Peterson 1

Mackenzie Peterson
ENC1101-115489
K. Thompkins
March 22, 2013
Sexism Isnt a Myth: Modern Advertising
In Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads: Sexism in Advertising, Anthony Cortese
analyzes the pattern of sexism in advertising. According to Cortese, sexism is any attitude,
behavior, institutional arrangement, or policy that favors one gender over another (128). Each
gender has a certain depiction as given by this industry. He says the female aspect is given as an
impossibly perfect provocateur. This image is young, attractive, and seductive; exactly what
every woman hopes to be. Despite the fact that this appearance is so desired, it can only be
achieved through heavy use of beauty aids (qtd. in Cortese 130.)
Males have gone from distinguished and polished to the buff, toned look of a Greek god.
Usually men are shown shirtless and oiled up so the light reflects off their muscles to draw the
eye. Then, Cortese states that advertisements are all about pointing out every flaw then quickly
coming back and giving a way to fix it. There are even ads that point out how advertising depicts
the human psyche. In my opinion, Cortese is spot on in his opinion of sexism in advertising
when it comes to women displayed as sex objects, the unachievable image, buff and blue collar
men, the increase in exercising, and ads that are aimed to shock the audience.
A simple glance through a magazine is enough to see the provocateur image women have
been labeled with in advertising. This is used to grasp mens attention by targeting their
emotions. Beauty ads grasp womens attention by going after their insecurities. Women see the
sexy models on television and assume that theyre supposed to fit within that narrow window of
femininity. It is not difficult to see this sexually charged female throughout print ads and

Peterson 2

commercials. In Karen E. Dill and Kathryn P. Thills article titled Video Game Characters And
The Socialization Of Gender Roles: Young Peoples Perceptions Mirror Sexist Media
Depictions" they discuss a study where subjects of both genders were exposed to the ideal
woman. More exposure led to more acceptance of this definition of perfection. A quote in the
article discusses how unrealistic this woman is by stating, the ideal bustwaisthip proportion
of 362436 would correspond to womens clothing sizes 1024, which translates to an
abnormally small waist and hips, but a medium-sized (and therefore relatively large) bust.
These measurements are not naturally possible. So when women see this and believe thats what
they must be, they go on diets and get plastic surgery when no one should fit this ideal. Carls
Jr. /Hardees have recently put out an ad for their Memphis BBQ Burger. This ad involves a
woman at the grill making burgers and a woman making pulled pork, then fighting over space,
and then accidentally creating the burger by dropping pulled pork on top of the patty. The women
are barely dressed and bronzed to perfection. Even though these scantily clad women fighting
have nothing to do with the food itself, its commonly used approach to grab the audiences
attention. The skin bared to the viewer draws the eye. When the viewer sees similarly dressed
people, the mind associates it with the commercial and in turn with the food. The spectator will
almost definitely start thinking about the burger and consider buying it.
Another common tactic is the cosmetics industrys use of pointing out the viewers flaws.
They mention common problems like acne, dark spots, and wrinkles, all of which plague women
for most of their life. The models who talk about having these problems are shown as beautiful
flawless women. The current trend is for makeup companies to be aimed at not only covering
flaws but also correcting them. Covergirl is a household name when it comes to makeup brands.
The women that are used in the commercials are beautiful with perfect skin. Its common for

Peterson 3

celebrities to show up in these commercials including Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Emma Stone and
Ellen DeGeneres. Women look at these models and imagine how much better theyd feel if they
could look like that. The viewer then starts buying products in an attempt to reach this
unattainable beauty. In Tom Reicharts article Sexy Ads Target Young Adults, he reviews ads
that young adults find to be sexy. It is pointed out that sexuality in advertising is sexist just
because theyre supposed to be the eye candy of the commercial. He furthered his point by
stating "You must look like this. You must act like this. You must dress like this. If you want to
attract a man or achieve some level of relational 'success' with a man, you need to follow these
rules." Women are made to believe that if they dont fit in this narrow realm of perfection, they
are undesirable.
Men used to be shown as slick and refined (Cortese 130) but are now shown like the
gods of Greek mythology. They tend to be shirtless with low cut jeans and tousled hair. A good
example of this is showing the difference between a 1950s Lee jeans ad showing a couple
dancing and a current Lee ad depicting a man with no shirt, completely ripped and unzipped
jeans barely holding onto his hips. Almost every man shown looks like they just chopped down a
tree or built a car with his bare hands. Its just the way men are illustrated in current media. This
could be due to the increase in women in the workforce and mens need to continue feeling
dominant. It could also be due to the need to feel more masculine and secure in a more
dangerous America. In an article written by Nancy Artz, Jeanna Munger, and Warren Purdy
entitled Gender Issues In Advertising Language, the authors claim that sexism is no longer a
problem and that things are getting better. They even quote B. Garfield saying, After three
decades of gradually weaning itself from naked objectification, advertising has apparently
decided that the benefit of crudely impressing men trumps the disadvantages of dishonoring

Peterson 4

women. This comment was added as an opposing view in their article which actually agrees
with my point. Even though Artz, Munger and Purdy believe sexism is a thing of the past, it is
plain for anyone to see on an advertisement.
Exercising is one of the biggest trends in America. With the obsession of looking fit,
gyms are huge selling points in apartment complexes everywhere. If that isnt an option,
advertising always reminds everyone that there are places like Golds Gym, Planet Fitness and
Anytime Fitness as if saying we need to work out 24/7. The people shown in the Golds Gym
commercials are the exact people that dont need to be working out. This makes watchers feel
inferior to those people and feel the need to sign up for these places in the attempt to gain that
appearance. Men and women work hard to get fit and gain muscle mass, sometimes even going
too far and developing muscle dysmorphia. In Tonya Hammers article Controlling Images,
Media and Womens Development: A Review of the Literature, she discusses how advertising
shows us what is the norm in society when it comes to the physical appearance. She says that
advertisers make girls overly skinny and sexualized to appear more beautiful and men more
muscular. People like to believe that they are above such simple tactics. Hammer quoted J.
Kilbourne in saying Advertising works best precisely because we dont think it works on us.
Women persuade themselves that they arent affected by how the female identity is portrayed on
television which is why it actually gets into their mind and makes it more effective.
Many ads are aimed to shock the viewers. In a way, its the only way to capture the
audiences attention. People have become used to almost every tactic advertising throws at the
viewers. So now, commercials are just made to make people remember them. GoDaddy.com uses
this by having their spokeswomen Jillian Michaels and Danica Patrick appear to be undressing

Peterson 5

then saying that in order to see more, the viewer must go to GoDaddy.com. Even though
GoDaddy.com is simply a website selling domain names, people are so taken aback by the
commercial that they go to the website to see what its all about. Another company that did this
was Dolce and Gabbana which displayed a man pinning a woman down. Even though they were
both fully dressed, many saw it as a sexual innuendo which grabbed peoples attention. In an
article by Brooke Styracha, she discussed a shocking ad done by Jessica Alba where she states
that "If you don't register and vote, you are muzzling yourself." The ad had themes hinting at
bondage which is not something you would normally see on television. Even she said that it was
necessary to shock people to get their attention.
In conclusion, Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads: Sexism in Advertising by
Anthony Cortese delves into the world of advertising. He talks about the sexual portrayal of
women and blue collar men. In my opinion, his most accurate points are spread throughout the
article. Women are shown as the provocateur. This perfect image is unattainable unless excessive
products are used. Men are rough and athletic. Working out is a major trend in todays world.
Even the need to shock is all the advertisers can really do to get the audiences attention. This has
become the acceptable ways in the advertising industry.

Works Cited
Artz, Nancy, Jeanne Munger, and Warren Purdy. "Gender Issues In Advertising Language."
Women & Language 22.2 (1999): 20-26. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
Brooke Bizzell Stachyra, et al. "Jessica Alba's 'SHOCKING' AD." People 70.12 (2008): 28.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.

Peterson 6

Cortese, Anthony. Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads: Sexism in Advertising. The Pop
Culture Zone: Writing Critically About Popular Culture. Allison D. Smith, Trixie G.
Smith, and Stacia Rigney Watkins. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. 128134. Print.
Dill, Karen E., and Kathryn P. Thill. "Video Game Characters And The Socialization Of Gender
Roles: Young Peoples Perceptions Mirror Sexist Media Depictions." Sex Roles 57.11/12
(2007): 851-864. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
Hammer, Tonya R. "Controlling Images, Media, And Women's Development: A Review Of The
Literature." Journal Of Creativity In Mental Health 4.3 (2009): 202-216. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
Reichert, Tom. "SEXY ADS Target Young Adults." USA Today Magazine 129.2672 (2001): 50.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.