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Hello people. I am facing a crisis in my English class. I need to get the next few essays perfect, starting with this one, to get a B in the class. If you want to help me, please read and make any necessary corrections, or even re word things if you feel they are necessary to make it better. Also, help on creating a conclusion would be great as well. The topic is Jean Kilbournes video "Still Killing Us Softly" and her article "Two Ways to Hurt a Woman." Thanks in advance people
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Gender Role in the Media
In Jean Kilbourne’s article “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt,” and the film Still Killing Us Softly, she argues that advertising portrays women as sexual objects or seductresses, and men as emotionally detached, physically aggressive and dominating individuals. This can be seen in the thesis to her article:
“Sex in advertising is pornographic because it dehumanizes and objectifies people, especially women, and because it fetishizes products, imbues them with an erotic charge- which dooms us to disappointment since products never can fulfill our sexual desires or meet our emotional needs.”
In my own words, I believe Kilbournes claim is that the media and more specifically, advertising, degrades our society with goals we can never attain and ultimately leads to many people going to the extreme with their bodies. It also leads men to believe they can do whatever they please with women, as they are defenseless and at their mercy, with many women also led to believe it. I believe that advertisements tend to degrade our views on women, lead men to believe they must be stereotypically blue, which can ultimately lead to violence against women.
Since the inception of our country, women have been viewed as lower class in contrast to men. Blue is masculine, pink is feminine. “Body postures and demeanors which communicate subordinate status and vulnerability to trespass through a message of “no threat” make people appear to be feminine” (Devor). Masculinity, or blue, is seen as large and overpowering. Femininity, or pink, is more enclosed and submissive. Even the way you move your hands and your facial expression have an impact on which box you are in, “while people who make frequent appeasement gestures, such as smiling, also give the appearance of femininity.” (Devor) Men are to wear loose fitting and expansive clothes with minimal skin showing, while women are to wear clothing that is restrictive and revealing. Proof of this can be seen in an ad for a videogame in Game Informer. (Issue 151) The ad is for World Poker Tour, and depicts players around a poker table, with the men as blue with their baggy clothes on, and the women as pink with their skin tight and revealing clothing. One of the ladies in the ad is the obvious main attraction. Her dress is so tight you can see the shape of her breasts, with her hair and make up done in a sexual manner. It is obvious that the women in these ads dress and present themselves as such to attract the opposite sex. You never see a sexy and muscular woman in ads, they are always thin and soft, much smaller and less muscular than your average man. These advertisements are all around this, and with men seeing them, they really start believing that they are better than women, and can do whatever they please with them.
Your stereotypical man, or the majority of men in general, tend to stick within the confines of the blue box. This means that during conversations they are loud and interrupt often, wear clothes baggy enough to give them a large freedom of movement, sit with their legs spread open and hands away from them, and do not smile or make small hand gestures. Here is an example of this, “Styles of dress which emphasize the size of upper body musculature, allow freedom of movement, and encourage an illusion of physical power and a look of easy physicality all suggest masculinity,” (Devor) and, “Body postures, speech patterns, and styles of dress which demonstrate and support the assumption of dominance and authority convey an impression of masculinity.” (Devor) Men who stray from outside the box in any way are often labeled as homosexuals. Having a great sense of style and keeping your hair and nails done nicely is feminine in our culture. “Masculinity, then, requires of its actors that they organize themselves and their society in a hierarchical manner so as to be able to explicitly quantify the achievement of success.” (Devor) An extreme example of masculinity can be found in an ad in Game Informer. (Issue 151) The ad is for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a highly anticipated role-playing game. The ad depicts a man fully dressed in armor, with the only skin through his helmet. He is carrying a sword, and it implies he is ready to take part in a bloody battle. Recently, men have been glorified sexually just as much as women have, but they don’t face similar consequences. “The most important difference is that there is no danger for most men, whereas objectified women are always at risk” (Kilbourne) Objectifying women in our media has an adverse affect on our culture.
The image of women that men have in their minds, subliminally, leads them to believe they are of a higher order. As if they can get what they want, even if it takes a violent act to achieve it. “Nonetheless, the rate of sexual assault in the United States is the highest of any industrialized nation in the world.” (Kilbourne) The feeling of power and masculinity in men may sometimes lead them to be blind in respect to the woman. He may not take no for an answer, believing she is just playing games or teasing him, and go against her will. This leads to many tragedies for women in our society, here is an example: “A high-school senior in an affluent suburban school in the Boston area said she has been dragged by her arms so boys could look up her skirt and that boys have rested their heads on her chest while make lewd comments” (Kilbourne) This is very traumatizing for women, and can sometimes lead to them feeling like suicide is the only way to go. “In another school in the Boston area, a sixteen-year-old girl, who had been digitally raped by a classmate, committed suicide” (Kilbourne) This is the extreme, and it is understandable while some women may go in that direction. Male violence against women can also be found in videogames. An ad in Game Informer depicts a man bringing down his sword upon a women lightly defending herself. It seems to show how powerless she is compared to the more muscular and dominant male. Videogames are a very popular media, and its influence is felt by many males around the world. It is as if males are pushed to be dominating and controlling towards women to get whatever they want.
Gender Role in the Media
In Jean Kilbourne’s article “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt,” and the film Still Killing Us Softly, she argues that advertising portrays women as sexual objects or seductresses, and men as emotionally detached, physically aggressive and dominating individuals. This can be seen in the thesis to her article:
“Sex in advertising is pornographic because it dehumanizes and objectifies people, especially women, and because it fetishizes products, imbues them with an erotic charge- which dooms us to disappointment since products never can fulfill our sexual desires or meet our emotional needs.”
In my own words, I believe Kilbournes claim is that the media and more specifically, advertising, degrades our society with goals we can never attain and ultimately leads to many people going to the extreme with their bodies. It also leads men to believe they can do whatever they please with women, as they are defenseless and at their mercy, with many women also led to believe it. I believe that advertisements tend to degrade our views on women, lead men to believe they must be stereotypically blue, which can ultimately lead to violence against women.
Since the inception of our country, women have been viewed as lower class in contrast to men. Blue is masculine, pink is feminine. “Body postures and demeanors which communicate subordinate status and vulnerability to trespass through a message of “no threat” make people appear to be feminine” (Devor). Masculinity, or blue, is seen as large and overpowering. Femininity, or pink, is more enclosed and submissive. Even the way you move your hands and your facial expression have an impact on which box you are in, “while people who make frequent appeasement gestures, such as smiling, also give the appearance of femininity.” (Devor) Men are to wear loose fitting and expansive clothes with minimal skin showing, while women are to wear clothing that is restrictive and revealing. Proof of this can be seen in an ad for a videogame in Game Informer. (Issue 151) The ad is for World Poker Tour, and depicts players around a poker table, with the men as blue with their baggy clothes on, and the women as pink with their skin tight and revealing clothing. One of the ladies in the ad is the obvious main attraction. Her dress is so tight you can see the shape of her breasts, with her hair and make up done in a sexual manner. It is obvious that the women in these ads dress and present themselves as such to attract the opposite sex. You never see a sexy and muscular woman in ads, they are always thin and soft, much smaller and less muscular than your average man. These advertisements are all around this, and with men seeing them, they really start believing that they are better than women, and can do whatever they please with them.
Your stereotypical man, or the majority of men in general, tend to stick within the confines of the blue box. This means that during conversations they are loud and interrupt often, wear clothes baggy enough to give them a large freedom of movement, sit with their legs spread open and hands away from them, and do not smile or make small hand gestures. Here is an example of this, “Styles of dress which emphasize the size of upper body musculature, allow freedom of movement, and encourage an illusion of physical power and a look of easy physicality all suggest masculinity,” (Devor) and, “Body postures, speech patterns, and styles of dress which demonstrate and support the assumption of dominance and authority convey an impression of masculinity.” (Devor) Men who stray from outside the box in any way are often labeled as homosexuals. Having a great sense of style and keeping your hair and nails done nicely is feminine in our culture. “Masculinity, then, requires of its actors that they organize themselves and their society in a hierarchical manner so as to be able to explicitly quantify the achievement of success.” (Devor) An extreme example of masculinity can be found in an ad in Game Informer. (Issue 151) The ad is for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a highly anticipated role-playing game. The ad depicts a man fully dressed in armor, with the only skin through his helmet. He is carrying a sword, and it implies he is ready to take part in a bloody battle. Recently, men have been glorified sexually just as much as women have, but they don’t face similar consequences. “The most important difference is that there is no danger for most men, whereas objectified women are always at risk” (Kilbourne) Objectifying women in our media has an adverse affect on our culture.
The image of women that men have in their minds, subliminally, leads them to believe they are of a higher order. As if they can get what they want, even if it takes a violent act to achieve it. “Nonetheless, the rate of sexual assault in the United States is the highest of any industrialized nation in the world.” (Kilbourne) The feeling of power and masculinity in men may sometimes lead them to be blind in respect to the woman. He may not take no for an answer, believing she is just playing games or teasing him, and go against her will. This leads to many tragedies for women in our society, here is an example: “A high-school senior in an affluent suburban school in the Boston area said she has been dragged by her arms so boys could look up her skirt and that boys have rested their heads on her chest while make lewd comments” (Kilbourne) This is very traumatizing for women, and can sometimes lead to them feeling like suicide is the only way to go. “In another school in the Boston area, a sixteen-year-old girl, who had been digitally raped by a classmate, committed suicide” (Kilbourne) This is the extreme, and it is understandable while some women may go in that direction. Male violence against women can also be found in videogames. An ad in Game Informer depicts a man bringing down his sword upon a women lightly defending herself. It seems to show how powerless she is compared to the more muscular and dominant male. Videogames are a very popular media, and its influence is felt by many males around the world. It is as if males are pushed to be dominating and controlling towards women to get whatever they want.