Sexism Sells

The use of sexism in advertising is certainly not a new phenomenon (White 2010) – and it knows no gender. Gill (2008, p. 38) argues that the use of sexism is as old as advertising itself but often presents women as objects of male consumption and pleasure. Just flip any magazine, turn on the television, or listen to the radio; and you’re more likely to come across some form of sexism in advertisements, be it towards men or women. Perera (2010) states that many ads these days have a sexist and offensive tone or content; and also plays on gender stereotype. So the question is, why do advertisers use sexism? Well, the answer is simple, and the title says it all: sexism sells.

Can boys play with Barbie dolls too? (source: myportfolio.usc.edu)

Aronson et al. (2005) argue that stereotypical beliefs often result in unfair treatment; this is called discrimination. Likewise, gender stereotyping leads to sexism, which is gender discrimination. Our attitudes and identities are influenced by this stereotype. From the time we were born, baby boys are associated with the color blue, and baby girls, pink. As a child, we are taught that boys ought to play with toy cars while girls are supposed to play with dolls. If the opposite occurs, it is not quite normal – or so they say. This pattern continues into adulthood, where men must work hard to support his family while women should learn how to cook and clean to be good wives.

(source: acidcow.com)

In the print ad above, it portrays a very straightforward gender stereotype that women can’t drive; or rather, are bad drivers. The tagline, “the mini automatic, for simple driving” indicates that women need automatic cars to drive easily, perhaps as they are not as capable as male drivers. The use of sexism here is very direct and highlights male dominance and superiority.

(source: acidcow.com)

However, in another print ad above, it depicts sexism against both genders, with its tagline, "thank God you're a man". For men, it portrays them to be the typical male who only care about sex and beer; whereas women are more complex and even emotional. Also, in male-driven scenarios, the imagery of women as sex objects are often portrayed (White 2010), and this again, is very apparent in the advertisement. Furthermore, the use of sexism definitely sells, and is utilized as a virtually foolproof sales mechanism (Murphy 2009).

Although gender stereotyping leads to sexism in advertising, it often does not reflect reality (Aronson et al. 2005). Hence, this issue needs to be addressed as the results may well be damaging in the long run in terms of gender equality and social beliefs (White 2010). However, this may prove difficult because as long as sexism sells, commerce will always dictate content (Murphy 2009).

References:

Aronson, E, Wilson, T, & Akert, R 2005, Social psychology, 5th edn, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Gill, R 2008, ‘Empowerment/sexism: figuring female sexual agency in contemporary advertising’, Feminism & Psychology, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 35 – 60, viewed 12 November 2010,<http://fap.sagepub.com/content/18/1/35.full.pdf+html>

Murphy, S 2009, ‘Sexism sells…but who’s buying?’, Murphy’s Law, 21 July, viewed 12 November 2010,<http://bullmurph.com/tag/sexist-ads/>

Perera, K 2010, ‘Time to kick sexism out of advertising’, Guardian.co.uk, 29 June, viewed 12 November 2010,<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/29/kick-sexism-out-of-advertising>

White, D 2010, ‘Selling stereotypes: sexism in advertising’, University of Missouri-Kansas City: women’s centre, 18 October, viewed 12 November 2010, <http://info.umkc.edu/womenc/2010/10/18/selling-stereotypes-sexism-in-advertising/>