively, was described by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) as
"sexually provocative" and "unsuitable to be seen by young
children". Coty said that the TV ad which was set to the song Fever, was
"intended to reflect the singer Beyoncé's personal 'sexy chic' style"
20 and that the ad was not "overly graphic or explicitly sexual
and at no point was Beyoncé naked" 21. The company also stated that
the commercial was "stylised and in keeping with other ads in the
genre" 22. It is known that beauty product adverts consist of
sexual content, however “ads that are indecent, sexist, sexy [...] present a
constant and ever growing problem” 23 because the main target of
this sexual content should be to provide audiences with sexual gratifications.
Nevertheless, many of these adverts are harmful
to audiences the over exposure of sexual images that we consume is desensitising
audiences and altering audiences ideologies to believe over exposure of sex in
adverts is part of the norm.
Furthermore, Blumler and Katz Uses and
gratifications theory 24 can be applied to the two texts as they
provide the user gratifications of entertainment, escapism and personal
identification through the protagonists, such as in Beyoncé’s Heat fragrance
the protagonist is represented as powerful, sexy and seductivewhich teenagers will
aspire to as it may provide escapism from their day to day lives as “particular target audiences for
advertisements may well have vastly differing conceptions of what is most
desirable as masculine (or feminine) traits” 25.
In contrast, Chanel No.5 perfume advert is aimed at mainstreamers
as the use of a classical orchestra suggests their audience is sophisticated
yet classy women. This is also seen in Rihanna’s Reb’l Fleur advert as Rihanna
is shown to be a goddess as we see her being trailed by many men until she
revels into her seductively labelled “bad” side which connotes that she is
appealing to a mainstream audience consisting of sophisticated yet classy
women.
To conclude, it is evident that beauty product
advertisements successfully influence consumer lifestyles. This is due to
producers who create superficial idealistic lifestyles which audiences cannot resist
aspiring to become like the people they are viewing in these advertisements. Furthermore,
these aspirational beauty product adverts influence the female audience’s actions
as it illustrates a way of life that they could strive to achieve. The
institutions behind these adverts are aware that by sexualizing and
objectifying female protagonists within their adverts as “women and girls
develop an expected physical appearance for themselves, based on observations
of others; and are aware that the sexual objectification and
self-objectification of women is believed to influence social gender roles and inequalities
between the sexes" 26 and therefore even though many theorists and feminists believe that
audiences are intelligent enough to not be swayed by these advertisement
techniques, it is clearly evident that women are sexualized and objectified
within aspirational television adverts which then results in an effect on female
consumer lifestyles.
Word Count – 2,095 words
Works Cited
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Moving
Image texts
Beyoncé
Heat Fragrance (2010)
Chanel
No.5 Perfume advert (1984)
Jennifer Lopez’s Fiat advert (2011)
Dakota
Fanning's Marc Jacobs Perfume advert (2011)
Internet
http://mediaalevel.edublogs.org/2010/07/02/the-male-gaze/ - Laura
Mulvey
-
Patriarchy
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6376421.stm - Talks about how sexualisation in the media can harm young girls
http://www.christian.org.uk/news/too-sexual-Beyoncé-ad-banned-from-daytime-tv/ - Talks about how a sexually provacotive TV advert has been banned
www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/dde0301.doc - Talks about how and why sex sells
http://www.frankwbaker.com/sex_in_media.htm -
Link on how sexual messages are
portrayed in advertising
http://www.crisisconnectioninc.org/teens/media_influence_on_youth.htm - A article on the media
influence on youth in ways such as advertisements
Works Consulted
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6376421.stm - Talks about how sexualisation in the media can harm young girls
http://www.christian.org.uk/news/too-sexual-Beyoncé-ad-banned-from-daytime-tv/ - Talks about how a sexually provocative TV advert has been banned
www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/dde0301.doc - Talks about how and why sex sells
http://www.frankwbaker.com/sex_in_media.htm - Link on how sexual messages are
portrayed in advertising
http://www.crisisconnectioninc.org/teens/media_influence_on_youth.htm -
A article on the media influence on youth in ways such as advertisements
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_n2631_v126/ai_20077696/ - Article
on how messages reinforce sexual stereotypes
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/hzi9401.html - Women on television. This study fits
into the contemporary media landscape due to the rise in how men and
especially women are sexualised on television adverts as visual eye candy and
sex objects in order to sell a product.
http://janusis.wordpress.com/2007/02/20/sexualisation-and-girls/ -This link talks about the
issue of sexualisation and women.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2025930/Huge-rise-intensely-sexualised-pictures-women--men.html - Talks
about the huge rise in sexualisation of women but not men.
http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_sex.cfm - Sex and relationships in the media
http://www.genderads.com/ - Gender ads website that looks into why and how are males and females
sexualised.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/advertising-ban-wont-stop-brand-bullying-says-childhood-expert-2354917.html?origin=internalSearch -
The Government is looking at ways to strengthen child protection on the
internet but is seeking co-operation with Google, You Tube and other major web
players before threatening legislation.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/laurie-penny-if-sex-and-power-are-what-women-want-dont-stop-them-2291864.html?origin=internalSearch - it
is harmful for an eight year old to engage with a culture that encourages her
to look like a porn star, why is it any less harmful at 18 or 28?
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/why-are-asian-women-aspiring-to-western-ideals-of-beauty-2136868.html?origin=internalSearch- Asian
and African women are aspiring to Western ideals of physical perfection – and
the results are far from pretty
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/harriet-walker-its-an-easy-way-to-put-some-glamour-back-into-our-lives-6269274.html?origin=internalSearch- When
lumps and squidgy bits are shaved off celebrities, things become significant
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/advertising-ban-wont-stop-brand-bullying-says-childhood-expert-2354917.html?origin=internalSearch- The
Government is looking at ways to strengthen child protection on the internet
but is seeking co-operation with Google, You Tube and other major web players
before threatening legislation.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/laurie-penny-if-sex-and-power-are-what-women-want-dont-stop-them-2291864.html?origin=internalSearch - it is harmful for an eight
year old to engage with a culture that encourages her to look like a porn star,
why is it any less harmful at 18 or 28?
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/why-are-asian-women-aspiring-to-western-ideals-of-beauty-2136868.html?origin=internalSearch -
Asian
and African women are aspiring to Western ideals of physical perfection – and
the results are far from pretty
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/harriet-walker-its-an-easy-way-to-put-some-glamour-back-into-our-lives-6269274.html?origin=internalSearch -
When
lumps and squidgy bits are shaved off celebrities, things become significant
Quotes
"Today, ads and articles
in the same magazines push a much more sexualised agenda of rebellion. It's not
defiance of a culture of compulsory beauty. Rather, the rebellion is against
the rules by which the all-important game of beauty is played." -http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/19/advertisings-sexualised-agenda-rebellion?INTCMP=SRCH
"Beyoncé's perfume
advert is part of a barrage of campaigns pushing women towards competitive
sexuality" – http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/19/advertisings-sexualised-agenda-rebellion?INTCMP=SRCH
"So is it better to
sexualise these products, as with the all day’s ad?”I think it's outrageous to
use sex to sell a pantyliner," says Pip Bishop of
Rainey/Kelley/Campbell/Roalfe/Y&R, one of the few female creative directors
in her industry. “-http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/feb/27/gender.uk?INTCMP=SRCH
"The best advertising
concentrates on what women experience, rather than how they look," says
the bishop. "A lot of women found the white trouser ads insulting." -
"Today, ads and articles
in the same magazines push a much more sexualised agenda of rebellion. It's not
defiance of a culture of compulsory beauty. Rather, the rebellion is against
the rules by which the all-important game of beauty is played." -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/19/advertisings-sexualised-agenda-rebellion?INTCMP=SRCH
“particular target
audiences for advertisements may well have vastly differing conceptions of what
is most desirable as masculine (or feminine) traits”
– representing men: maleness and masculinity
in the media, Kenneth MacKinnon, pg 93
“it is though patriarchy that power is attributed to
males and withheld from females"
“advertising operates predominantly by changing
consumer tastes” because when audiences view characters pursuing their needs
and wants, they aspire to be like the characters in the advert, mimicking and
copying them.
“brainwashes its audience with base, deceptive
promises and appeals, designed to promote materialism” -http://iournals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=162717
“There is a
mechanism, usually called ‘identification’, which makes viewers of ‘violence’
vulnerable to it – such that it thereby becomes a ‘message’ by which they are
invaded and persuaded.” -http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/_mmagpast/Cat%20of%20violence.html Categories of violence
0
– José CoperiásAguila, M (2000). pg. 132
1– L Richins, M. (1995) University of Missouri, Columbia. Pg. 89
2 –
Casey, N (2001). pg. 169
3– Nelson, P. (1975) pg. 213
6 - APA Task Force on the Sexualisation of
Girls - http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualizationrep.pdf
7
- Beyonce
Heat Fragrance (2010) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76lPciEip3A
8 -
Thompson, D. Hypodermic Needle theory.(2011) - http://prezi.com/7x999ogdbu68/hypodermic-needle-theory/
10 - What is scopophilia? -
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-scopophilia.htm
11-Advertising trigger sheet - http://goo.gl/sAr1Z
12 - The
SocietyforThe Psychological Study of Social Issues (1945) pg.
363
13- English and media (Marxism & Hegemony) –
www.englishandmedia.co.uk/marx-hegemony.htm
