Free Essay About Reinforcing Women’s Disempowerment Through Ads

In the near past, print media was bombarded with advertisements that portray women as sex objects or lowly human beings. Younger women appear sexually seductive even half naked just to sell an item through the print media. Those kinds of images are made to attract the male through the visual and to the product. Older women advertise products for home. They often appear in advertisements of cleaning tools, cooking utensils, and food. It shows that women are confined in the four corners of the house, caring for the husband and the children. These kinds of advertisements proliferate disempowerment of women.
Despite the popularity of women and gender issues, the modern magazines in print and online are still repeating history. Objectification of women and girls are all over men’s magazine. Disempowering portrayal of women is all over the tabloids and even in broadsheets. Liquor products are classic examples of using women in their ads to attract male buyers. The link below is an advertisement of Skyy vodka.
https://trueadvertise.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/sky_vodka_ad.jpg
The ad features a female model lying down with two-piece bikini while a male model is standing in front holding a bottle of Skyy vodka and two wine glasses. The photo is angled in a way that the female model’s boobs are in focus that makes is look larger than normal. The color of her bikini is sky blue which reflects the color the vodka.
Scrutinizing the recent advertisement rewind the history of male machismo and superiority. It is still surprising that amidst the popularity of women empowerment, there are corporations that still try to inculcate into the minds of women that they are lowly kind of human beings. The levels of the advertisement alone where the female model is lying on the ground while in front of her is a male model standing with elegance and dignity. It only reinforces the dying culture that women are properties of men thus; they should be submissive while men are naturally dominant.
The presentation of color also catches my attention as it portrays women as sex objects. The woman in the ad is likened to the taste of the Skyy vodka because the clothing covering her private parts resembles the color the vodka. The liquor product is notorious in using women as objects to fantasize in their advertisements. They have also an ad where a provocatively dressed woman is handing a wine glass filled with vodka to a male model who is sitting comfortably in a sofa. In the 21st century where stereotype gender roles are starting to fade, I cannot believe that this kind of advertisement sells.
It can be said that male machismo is a passé story but in reality, it is reinforced by sexist ads. The media is still trying to coddle the age old concept of femininity and masculinity despite the critics of the civil society especially the feminist movements. In the advertisement alone, women are portrayed weaker through the lower position while men are powerful as shown in their higher position and powerful stance. The male model is even holding the product which is the Skyy vodka including the wine glasses. It shows that he has all the resources and the woman in the picture needs to rely on him whether or not she is sharing with her the drink. It is his prerogative. The Skyy advertisement is only one among the modern ads that tries to pull down the victories that are achieved by the women’s movement through many decades. It means there is a need for feminist movements including their advocates to push for the eradication of such disempowering ads to save the younger generations from acquiring the age old feudal and patriarchal perception towards women. The consciousness on women’s rightful place in the society should be advancing not deteriorating.

Works Cited

Truth in Advertising. “Skyy Vodka ad.” Truadvertise.wordpress.com, 3 Jul. 2011. Web. 2 Feb. 2015.
24 Tanzania. “The Ads Which Taste Forgot.” 24tanzania.com, 2013. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.