Saturday, January 29, 2011

quiz 2, question 1: versions of femininity



I chose to analyze different versions of femininity. The first ad I found is on the left, from Herbal Essences, a hair/body company. This version constitutes the over-sexualized female vision. The female is naked, lathering herself with soap, soaking wet, and her big laugh suggests an orgasm. It is not just the visuals that suggest this hyper-sexuality. The writing says how their new body wash will make her say "ohhhh," imitating the noise of an orgasm. This ad follows the stereotype of women being extremely sexual human beings, and not being afraid to expose it. I doubt someone could find an ad displaying a man exhibiting this much sexuality.

The next ad is on the right, from Dannon yogurt. This ad exhibits less hyper-femininity and shows a female athlete, Gabrielle Reece. She does not have the super-skinny built common to female ads and has a strong, muscular build, but she still is very fit and has a body hard to strive for. There are never overweight women in ads. She is also made up and put in attractive lighting to still appear very feminine. Therefore, she is the perfect "female athlete:" fit and muscular, yet still thin and pretty enough. Also, the ad is for light yogurt, a very feminine product. A male would never be used to "light" foods.

Even when ads exhibit a "strong" female, the stereotypes of women remain. Sexuality is still a huge part of the female image. It would be so refreshing to see a woman not having her body so emphasized, or a male expose a more sensitive side. We need to break down the stiff roles of what men and women can be or be seen as.

1 comment: