Jean Kilbourne wrote a book called 'Killing Us Softly' which particularly focused on the reputation of women in advertising, but her theories can be applied to a range of media products (like music videos).
Her theories:
- believes that the media sexualises and objectifies women's bodies - portraying their bodies as the most important part about them.
- Believes the media places a huge importance on thinness and losing weight, and demonises women that are not thin. A focus on women trying to be thin, an unhealthy ideal.
- She thought that the media plays on women's insecurities to sell them addictive products with the promise of being able to change their bodies. For example: selling dietary products.
- Believes that the media glamourizes violence, particularly sexualised images of violence, against women.
- Women are presented as needing to be flawless- having no pores, no moles, no facial hair, no wrinkles etc. In comparison, men did not have to be constantly shown like this in the media.
- She believed that women were often seen as passive in media products
- Believes that women are often dismembered by framing in media products, with the focus on their body parts as decoration, and not on their face, or them as being human. A lot of the time in advertising, women's faces are actually cut off so only their body parts are present; the idea that it is the body that is what's seen as important, not the face or personality.
In this image you can see how violence and dominance over women is normalized and actually romanticised in the Dolce and Gabbana advert.
In this advert, flawless skin is shown as perfection and what is needed to be achieved- normal skin is not in the media and therefore women think that it is bed.
In this Fendi advert, only the models legs are on display suggesting that her legs are the only significant part of her as her face is cut out.
This magazine cover shows how women's only purpose is to have a 'sexy' body and be portrayed for the male gaze only.
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