RA#2 Finalized

Mark Wild

Rhetorical Analysis  #2

Jean Kilbourne shows the stark contrast between gender roles in advertising, providing an abundance of examples, she shines light on the depiction of roles men and women play in everyday advertising. Everything from alcoholic beverages, watches, to designer underwear, Kilbourne has forced to reader to look onto and examine the subliminal messages interwoven in advertising. Behind the veil there lies a disconnect to reality, where women are more sexualized, immortalized and men conquer with power and wealth.  The fear is that long term exposure could leak into how we perceive gender in our society, reinforcing a specific role we should abide by, and in turn hindering our true expression of character and inhibiting us from breaching the norms for fear of being misunderstood.

Sex in advertising is more common then ever. Woman and men alike are stripped of any type of emotion and sensitivity only to expose the raw sexual desire in an individual, even if it is completely unrelated to the produced being sold. Something that is as elusive and special as arousalment is now interpreted in an exaggerated form, further diminishing such emotion.  Sadly, it is but an advertising technique, a form of dehumanizing the character, as though they are just an object of desire, with no depth beyond what one sees. Woman models are more often used in a similar manner to pornography, leaking its interpretations in magazines, television ads and billboards. Kilbourne asserts, “Pornography is more dangerously mainstream when its glorification of rape and violence shows up in mass media, in films and television shows, in comedy and music videos, and in advertising. Male violence is subtly encouraged by ads that encourage men to be forceful and dominant, and to value sexual intimacy more than emotional intimacy. “  This is justified by the role men play in advertising.

It is troubling on account that the role of a man in advertising is a direct connection to how the women is perceived. Women are often depicted as weak, helpless, and out of control.  In every single Advertisement that involves a man, Kilbourne sights that there are common underlying themes that the men play.  Specifically, violence and control. It is unsettling to note that this tactic is not entirely derived from a form of fantasy. Rather a reflection of our society in the past century. In the United states and until recently, men have always been the one with the wealth and power. They make up the majority in congress, run our military, our advertising, media.  and occupy high salary positions. Out of the 1210 billionaires in the world, only 11 are women.  No wonder there is so much hate translated through the media towards women, they rarely get to hold a professional position. Why are females oppressed in this society when both genders are of equal intelligence and made up of the same substances? Three words, Lack of empathy.

Wealth and power breeds evil. Men simply don’t want to give up that position because it is on their side. It has been that way for decades now and it has leaked into our media and culture. The stereotypes might not change but I believe the people will. There will be time where the masses are educated on this matter and when that times comes advertising will not have the affect it has had on the individuals, allowing them become an individual.