Every year, over five hundred dollars are spent worldwide on it. Individuals have seen it about two million times by age sixty-five. And, according to researchers, it has been considered to be one of the world’s strongest art forms. Brilliantly manipulative and considerably influential, advertising has infused itself into everyday life and impacts what we say, do, and think- whether or not we choose to realize it. This fact is especially predominant in television commercials. From new cars to buffet dinners to insurance, this form of advertising makes full use of visual aspects to appeal to a viewer’s mind- and to his or her wallet. There are certainly a lot of benefits- and dollars -to be found in favor of commercials, but to say that everything commercials sell are as sweet as Häagen-Dazs ice cream would be a lie. Unfortunately, while commercials are effective in convincing a viewer to purchase a product, they are just as equally effective in the diffusion of age-old stereotypes, those concerning gender and gender roles especially. Despite significant growth and improvement in the movement for gender equality, television commercials still continue to depict gender inaccurately to this day. By embracing clichéd notions of women, men, and overall gender roles, commercials are only setting themselves up for severe consequences- none of which can be fixed by saving fifteen minutes on car insurance or can be covered up by the fresh scent of Febreze.

Breasts upon breasts, fake faces caked with makeup, Photoshopped bodies barely covered with clothes, pouty lips and doe eyes. These are but only a few of the makings of the sexism all-too-often present when women are used in advertising. Always considered the weaker sex throughout history, the present-day portrayal of women in commercials continues to suggest their supposed inferiority. Always playing off of the constituent of beauty, every commercial woman’s sole talent is possessing what society deems “good looks.” Instead of juggling a busy schedule or running a meeting or depicted as a breadwinner like her male counterparts, the woman of commercials seductively eats a burger or drapes herself across a piece of furniture, whispering sweet nothings to the camera through glossy lips, appealing to the desires of men and confirming the notion that being pleasing is all that they are supposedly “good for.” The Representation Project, a group experienced in the field of gender inequality as a movement to expose its horrors, uses refutation to explain how negatives regarding the portrayal of women in the media outweigh recent gains, showing that there are still many problems to be had. In their video “How the Media Failed Women in 2013,” the Project synthesizes a variety of different commercials which feature the objectification of women (such as a fast food ad featuring a woman eating a burger in a bikini and seductively licking sauce off her hand), pulling from a variety of commercial genres from cars to dining. In doing this, it demonstrates how every genre of commercial is affected, proving how much of an issue these portrayals really are. A common theme in many of these commercials leads into another category of women’s degradation: “dismembering.” This sole focus on a woman’s body parts in an advertisement, especially her breasts, thighs, or butt, is used to increase sexual appeal. Oftentimes, doing this adds nothing to or distracts from the product being advertised itself. In her essay entitled “How Women are Portrayed in the Media,” HubPages user Scholar Claudia describes the process of dismembering and uses syllogisms to show how the process is harmful to women: “men see women as sexual objects, objects must be owned, therefore, men must own women.” With all of this information in mind, to see women strictly as “parts” and pretty faces, as things that can be bought and shown off is an imprecision, because women are so much more than toned thighs, large breasts, and ever-vanishing beauty.

Those with Y chromosomes are not by any means safe from the devious claws of advertising, however. Men face just as many pernicious portrayals via television screens as women do. In the case of men, an overwhelming sense of masculinity merges with the pressure to perform well. The majority of the time, the Commercial Man is the epitome of what I like to call “The Four S’s,” also known as Serious, Sophisticated, Sexy, and Successful. In other words, this man embraces his masculinity by showing no hint of emotion, always looking intimidating and tough. He is dressed well so as to give off an air of wealth, prestige, and power. He can and often is also objectified for his looks like women are, showing off his muscular figure or using his body to express his strength. And, he is depicted as polished and hardworking, driven and prosperous. All of these combined together only further reaffirm the notion that men are the dominant sex, the stronger sex, the breadwinners of the world, and other clichés. An article from the Huffington Post discusses this topic in great detail. In “Be A Man: Macho Advertising Promotes Hyper-Masculine Behavior, Study Finds,” quantitative evidence and survey results are used to back up the claims that advertisements of all forms which target men “encourage [men] to aspire to an unrealistic and potentially harmful brand of masculinity.” At the bottom of the article, a slideshow of controversial advertisements concerning men is included, lending a visual to the writer’s argument. The images show just how severe and how exaggerated these notions can, and often do, become. Combine all of this together, and it is easy to see how the concept of a supposedly perfect man has its defects.

Past the hourglass figures and exposed six-packs only lies a transitional phase from one deception to another. Beyond the basic portrayals of women and men in commercials is a far greater room for concern: how basic gender roles are depicted in commercials- far greater because of how far off they really are. Commercials tend to follow traditional views on gender roles, with men depicted as the breadwinners and women shown as the caretakers: working at home and caring for children. In line with these traditional roles, commercials are reflective of the supposed recipients for the products. As stated in Malgorzata Wolska’s article on Krytyka.org, “men generally advertise cars, cigarettes, business products or investments. . . women are shown rather in the commercials with cosmetics and domestic products.” This corresponds to the notion that as the “successful sex,” it only makes sense that men be shown undertaking business ventures and be advertising “cool” products such as cigarettes or alcohol to increase masculinity, and to the notion that as the “stay-at-home” sex, it only makes sense that women appear in commercials that have to do with housework, cooking, and the like. There are several different variations to these roles as well, none of them good. In addition to being successful, men can also be portrayed as the “dumb dad” when it comes to working around the house, rarely shown doing any form of housecleaning and when they are, they do not know what they are doing which leads to a woman taking the tasks over once again. As for women, they can be portrayed with an interest in preserving their beauty and their image, in accordance with long-existing stereotypical views. Wolska’s article includes some specific details: “Another type [of] woman [is one] whose major concern is to preserve her beauty. . . she presents a healthy life style, is physically active, [and] uses a wide range of body and facial cosmetics.” Cited from the findings of Steve Craig, this information that Wolska incorporates demonstrates backed proof to what plays out on a television screen in terms of women. It is because commercials continue to embrace the notions of hardworking men and stay-at-home women and mothers in an ever-changing social dynamic, coupled with stereotypes of gender values, that is is easy to see where they are wrong.

While the commercials themselves may be over in a matter of seconds, the effects they produce last far longer- and cause far more damage. In the long run, watching one inaccurately-portrayed commercial after another has consequences. Namely, prolonged exposure to these sorts of commercials only reaffirms classic notions of what roles each gender should have. Columnist Chris Bucholz uses a specific, logos-based example in his article “4 Reasons Commercials Are Sexist (Against Men)” that adds backing to this claim: “when depicting a dumb dad in an ad for a product geared for housecleaning or raising children. . . [this] can reinforce the idea that men are actually [useless] around the home.” Through this sense of “if, then” and cause and effect, it is easy to see how consequences can emerge, as a logical result of incorrect advertising. It is also logical to see how women can be negatively affected by these commercials. With so many commercials containing beautiful, thin, oversexualized women, regular women begin to develop a notion of what they believe “real” beauty to be, based upon what they see on their television screens. Over time, this can lead to self-deprecation in women because they feel that they do not meet this standard of beauty, which can then result in eating disorders or other illnesses in attempts to better themselves. According to Weebly.com, “44% of women think that they are overweight” and “exposure to the ‘ideal’ body images [lowers] women’s satisfaction with their own attractiveness.” This quantitative evidence produces a shock factor, intentionally showing just how severe the issue truly is. With so many potential troubles a remote-control-click away, it is baffling why commercials have not significantly edited how gender is portrayed in them.

With bold fonts, fresh faces, saturated colors and enjoyable music, commercials are pleasing to the senses- but that still does not hide the fact that many are selling lies. Commercials portray men and women according to stereotypes, determine their roles based off the perceived gender norms, and in doing so are only creating a mountain of backlash that is not helping anyone or anything. The classic saying has always been to take things with a grain of salt, and in the case of gender portrayal, make sure to have a whole shaker full.




Works Cited

“Be A Man: Macho Advertising Promotes Hyper-Masculine Behavior, Study Finds.” Huffington

Post. 7 May 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Bucholz, Chris. “4 Reasons Commercials Are Sexist (Against Men).” Cracked. 9 May 2012.

Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Claudia, Scholar. “How Women are Portrayed in the Media.” HubPages. Aug. 2012. Web. 29

Apr. 2014.

The Representation Project. “How the Media Failed Women in 2013.” Online video clip.

YouTube, 3 Dec. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Wolska, Malgorzata. “Gender Stereotypes in mass media. Case study: Analysis of the Gender

Stereotyping Phenomenon in TV Commercials.” Krytyka. 9 Jan. 2011. Web. 29 Apr.

2014.

“Women in Advertisements and Body Image: How Women are Portrayed.” Weebly. Web. 29

Apr. 2014.