Depiction of Women in Media Today

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The portrayal of women in modern day adverts From as early as the 19th century, advertising has been used to sell products and improve the profit of a business. Over the past few centuries, especially in the past five decades, advertising has evolved into something very different. Adverts now sell more than just products. They sell values, they sell images, and they sell concepts of sexuality and most importantly, normalcy. To a large extent, adverts influence our values, the way we think and tell us who we are and how we should be. The purpose of this speech is to expose the deadly depictions of women that the media is trying to influence us into believing. The purpose of an advert is to sell a product by informing consumers of its strengths and uses. Unfortunately, modern advertising has transformed into an industry of sexualisation and dehumanization of women. What do modern adverts tell us about women? It tells us that looking good is the most important thing for a woman and that men are superior to them. Girls from a very young age are exposed to adverts depicting underdressed women surrounded by half-dressed men in erotic and sexual positions. Adverts are usually highly airbrushed and photoshopped, and the models usually conform to the so-called “ideal image of beauty”, skinny, with a fair skin tone and heavily made up. The images of women presented in adverts represent absolute flawlessness, which can never be achieved, but is just a construction of the actual model and not the model herself. This impossible goal means that failure is inescapable and can have dire consequences on women in society who fail, trying to meet them. Dolce and Gabbana is no stranger to controversy, with a range of adverts depicting highly airbrushed and underdressed women with many sexual connotations. Here, we have a typical Dolce and Gabbana and Calvin Klein advert,

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