Nihilism of the Female Gender - Essay Example

NGOZI NWAINYINYA ENGLISH 1110 ESSAY 2 Nihilism of the Female Gender In a big way, different forms of advertising portray the beliefs and attitudes of the society. Stereotypical depictions of gender have been used in mainstream advertising to lure customers to buy certain products. The car industry is particularly notorious for its use of near-naked women who normally pose seductively next to or somewhere the vehicles so as to attract as much attention as possible (Kilbourne 16). The Lowrider magazine is a monthly that focuses solely on the Lowrider model of cars. The magazine relies mostly on female models to advertise its cars. These advertisements normally contain images of the cars themselves, almost naked women and other graphics depicting the allure of the vehicles. While many may claim that depicting women as sexual objects is good for business, it does not that doing so is right. The use of demoralizing gender depictions in media advertising is both stereotypical and inhuman. Lowrider magazine is just one example of how women allow themselves to be used in derogatory situations just so as to please other people. The advert in the August issue of Lowrider magazine under discussion is featured under the article 1963 Chevrolet Impala - Ladies Night Out by Mike Landers. The advert is a two-page spread that specifically features a beautiful model sitting on the rear end of a sporty lowrider (car). The car being advertised is multicolored, most of it black, orange and yellow. Images of naked or scantily dressed women mark its decoration. Although the car covers a significant portion of the advert, the scantily dressed model is central in the picture. The woman has a broad smile on her face and assumes a sexy pose; her breasts thrust forward and her butts thrust in the opposite direction in a near sitting position. The woman is positioned close to the shiny spare wheel that is locked at the rear of the 1963 Chevrolet Impala. The beautiful lowrider is colorful and is presented as an object worth admiring, more like the model in stilettos. The words used in this specific advert imply that the car gives a feeling of majesty and designed to give utmost comfort and leisure. J Ayala, the model featured in the magazine is wearing thongs, a beautiful precious bangle on her right hand and white thongs on her breast, her nipples clearly exposed. She is also wearing a white g-string leaving most of her body nakedly exposed. On her ears, Ayala is wearing flowing earrings that match her bra partly covered with her long hair. She has a tattoo on her abdomen near her belly button and decorations of different colors on both of her feet. Her finger and toe nails are well manicured and her face neatly laced with make-up. Lowrider magazine is full of content that highlights the notion that sex sells. Body images of women are used to emphasize the attractiveness of the lowrider cars on sale. The written content is full of sexual innuendo that is meant to attract male customers. On the cover of every magazine issue, there is normally an attractive woman dressed only in bikini and many times standing next to an equally attractive car (Lowrider Magazine). It is clear from the advertisements and content of the Lowrider magazine that the specific target audience are men, mostly those who are aged between 20 and 40 years. Lowriders are well known as being flashy cars, the type that any man between 20 and 40 years would like to own. It is also a well known fact that sex sells, especially where men are concerned. Therefore, including sex symbols alongside the advertisements is a logical way of improving sales by attracting as many customers as possible. The median age of the target audience is likely to be around 25 to 30 according to the type of adverts on the magazine pages. Many of these men are likely to be single and living on their own and not in their parents’ house. They are economically stable since they can afford the lowriders. Most of the customers and target customers are also likely to be in showbiz careers and not the mainstream ones like medicine, banking, nursing and many others. The education level of the target market can be anywhere from high school to college or university. The use of a woman on the advert reflects just how stereotypical the society is about objectification of women, especially their popular portrayal as simple sex objects. For a long time, society has dictated the role of the woman, who has been subjected to domestic roles. Women’s bodies have for a long time been considered as sex symbols. There are some products that have come to be associated with sexism and they normally feature scantily dressed women (Kilbourne 211). The advert on Lowrider Magazine presents the implied message that women are as much tools as cars are and they are there to be used for men’s pleasures (Lowrider Magazine). A combination of flashy cars and sensual women is enough to get the attention of the average American man. In the American culture, there are strict gender roles that one is expected to conform to. There are gender stereotypes that have been enhanced by the media. These stereotypes include the objectification of women which in a way devaluates them. In America today, the beauty of a woman is measured by how thin, young and curvaceous one is (Kilbourne 255). This is typified in the Lowrider advert where the model is a young beautiful woman who does not mind showing off her well-sculpted body. Even in this age of gender equality it is plain from the advert that there is nothing about equality there. The women are there to be had and men are there to own them. The advertisement is quite effective in grabbing the attention of its intended audience. The woman placed at the advert is used as some kind of bait to get the man to buy or at least have a view of the car in question. The beauty of the woman complements the value of the car. If the customer or target customer likes the woman, then he is likely to be interested in the car that the woman represents. This ad is a good example of how women are normally used as sex objects. The objectification of women is a practice that should be shunned especially today when they have a bigger and more rational role to play in society. Gone are the days when society used to quantify women at the same level as mere objects which could be used in any way that seemed pleasing. Today women have a more important role to play in society and their portrayal as sex objects in the media is just wrong. The low-rider advert that portrays women as a means by which men satisfy their needs is way too archaic, a practice that has long outgrown its usefulness. Society has evolved over the years and people now actually appreciate women for what they are, not for how they look. Works Cited Kilbourne, Jean. Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. Landers Mike. 1963 Chevrolet Impala - Ladies Night Out: Majestics ‘63 Rag. Lowrider Magazine. August 2011 Issue. Web. July 8 , 2011: http://www.lowridermagazine.com/features/1108_lrmp_1963_chevrolet_impala/index.html Lowrider Magazine. Lowrider Magazine Top Features. Web. July 8, 2011: http://www.lowridermagazine.com/index.html Read More