Advertising ImpactAdolescent Girls Self Image

Vanessa Piper

Sex in Advertising

Tom Reichert, professor at the University of Georgia and author of several books on advertising, states it as “sex in advertising can be thought of as sexual appeal. By its very nature, advertising is an applied form of persuasion that attempts to inform, position, convince, reinforce, differentiate and ultimately sell products and services” (Reichert “What”).

Types of Sexual Content

Nudity/Dress Sexual Behavior Physical Attractiveness Sexual Referents Sexual Embeds (Reichart & Lambiase)

Nudity/Dress Abercrombie & Fitch

Sexual BehaviorCalvin Calvin Klein

Physical AttractivenessEmporio Armani

Sexual Referents Herbal Essences

Sexual Embeds Wonder Bra

Quiz

Question 1

Looking at magazines for just 60 minutes lowers the self-esteem of girls by about how much?A. 10%B. 30%C. 60%D. 80%

(Self-Esteem Discussion Guide)

Question 2

What percentage of girls would rather be a men’s magazine model than a doctor, teacher, or nurse?A. 26%B. 63%C. 78%D. 91%

(Self-Esteem Discussion Guide)

Question 3

The body fat of models and actresses portrayed in the media is at least ____% less than that of healthy women.A. 20%B. 35%C. 50%D. 65%

(Self-Esteem Discussion Guide)

Question 4

There is no doubt that most fashion models are thin. If an average woman is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds, what is the average height and weight of a model?

A. 5 feet 4 inches tall, 107 pounds

B. 5 feet 6 inches tall, 107 pounds

C. 5 feet 9 inches tall, 117 pounds

D. 5 feet 11 inches tall, 117 pounds(bam.gov)

American Psychological Association

Effects on Adolescence Cognitive and Emotional

self-objectification shame anxiety self-disgust

The mental and physical eating disorders low self-esteem depression need to be physically thin

Stereotypes

A girl’s ability to develop a healthy sexuality has been linked to self-objectification. Within attitudes and beliefs of girls and young women, it was found that those “who more frequently consume and engage mainstream media content offer stronger endorsement of sexual stereotypes that depict women as sexual objects” (Zurbriggen et al.).

Self-Objectifcation

Self-objectification (a term first coined in 1997 by University of Michigan psychology professor Barbara Fredrickson and Colorado College psychology professor Tomi-Ann Roberts) is defined as viewing one’s body as a sex object to be consumed by the male gaze (Heldman 52).

Boys – Men - Women

American Psychological Association, the impact on other groups, like boys, men and adult women was negative. The study found information showing that exposure to narrow ideals of female sexual attractiveness may make it difficult for some men to find an “acceptable” partner or to fully enjoy intimacy with a female partner. It also stated that adult women try to conform to younger standards of female beauty (Zurbriggen et al.).

Positive Advertising

Dove beauty products, have launched advertising campaigns that encourage raising the self-esteem of young girls and provide information on programs they offer to help parents and mentors give workshops for young girls.

http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/Self-Esteem-Toolkit-And-Resources/

Media Literacy

The ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms (medialit.org)

Parents - educate themselves so that they can teach young girls and young boys.

Schools – programs need to be implemented in schools to help young girls and boys understand that these images are of a sexual nature and that they have a negative effect on them.

References

Ad Decoder (n.d.). bam.gov. Retrieved from http://www.bam.gov/teachers/body_image_ad.html Calvin Klein. (2009, 29 January). popculturepost.com Retrieved from http://www.popculturepost.com/2009/01/29/calvin-klein-back-to-having-banned commercials/ Emporio Armani. (2009, 7 May). the count.com. Retrieved from http://thecount.com/tag/ad/ Fredrickson, B. (1998). The Self-Objectification Questionnaire. Socialpsych.uconn.edu. Retrieved from http://socialpsych.uconn.edu/Fredrickson_et_al_JPSP1998.pdf. Heldman, Caroline. (2008) “Out-Of-Body Image.” Ms. Arlington Spring. Vol. 18, Iss. 2: 52-55. ProQuest Research Library.

http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.sierracollege.edu/pqdweb?index=2&did=1473961551&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1269115105&clientId=7985

Herbal Essence Advertisement. (N.d.) Stanford.edu. Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/class/linquist34/advertisements/ 44herbalessences/thumbnails/44herbalessences2med.jpg “Media Literacy: A Definition…and More.” (1992) Medialit.org. http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/rr2def.php Men and Photoshop. (2011). Clive Owen. Kalathma.blospot.com. Retrieved from http://kalathma.blogspot.com/2011/05/men-and-photoshop.html Miley Cyrus. (2008). Miley Cyrus Bare In Vanity Fair: Tells Fans She’s “Embarrassed”. Huffington Post. Retrieved from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/27/miley-cyrus-topless-in-va_n_98836.html Reichert, T. (2010, 7 March). What is it? sexinadvertising.com. Retrieved from http://sexinadvertising.com/What/index.php Reichert, T. and Lambiase, J. (2003) Sex in Advertising. Mahwah. Lawrence Erlbaum. 14. Net Library. Retrieved from

http://www.netlibrary.com.proxy.sierracollege.edu/Reader/ Self-Esteem Discussion Guide. (2011). Dove.com. Retrieved from http://www.dove.us/docs/pdf/DSEF%20Discussion%20Guide%20for%20Mothers.pdf Self-Esteem Toolkit and Resources. (2011). Dove.us. Retrieved from http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/Self-Esteem-Toolkit-And-Resources/ The Dove Movement. (n.d.). wordpress.com. Retrieved from http://lawrites.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/the-dove-movement/ Thylane Blondeau. (2011, August 18). wordpress.com. Retrieved from http://yotsblog.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/thylane/ Wade, L. (2009). A Summary Visual of Women’s Objectification. Thesocietypages.org. Retrieved from http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/08/22/a-summary-visual-of-womens-objectification/ Wonder Bra. (N.d.).digitalartsonline.co.uk. http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/images/features/1150/eva12.jpg Zurbriggen, Eileen et al. (2007). “Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls.” www.apa.org. American Psychological Association,

http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualization.html