The Objectification of Women in Advertising

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/advertising-women-and-objectification-38754<br>

Since the introduction of advertising many centuries ago, women have been objectified, and in some instances, insulted or degraded.

The Ideal Woman as Portrayed in Advertising

Advertising, marketing, and the fashion industry have created a new type of woman who does not exist in the real world. You probably know the "Barbie Doll" look, but let's look at some of her main features:
1. She has no wrinkles, blemishes, or scars, and her skin is perfect.
2. She has impossibly long, smooth, and shapely legs.
3. Her waist so small it's as though you could break her in two.
4. Her teeth are beyond white, perfectly straight, and appear unreal.

What Men and Women Are Taught to Desire

At a very early age, men are programmed to desire the Barbie Doll woman. This is the woman featured in ads for perfumes and lingerie.
Women from the same early age, are told they must look like this woman. They should aim to have those long legs, that perfect skin, beautiful hair, and incredible body.
Here's the problem; that woman does not exist, anywhere.
She is the product of hours in the makeup chair and days of photo retouching, even if she's a supermodel. Her waist is not that skinny because no woman with a 23" waist wears a D-cup bra without the aid of implants. Every woman has imperfections in her skin because every woman is human.

What Advertising Is Really Selling

Advertising's main function is to create a need so that a company can provide a product or service to meet that need. For example, men drink certain brands of beer because they associate them with advertising's impossibly perfect (and highly sexy) women. "If I drink that beer, I'll get that woman."