Sexism (Against Women) In Car Advertisements - Essay Example

ID Sexism (Against women) in car advertisements emphasizing the stereotype thatwomen cant drive Introduction Maintaining with the tradition of sexism in case of advertisement, Volkswagen India introduced a video advertisement for strengthening the stereotypes that the women who drives are mainly lousy drivers. The advertisement focused on the fact that the women can drive cars without the fear of accident. The advertisement that is developed in the present days attempts to normalize the stereotypes culture about women driving cars. Equality between men and women is a never ending debate. Sexism is ruling from the mid of 20th century and it is still found in various places of the society. There is a myth prevailing from the past that the women can perform the household task better than outdoor activities. The men sovereign society believes that the women are not able to drive car more efficiently and swiftly as compared to the men. In order to remove and eliminate the myth, various advertisements are created by emphasizing on the fact that women too can drive well as that of men. Discussion The advertisement companies also prefer and select sexiest model for advertising their cars. It serves two purposes, it helps to eliminate the stereotype thinking of the people that women cannot drive as that of men and also increasing the demand and craze of their car by adverting it through a female model. Feminist has the ability of drawing attention of the public towards a thing. It is observed that several companies preferred to advertise their car through a female model. The commercial advertisement focused on the fact that in fifties the people believed that women cannot purchase a car without the help and guidance of men. They need to go along with a dude in order to buy a car. This advertisement was developed adding a tag line that the age old belief is required to be changed since now a days the women do not require the dude to accompany them while buying a car. The traditional thinking of the society is that the society is male dominated and the women are required to abide by the orders of the men. The advertisements are developed with the intention of eliminating the myth that only men cannot perform all the task, the women can also perform various activities if same opportunities and facilities are provided to the women as that of men. The commercial advertisement reflects that women cannot drive a car without the help of men, the advertisement was more emphasized by focusing on the fact that women encounters various problem related to car dealership but on the contrary the male counterparts do not face such problems or issues associated with it (Peppers). The super bowl 47 commercials also reflected that the women require men for guiding them while buying a car, since women are not as smart as men. The Go daddy advertisement portrays the characteristic of the women who is nagging her husband for purchasing the car which reflects that she cannot take decision herself and she requires the advice and suggestion of her husband. This advertisement failed to eliminate the stereotype thinking of the society against the women. The commercial advertisement failed to portray the sexist women in their advertisement. The advertisement faced criticism since it preferred sexist women model for their advertisement but the advertisement failed to reflect feminist in it, therefore the criticism it faced was, if it believes that men can only drive the car then why they don’t mention in their advertisement that it is the car which can be operated and driven only by men. The car companies mentions that it is a user friendly car which suggests that both men and women can equally drive the car. The car companies are required to select the sexiest women model which will increase the demand of their car and will also increase the feminist power in the society (Klein) The main problem in reducing the male dominance in spite of advertising the car by the sexiest women model is due to the various psychological factors that affects and influences the opinion and mentality of the men in the society. The men and also the society has taken the female for guaranteed , they believe that women are emotional and they are more passionate in using make up rather than performing the outdoor activities. The men are bread earners and they are more energized and muscular than women which suggest that women cannot come as par with men (Schneider 78). Even if an advertisement is done by a female model, it targets the male in the society. The commercial advertisement focused that all women perform nag and the men takes it away. Men are engaged in performing their task effectively and efficiently by showing their effort and obedience. But the women are mainly engaged in their makeover activities. This focuses on the frustration of the men on their wives. They believe that they can drive their car more swiftly as compared to their counterpart. The main problem associated with this commercial advertisements are why it is not mentioned or disclosed in the advertisement that the car is expected to be used only by men, since it is manufactured keeping in view the needs and requirements of the men in the society and this car is not suitable for the women to use. The advertisement of Fiat 500 launched in the year 2012 reflects the idea that women are forced for road harassment and the women are treated as the car which is considered as the purpose of use. The car advertisement company claims that they are reducing the myth of the society against the women, but the company fails in delivering adequate and proper message to the customers and the society, although they advertise their car through sexiest women but their appeal is different and the message conveyed through the advertisement is interpreted differently (Copeland). Women are mainly underestimated in various situations for example in United States on an entertainment program the women have a history of underrepresentation. In spite of increase in the role of the female characters in the society during the period of 1980 and 1990, the women are less portrayed in the advertisement as compared to the men, but the role performed by the women is less significant as compared to the men. The women are always portrayed as dependent on men. Women are portrayed in such a way that they are mainly assigned with the household work rather than performing the outside works. Women are considered as the only section that appears stereotypes in the television channels. The stereotype for men is stable as compared to the women (Kumar). The women face various criticisms in case of advertisement since it is against the culture. The advertisement is done through the women models and the companies generally prefer the sexiest model for their advertisement but they fail to convey the correct message to their target audience. The advertisements are not able to reflect the self-confidence and the smartness of the female and the sexiest model. The advertisement is required to portray or reflect the character of the women as self-dependent, confident and career oriented. It is very difficult to change or modify the belief of the people who are of the opinion that the women are happy housewife stereotype. Advertisement is considered as a powerful tool for selling in terms of marketing, but it can also be considered as the powerful tool or element for changing the behavior or attitude of the people. Hence the risk of advertising the stereotype women is that it can create various notions or belief that undermine or underestimate the abilities or capabilities of the women in the society. The male preferred for the advertisement were assigned with more active and aggressive role as compared to the women. The problem with the advertisement is that it mainly portrays stereotyping women in the advertisement which includes the women are portrayed as best suited for performing household task, women do not participate in taking important or relevant decisions, women are mainly dependent on men for taking any important decisions and the men perceives women only as a sexual object and they are not interested in women as individual or people. Conclusion In past the women were selected for advertisement of household products in commercial television, but with the change in time sexiest women models are preferred for other advertisement such as car, bikes etc. The car companies mainly preferred the sexiest female models for advertisement for increasing the demand of their car in the market and change the stereotype thinking of the people towards the women. The advertisement company although portrays women as self-confident in their advertisement but fails to deliver the correct and relevant message to their target audiences. The women are no less than men, since they can perform all task efficiently as that of the men if they are offered the same opportunity as that of the men. Works Cited Peppers, Margot. Commercial slammed as Fifties-era sexist for implying women cant buy cars without bringing a dude with them. July 24 2013. Web. 25June 2015. < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2376255/Commercial-slammed-Fifties-era-sexist-implying-women-buy-cars-bringing-dude-them.html >. Kumar, Akhil. Is Volkswagen Trying To Tell Us That Women Are Lousy Drivers? June 13 2014. Web. 25 June 2015. < http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2014/06/video-volkswagen-trying-tell-us-women-lousy-drivers/ >. Schneider, David . The Psychology of Stereotyping. New York: Guilford Press. 2005. Print. Klein, Jackie. The Most Sexist Commercials of Super Bowl 47. February 4 2013. Web. 25 June 2015. < http://feminspire.com/the-most-sexist-commercials-of-super-bowl-47/ >. Copeland, Libby. Baby, You Can’t Drive My Car. March 19 2013. Web. 25 June 2015. < http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/03/car_ads_for_women_does_the_industry_get_it_all_wrong.html >. Read More