Men and Women in Advertising

What really entices the consumer into the advertisement is it the product, how the provocative lady has her breast exposed or how the muscular man is showing off his built body wearing some pants that are barely covering his penis? These advertisements portray a wrong representation of men and women. In both magazines I found “Rolling Stone” and “Vogue” both the man and the woman are exhibiting their bodies, breasts etc... Many of these advertisements sell pornography, sex; they sell bodies that are modified by computers to young people that want to have bodies like this, but many of times can be unhealthy. Does sex sell? Do people really buy products because of the product or because of the sexual images that are being put into their minds? Is the public aware of the tactics they are using in advertisements to sell products? And the real question is are they buy, even when knowing and being aware? These are questions we ask ourselves when thinking about advertisements and how they objectify women and men.

These magazines target the young people. Vogue magazine is about fashion and trends which many young people follow in order to dress fashionably, and the Rolling Stone magazine is a very well-known magazine in which you will find the most hip artists. These magazines attract the attention of young people, and the first thing they see is the cover. The cover in this case the woman can attract men and women. Men would be attracted to the Rolling Stone magazine because the woman is half naked, showing her breast and you can see the man holding the woman’s breast, as some type of pornography and beyond that showing the empowerment the man has over the woman. As to on the Vogue magazine also both ladies and men would be captivated by the cover. Women would be captivated because the man is showing off his muscular body, half naked almost showing his penis. Today, advertisers use gender and sex to sell products to people that in many cases turn out to be unrealistic expectations for consumers. According to Jean Kilbourn “Advertising is an over $200 billion a year industry. We are each exposed to over 3000 ads a day. Yet, most of us believe we are not influenced by advertising. Ads sell and deal more than products. They sell values, images, and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, popularity and normalcy. They tell us who we are and who we should be. Sometimes they sell addictions”

The guys are depicted as sex objects, flaunting their bodies that are muscular. Men are additionally depicted as overwhelming definitive figures (Das, M. 2000) Men in America, as well as in places like India and all around the globe are generalized in commercial. Specialist's demonstrate that assault and sexual manhandle are an across the board issue, that can be connected to commercials and the way men are depicted (Stankiewicz, Julie M 2008) this is on account of men are normally appears as the overwhelming individual in ad. Particularly when the ad indicates both a man and a lady, the man is generally holding the lady in a sexual way. This demonstrates the man has control of the woman and is permitted to touch her in any case he needs.

The women are also portrayed as sex objects. As indicated by Kilbourne (1999), the sexual exploitation of ladies that was once constrained to explicit entertainment, has found articulation in movies and network shows, as well as in promoting too. The body positions, outward appearances, furthermore, sexual power connections amongst people that happen in publicizing have frequently been embraced from pornography. To help her dispute that men's predominance and ladies' subordination are manifested in mainstream culture, Kilbourne gives cases of particular notices in which ladies are depicted as physically what's more, sincerely powerless, and in which men are shown as overwhelming ladies.

The non-verbal behavior in the men and women of these magazines are obvious especially on a cover. There are noteworthy contrasts in the way that people utilize, and react to, nonverbal prompts. A significant number of the nonverbal prompts usually utilized by men put ladies off guard in circumstances including force and status. Men frequently utilize these nonverbal signs of predominance to accidentally (or purposely) influence ladies to feel guarded and meek. Men tend to have more personal space then women. Ladies tend to be more constricted. Women’s clothing tends to be more reveling showing off their bodies, which reads off a lady as being “easy” to men. For men in the other hand another example would be touch. In many of these magazine advertisements, men are usually holding the lady inappropriately, usually standing from behind showing power and dominance. While these sex-based examples of nonverbal conduct are profoundly instilled, it is critical to know about our nonverbal conduct and the impact it is having on others.

The notations that are being conveyed to the audience by the gender roles are affected by the type of product being advertised. Ladies for example are stereotyped and would most likely appear in commercials such as clothes, cosmetics, cooking and children. Men are stereotyped and used for ads in cars, tobacco etc. The parts offered to ladies are exceptionally constrained. Numerous include a lady's imprisonment looking after children, cleaning the house, and making dinner for a spouse. As we sadly find in all types of media, the parts of ladies in print publicizing are cliché and limiting. Women have been depicted and as women, who don't settle on huge choices, are reliant on men, and are basically sex objects. Men too are the looked at as the "great supplier" but part is kept up in how manliness is viewed in our society.

Are advertisements “selling” something other than the product?