Jean Kilbourne: The Cultural Stereotypes Of Women

Advertisers use images that depict women in many ways such as to be sex objects, pure, animals, one with nature, or as beings that need to be dominated by a male. But these are preconceived ideas that society already has. Advertisements don’t really have an impact on society, what advertisements do show are common widespread beliefs that society doesn’t realize we have. Women have obvious characteristics that demarcate them from men, but society has also created cultural characteristics that also differentiate them from men. These cultural characteristics are what give people like Jean Kilbourne, an award-winning author and educator, the ability to over victimize women, and advertisers the power to disrespect and demean the,We as human put

For example, childbirth is part of being a women, men can not give birth. But the work that comes after birth is not natural. Men can easily take care of a newborn the same way women have to. It is us as a society that made this job a “natural” part of women, when it really is not. It is part of our culture to genderize everything, nature has three definitions one for women, one for men, and the general idea or concept of what nature is. For women nature is seen as pure, calm, and maybe even weak. I say weak because when we are one with nature is when we are most vulnerable. Women stay at home, cook and clean, and give birth to children. In advertisements that want to depict nature, there are going to be flowers, grass, trees, and white women most likely wearing white, because white is seen as pure. For men nature would be them being dominant, and doing outdoor activities that involve them taking control of nature. The general understanding for nature would be something that is produced from the earth, such as trees and flowers, or something that occurs that is just a part of us, like childbirth.

It is natural for women to find pleasure in pleasuring men. “...All of this danger and perversion is incorporated as pleasurable and erotic, especially for a male viewer who is in proper control of the situation...”(Sturgeon 725) She might back this argument up by pointing out that in smaller font the Ad says “Fill your desire for something long, juicy, and flame-grilled with the new BK super seven incher. Yearn for more after you taste the mind blowing burger.” The Ad is suggesting that women are sex crazy and can’t get enough of men, and desire having sexual relations with men. Burger King only released this Ad because it's a concept they can see in society. Society believes it is natural for women to succumb to men, and aim to always please them. And when advertisers make a concept like this one so blunt and obvious, society is able to see the problem. The problem with advertisements is that they always looking from afar they seem innocent, but after reading the text on the Ad or looking at the picture depicted you can see the message they are low key trying send across, besides trying to sell a product. This message usually relates to a social problem, or something you can see in our culture. These ideas aren’t usually obvious to us in everyday life, so when they are presented to us so bluntly, people don’t realize that the ideas come from us