Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We've heard this statement many times, like when our mothers are trying to instill values or when we dare to exclaim, "How is so and so dating so and so? So and so is hideous" then someone blurts out, self-righteously, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Isn't this a true statement, though? How many times have we met someone and helplessly measured them on the old beauty scale, and after getting to know them, they go from a 2 to a 10? Or, what about when your friend looks at someone and says "Yuck, look at that hair?" And you say, "Really? I kind of like it." You feel differently about the physical quality. No matter how hard we try not to invest in those low-brow, superficial thoughts, they still pop-up and try to sneak their way in. So often, though, someone you get to know gets better looking and better looking or more hideous with every realization of who they are on the inside.So, realistically speaking, beauty is relative. How do we remember this when we are bombarded by a media system that tells us beauty is instant? It's on the surface and exists or not? A woman is immediately judged for her face and body and a man must appear muscular or rich. Who they are inside is irrelevant. Like Jean Kilbourne states in her essay, Beauty and the Beast of Advertising, "We are each exposed to over 1500 ads a day, constituting perhaps the most powerful educational force in society." "[Ads]sell values, images and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, popularity and normalcy."
Okay, back to solutions. How do we train our eye to see past the image, the ad, the implication and the influence? Especially when it feels so good to think we can somehow just be perfect? Easy, buy that perfume. Buy that lipstick or that vodka and everything will be good. There's the route of public policy and taxation on advertising proposed by Douglas Kellner in, Reading Images Critically. Kellner states, "Considering effects of advertising also raises the issue of whether or not advertising should be subject to taxation; currently it is written off by corporations as a business expense..." Basically, Kellner is saying these corporations spend most of their money on advertising and then get it back at the expense of the taxpayer and the consumer. Kellner also suggests congress could tax advertising that sells socially undesirable products, like cigarettes and alcohol, that are pushed onto consumers as happy-people products (we've already seen action on cigarette taxation in some states). So, we do have the option to protest and appeal to our government to hit false advertisers where it hurts - in the wallet.
We can also support the big guys who, hearing the call of the wide-awake, are taking action. Like the following adds from UA, Verizon, and others, who promote women of strength and intelligence and speak directly to the issue of gender equality:
The photos above are examples of ad campaigns that send positive messages about women. The Claiborne ad shows a young, confident woman who is looking straight at us, without shame, and all of her clothes are on. Queens Latifah is a beautiful example of a confident African-American woman that doesn't need to seem lost or appear oversexed to get attention. And the Fisher ad exemplifies beauty at any age, instead of promoting a youth obsessed culture in which age is a curse.
I also love these ads from Reebok, Mudd, and Pheonix. They demonstrate that women are relevant and powerful because of what they are capable of doing, building, winning. Their body shape is not the selling point in these ads. They're not using the stereotype of women being small or lost or confused, either. When we write these companies, telling them we're using these goods and services based on their positive ad campaigns, we influence their next campaign.
Lastly, for those of us who are creative and creators, we can take responsibility and put forth images and ideas that are positive for both men and women.
Great examples! Keep up the digging for better ads and point them out. I agree we need to tell companies we appreciate these depictions and speak with our choices. Companies need to know that these ads work and are appreciated. We notice!
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