Is Advertising a Barrier to Male Movement toward Gender Change - Coursework Example

Is Advertising a Barrier to Male Movement toward Gender Change UNIT 1: FOUNDATION - ON HISTORY PART I The most important “Lean In” moment that I have experienced was during my college days. When addressing an issue in a group discussion, I was speaking affluently about the topic. Meanwhile, one of my male peers crossed my discussion and put up his viewpoints. I was utterly out of confidence to counter argue, as his raised voice and level of dominance made me incompetent to put up my views. As a result, I failed to qualify in the debate. The insecurity that I faced during my college days could be directly related with the speech of Sandberg (Sandberg 1-5). UNIT 1: FOUNDATION - ON HISTORY PART II Recently, while watching a TV daily, I have come across an advertisement that details about a perfume. Specifications, detailing that a perfume is for female or male has become quite prominent in the context of promoting the brand. The advertisement was appealing for men as usual so long as women are used as props for developing the quality of the advertisement. The advertisement, as I presume to be prompting men to use a particular product and restricting the women to conduct the same. The advertisement clearly captioned that the particular perfume that was being introduced in the market was solely meant for men and not for women (Bettany, Dobscha, O’Malley and Prothero 3-5). UNIT 1: FOUNDATION - ON LANGUAGE PART I It is often noted that people are more interested in the body languages of other people, as it prompts them to decide about the probable move of action or the needs of justification for an action they want to continue. Body languages even help in depicting the level of participation that is reflected through the move of body parts as well as postures for standing and sitting. Furthermore, non-verbal communication is often assisted by the use of body postures that play an important role in developing various interpretations about the communicator. Additionally, the perceptions of people about another individual often get developed based on their respective body languages. UNIT 1: FOUNDATION - ON LANGUAGE PART II Even in the 21st century, when people comment on providing equal rights for both men and women, women still fail to obtain equal standards to that of men depending on the patriarchy system that is apparently evident at the various social levels. Specifically, gender discriminations are not apparent within the social standards but are somehow still in practices. To be mentioned, the age-old dogmatic social system has been playing a crucial role in framing the mental state of society to have separate perceptions for men and women based on their gender roles. Correspondingly, similar roles played by men and women within the society are accepted in different ways based on gender. The traditional patriarchy system of governance somewhere influences the perceptions of people living within the society and imposes greater impact on their perseverance about the aspect of women empowerment. This is how the status for women gets developed in a different manner within the social domain. UNIT 1: FOUNDATION - ON LANGUAGE PART III Various statements used under different articles and at various levels of societies point on the issue concerning gender biases. Sentences that depict single person are gender biased, as the use of ‘male’ denominations remain present. Furthermore, the use of gender biases gets prominent with different usage of pronouns for framing sentences. Original Sentence Too Convoluted Better Option Each student must do his work diligently Each student must do his or her work diligently All students must do their work diligently Marks will only be provided if a student submits his work on time Marks will only be provided if a student submits his or her work on time Marks will only be provided if students submit their work on time UNIT 1: FOUNDATION - ON FEMINISM PART I The speech by Emma Watson was good and came up with various forms of discrimination faced by women in this present day context. She detailed about different discriminations prevailing in wage rates and also about deliverance of unequal education in various parts of the society. However, the speech she gave could not be connected with in-depth understanding of different issues that require to be addressed. Furthermore, the use of intonations, clarity of words and the pauses she took in between made her speech even more confusing. Her body language seemed to be quite nervous and her posture even depicted her improper approach of addressing masses. UNIT 1: FOUNDATION - ON FEMINISM PART II Question A. I could connect myself with the view of Women’s Rights Feminists, as it is obvious that the current system governing the social set up and developing different social statutes is based on the age-old dogmas of patriarchy system related to social development. I even find that various reforms present in the society tend to meet the specific needs of women. Notably, the different authorities those are involved into framing various reforms have developed their perceptions based on the patriarchy societal system. Thus, chances of biasness within the social domain while framing a particular set of principles for women rights cannot be nullified completely. Question B. Feminism, according to me, is an asset of perceptions that guides women to claim their rights and develop their awareness about being equally equipped as male counterparts. Feminism reflects a set of guidelines concerning the individual needs of women to develop their social inclusions and safeguard their individual rights within the male dominated society. UNIT 1: FOUNDATION - ON GENDER PART I Bringing up a child neutral is a complex situation. However, the thought that the couple shared as a reason for not disclosing the gender of their newborn in terms of dressing and bringing up was commendable. Bringing up a child neutral is never an issue until the social settings support your views and provide you with the support to bring up the child. Conversely, bringing up a child as neutral may end up having a psychological stress at later age, as the child may not be able to connect with the mainstream society. Commendably, neutralism about genders keeps a child safeguarded from the various social dogmas and prevent from traditional beliefs that put male and female at different genre. As per my viewpoints, I would not support bringing up a child with a gender neutral, rather, I would provide the child with many opportunities to flourish and select what is best for him/her. UNIT 1: FOUNDATION - ON GENDER PART II Women, similar to men, are born with certain sexual attributes that differentiate them from the male group. Women are biologically hierarchical than men, as they have the physical built up to reproduce. Women are equally capable as men to take care of themselves and able enough to develop their social status. Males, on the other hand, to maintain their dominance over their female counter parts, have created different kinds of discrimination that are prevalent within the social sphere. Based on their physical attributes, women are often been treated as feeble and weak with huge need of protection. Based on the biological identifications, there are certain attributes that majorly secludes women from the male. UNIT 1: FOUNDATION - ON GENDER PART III Question A. I used to wear bright colored frocks and dresses that were meant for girls. Specifically, my parents used to dress me up with pink and as far as I remember, I used to have a closet, most of which were baby pink dresses. It reflected the same traditional set up of the society that polarized boys to be using blue for their apparels and pink for girls. It was even noted that based on the different social stratifications, the concept of pink to be a girly color and blue to be a boyish shade that remained prominent within the various social spheres, which further influenced the needs of dressing among men and women. Question B. When I will be having children, I will never polarize their dressing senses based on the predefined norms of the society and specify the colors they should be wearing being a girl or a boy. Rather, I would leave them freely to decide the shades or the styles that they plan to wear in their lives based on their specifications and personal choices. Notably, I would prevent any kind of polarization that may be influencing their choices for a specific dress or color and would provide them with a free plethora to develop their creativity towards their own tastes and preferences for dressing up (Maglaty 1-3). UNIT 2: SOCIALIZATION - ON MEDIA PART I Betty Friedan is my role model for all times. She inspired me to develop certain concepts based on which, their needs can be fulfilled. The concepts of framing or imaging women to be child bearers and homemakers should be changed to develop the status of women within the society. I largely support her views about women empowerment within the society and her approach of changing the status of women to be only capable of bearing child. This status creates a huge amount of degradation for women and affects their social status at large. Notably, various criticisms that were forwarded by Friedan reflected that the patriarchy society secluded women with a low level of social status and neglected women from the major sections of the society. Commendably, this narrowed view towards women and development of status has been affecting their present social position, where they are treated to be externalized agents of the society. Thus, this age old stratifications towards women have been influencing the fight for developing equal rights for women. UNIT 2: SOCIALIZATION - ON MEDIA PART II Question A. The male and the female characters in popular shows are depicted using various social stratifications based on the various social needs. The male and female characters are often being created keeping in mind the prominent societal needs and developing the other various constraints that are prominent within the societal settings. Question B. Adaptability of various social settings and norms that define social development is depicted through the acts of television shows and reflects on the development of the social constraints. The television shows reflect different options and social constraints that are prominent within the society depicting varied social settings. UNIT 2: SOCIALIZATION - ON MEDIA PART III The different characters depicted in the movie were noted as reflecting the different marketing schemes of women. The main character being less polished and more down to earth failed to develop her social status and had to lose her love. The personal bindings that she possessed reflect her inability to develop herself and comply with the needs of the society. This could be compared with the other woman who was more marketable and noted to be well accepted by the larger sections of the society based on her appearance and show offs. UNIT 2: SOCIALIZATION - ON ADVERTISING PART I Basic Analysis of the Layers of Meaning in Ads. The advertisement used for a popular deodorant spray using the quotation “Even Angels will Fall” reflects the attractions that the fragrance may create on the opposite sex. This advertisement portrays the level of attraction that the fragrances possess, which would even make angels fall. Similarly, a recent advertisement posted in the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) placed a huge amount of consciousness among the general people to stop hunting animals for clothes. The reflections used a big and small leopard tagged with various sizes popular for dresses. The thematic analysis of advertisements often reflects the development of positive and negative consequences of advertisement. The body developments and their differences between the two genders are a major concern among the present day men and women, which is noted to be developed even in the various resources of media. Advertisement that was presented by the Lego Group during its initial years remained majorly focused on the development of kids through the use of different Lego products. The caption “Kids Build Lego” reflects the cognitive development of kids supported by Lego toys. Additionally, in another advertisement, it is noted that when a same brand projects two different uses of images for portraying dresses or apparels for males and females, it can be interpreted to be gendered. For instance, the popular Dolce and Gabbana brand uses separate colors as well as sets for branding women as well as men apparels. UNIT 2: SOCIALIZATION - ON ADVERTISING PART II Women are often been regarded as sex tools, which have been used within the advertising domain as a mark of sexism and as an image to develop the notion of sex. The advertisement portrayed above depicts that women are often considered as young and youthful. The body languages for girls are often noted to be portraying their submissive nature as similar to boys. Glowing white faces is must for girls, as it play a major role in developing their appearances. Furthermore, women are depicted in a more pornographic way than the male counterparts at various media advertisements. The portrayal of bodies of women and the presentation of skin are used to be an USP for developing the quality of the advertisement. UNIT 2: SOCIALIZATION - ON ADVERTISING PART III The most surprising part of portraying men in commercials is that men are often depicted with the intentions of masculinity. There are few advertisements that portray men to be a caring father or doing household work. For instance, at certain times, women are portrayed to be doing all household works and men are portrayed in a more masculine way by showing their active role in sports and events. Men are often portrayed by taking active participation in the traditional masculine activities (Gentry and Harrison 74-96). UNIT 2: SOCIALIZATION - ON ADVERTISING PART IV The belief of gender contaminations is more prominent among males than females, as the male sections of the society are more concerned about their imaging and identification. It is even noted that based on traditional set up of the society, men often suffers from the fear of losing identity by including women within the brands. Thus, to prevent from their identity crisis, males often prefer using products that are meant for them and are untouched by women (Nobel 1-4). UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - ON STEREOTYPES PART I The notion that the gender roles played by men and women often keep on changing with regards to the needs of the society can be found prevalent even in the 21st century context. There are certain notions that women are often found to be persuasive and unlike male counterparts, instead of encouraging, they often push for getting a work done. However, this is contradicted by a mythical consideration that women are bossy and fail to understand the individual needs as well as become overambitious and selfish once they reach the top grades. UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - ON STEREOTYPES PART II The presence of male dominance is prominent in mostly every section of the workplace. According to Sandberg, many offices do not support facilities for women to work with ease (3-5). The different experiences shared by the author in the book have reflected the lack of infrastructural support in one of the largest organizations for pregnant workers. This clearly indicates the approach of the society towards women and depicts the need of development within the societal structure to meet the specific needs of women (Cuddy 1-8). UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - ON DIVERSITY PART I I have been once treated differently in my office based on a specific job that was perceived to be incapable for me, as I was a woman and inefficient for doing such a job. Well, it was quite embarrassing, as I failed to understand how someone could judge my quality even without knowing what I can do. I decided to go ahead with the job and convinced my boss to provide me with a single opportunity to complete the task. Luckily, after rigorous discussion and conversation, I was provided with the same and I did my level best and performed the task even better than it was perceived to be. UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - ON DIVERSITY PART II Race is a significant trait, which is created by humans in order to differentiate certain group of people from another. This segregation varies from one society to another. When some societies define race to be based on biological differences, others describe the same based on ethnicity or cultural principles that individuals follow. UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - ON DIVERSITY PART III I would define diversity to be a trait, which accepts as well as respects the cultures and principles followed by various sections of the society. This is even termed to be the respect that one class of people must be having on the other. Diversity also helps in developing oneness and enhances the feeling of belonging (Nobel1-4). UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - ON DIVERSITY PART IV Gender is noted to be one of the major discriminations of the world, which helps in developing the different notions of the society. The same notions could be developed from the book written by Sheryl Sandbert, wherein she argued that how gender discrimination move in a parallel way to the other stratifications within the society. The portrayal of women within the sections of the society has been developed in the provided topic through the book of Sheryl Sandbert (Nobel 1-3). UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - IN MANAGEMENT PART I The video on the career advice details various shortfalls that the women working within organizations have to face. The video also discusses the different areas that need to be identified to develop the various needs of organizations. It is also helpful to identify the different notions and develop attributes that would boost the movements of gender unbaises within the organizations towards the top-level management. UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - IN MANAGEMENT PART II Emotions affect the formal decorum of the workplace and create blockages for the people to perform, negatively affecting their performances. Emotion even affects various effectiveness of a particular works and thus creates a cognitive impact on the abilities of employees to perform. UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - IN MANAGEMENT PART III The notions highlighted by the author could clearly be related based on various social settings. It is even apparent that there are certain duties, which are mandatory for a girl to perform, irrespective of the tasks she conducts. Furthermore, there are certain underlined principles that create a level of expectation of the job roles that are mandatory, else it would lead to severe amount of contradictions. These stratifications must be reduced to enhance the quality of lifestyle of women and even develop their social status. UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - IN MARKETING PART I Companies like Unilever often promote their body lotions and body soaps through advertisements, depicting half-nude women taking showers or putting up lotions. However, body washes or body lotions are meant for both sexes and should be advertised in a less gendered manner. I would also like to suggest that this would be changing the perceptions of masses towards their products. UNIT 3: TAKING ACTION - IN MARKETING PART II The use of the traditional social set up is prominent in the first advertisement, which depicts women as the one who are responsible to perform household tasks that can help in remaining connected with the normal status of the society. This is even noted to be acting as a positive move for the company to develop their products and find a ready market for the same. MY THREE MOST INTERESTING EXCHANGES The most interesting issue that had attracted my attention since long was the handful number of women in leading positions in corporate. While I kept wondering always that even if women were argued to be better managers than men were, why did the corporate encourage only a few of their female leaders to a globally reputed position. Well, I now get a comparatively clearer picture after listening to Sheryl Sandberg and reading a part of her book, ‘Lean In’. The problem, as I feel is inherent within our society irrespective of which gender form do we belong. As a woman, I may at times, rather have at times felt inhibited to speak of my interests and needs, owing to my skepticism that I will be termed as a feminist. I also felt that speaking of other women’s interests might make me gender bias. Besides gaining these realizations, I also encountered that until we experience something wrong or go through a demanding situation, we often even lack the attentiveness to think of others’ interests and welfare needs, irrespective of them being a woman or a man, which further directs to the problem of innovativeness. Therefore, as I learnt, the problem is in realizing the unidentified needs of the population that foretells the quantifiable attributes of male leaders, shadowing the quality centric competencies of their female counterparts. For instance, if I relate this particular experience with the UN speech delivered by Emma Watson, it becomes apparent that critics, activists and feminists have long been only concentrated on generating awareness for what women lack in monetary terms or in terms of social recognition. Seldom has any attempt been made to converge thoughts and identify the sole reasons acting as motivation to these discriminations even today, when many liberal movements have been conducted to promote women in all spheres of the society. As I believe and understand learning through these scenarios, our approach needs to be changed. It will undoubtedly be more effective if women are motivated to perform better and outstandingly, motivating them on the grounds of what they have gained and obtained rather than what has been taken from them. I believe it will steer a positive intention amid many women around the world to become more innovative, more competitive and a boost to the society when the encouragement comes instrinsically. Another experience I gained was an eye-opener when I realized that perhaps women and LGBT are not the only people to be affected due to gender biases, but it can also take place against men. In the article by Bettany, Dobscha, O’Malley and Prothero, the subject of discussion remained focused to the fact that gender biases are inherent within our society and are often concentrated intentionally with the objectives of profitability, especially when concerning marketing approaches taken by various commercial organizations. The funniest part was when I learnt that it is not self-made that our society treats women and men consumers separately or the same is witnessed when assessing the governance chart in corporate. The discrimination is actually built and nurtured within the society since decades. A simple question, that why we always segregate colors as feminine or masculine, gives justification to this notion. As I already mentioned, I was also dressed in pink in my childhood while my male counterparts were mostly dressed in blue. Similarly, why girls were meant to keep longer hairs and boys had their hairs cut short; certainly, because both the genders have their segregated identification with different roles to play within the society. However, this must not denote gender biases as it is a fact that both these genders have segregated roles and forms that also affect their abilities both psychologically and physically. Rather, as I could learn from throughout the course, gender biases occurs when someone is secluded or withdrawn from his/her liable privileges and that can happen with a men too as has many a times reported to be taking place against women. It is with this concern too that we need to change our perceptions and understandings when judging an instance for gender biases. I believe that such a change will result in a more transparent and lucid leadership practices within organizations, leading towards a sustained management performance of the same. Irrespective of the above mentioned experiences that I obtained through the course, I do agree that women have often been subjected to gender biases either knowingly or unknowingly – either by men or women themselves. Take the example of advertisement by Pantene Philippines in this regard. Now when I watch the advertisement, even being a woman I do realize that I have also made a few of these perceptions when watching a lady walk away on street but without a genuine cause. Simultaneously, now I feel that I might also have been judged by people around me, which is baseless. These segregations have long been used by marketers, when promoting their products, provoking our gender based perceptions that floral perfumes are for women and that women are subjected to classy, delicate and beautiful attires while men need to be strong, rough and challenging. Nevertheless, irrespective of these perceptions inherent to our judgments for men and women, we admire women who are outbound, challenging and sophisticated in their own way. Works Cited Bettany, Shona, Susan Dobscha, Lisa O’Malley and Andrea Prothero. “Moving Beyond Binary Opposition: Exploring The Tapestry Of Gender In Consumer Research And Marketing.” Marketing Theory 10.1 (2010): 3-28. Print. Cuddy, Amy J. C. “Gender & Work: Challenging Conventional Wisdom.” President & Fellows of Harvard College (2013): 1-8. Gentry, James and Robert Harrison. “Is Advertising A Barrier To Male Movement Toward Gender Change?” Marketing Theory 10.1 (2010): 74-96. Print. Maglaty, Jeanne. “When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?” Ladies’ Home Journal (2011): 1-3. Print. Nobel, Carmen. “Difficulties for Women Bridging Racial, Generational, and Global Divides.” Working Knowledge (2014): 1-3. Print. Nobel, Carmen. “Gender Contamination: Why Men Prefer Products Untouched by Women.” Working Knowledge (2013): 1-4. Print. Sandberg, Sheryl. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. USA: Random House, 2013. Print. Read More