ShyGuyInChicago
April 21st, 2011, 04:29 PM
http://www.warwickonline.com/view/full_story_news/12756667/article-Sex-in-ads-fosters-violence--says-author?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
SEX IN THE MASS MEDIA: Jean Kilbourne, award winning author and filmmaker, spoke at the Radisson Hotel on Post Road last week in spirit of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Her presentation focused on how images in advertising contribute to sexual violence, particularly in relation to children and young adults. She offered advice on how to combat the issue.
“Sex is used to sell everything,” said Jean Kilbourne, award-winning author and filmmaker. “The objectification of women in advertising and throughout the popular culture creates a climate that encourages violence against women and young girls.”
In spirit of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which is April, Kilbourne spoke at the Radisson Hotel on Post Road last week. She believes certain images cause people to loose their sense of sexuality and feels they influence the sexual abuse of children, teenage pregnancy, eating disorders, and other issues concerning low self-esteem for both genders of all ages.
“The definition of ‘sexy’ in the popular culture excludes almost everyone,” she said. “It excludes the imperfect, the disabled, and the middle-aged, especially for women. The ideal image of beauty is completely artificial and constructed. I think [many advertisements] are actually anti-erotic because they can make people feel less desirable. How sexy can you feel if you hate your body?”
While she said there is “nothing wrong” with wanting to be attractive, the mass media places a great deal of emphasis on being absolutely flawless and excessively thin. The problem is that these ideals are unrealistic.
“What’s wrong is that it is emphasized for girls at incredibly young ages and to the exclusion of other important qualities and aspects,” said Kilbourne. “It causes real harm to real girls and women. They are put into an impossible double bind. They are getting the message that they are supposed to be innocent yet sexy, and virginal but experienced. As many of you know, this is tricky. It’s also insulting.”
She also said sex in advertising is “relentlessly heterosexist.” She believes gay men barely exist outside the publications that target them and the portrayal of lesbians, “almost always comes straight from the world of porn with women fondling and titillating one another.”
Furthermore, she said heterosexual men are often influenced to be insensitive and brutal by advertisements.
“Masculinity is often associated with violence,” said Kilbourne. “Men are encouraged to be tough and insensitive. It causes men to devalue not only woman, but also qualities that are labeled feminine by the culture, like compassion, empathy, intuition, and sensitivity. Men are socialized to repress these qualities.”
Kilbourne said the use of the Internet has promoted this type of behavior, as it offers society an “inescapable” and easy way to access pornography, which she finds damaging to sexuality. She reminded everyone that pornography was more difficult to acquire twenty years ago.
“People certainly don’t have to go to adult book stores and seedy parts of town anymore,” said Kilbourne. “In fact, 12 percent of all websites are pornography. 25 percent of all search engine requests are for porn. This is all available to children who often stumble upon it.”
As girls learn from a very early age that their sexualized behavior and appearance are often rewarded in society, Kilbourne said they often sexualize themselves and view themselves as objects. She feels they are taught to see this as their own choice as a declaration of empowerment to present themselves in clichéd and stereotypical ways.
“Perhaps the saddest thing is how many girls and young women have been convinced that dressing and acting like porn stars and servicing boys and men without any expectation of mutuality is liberating,” she said. “There is enormous pressure to be hot and sexy and it comes from the mainstreaming of pornography. It doesn’t do wonders for self-esteem.”
Another problem Kilbourne addressed is that females often internalize the messages they receive through advertisements. As a woman, she believes it’s difficult not to.
“The thing about cultural conditioning is that it runs very deep,” she said. “It leads to an awful lot of women disliking each other and projecting the worst kinds of messages on each other. It’s mostly subconscious, which is why one of the antidotes is making it conscious to women.”
Throughout her studies, Kilbourne said she came to the conclusion that sexual images are not intended to sell children on sex. Rather, they are meant to keep them shopping.
“It’s to promote consumerism, not just in childhood, but through the rest of their lives,” she said. “When children are encouraged to link shopping with sex and to think of sexuality as something that can be bought, they’ll be hanging out in malls the rest of their lives. The corporations say, ‘well, if you don’t want your child seeing this stuff then don’t let them watch it,’ which is really like saying, ‘the air is poisoned; don’t let them breathe.’”
However, Kilbourne said she doesn’t believe it’s always a conscious conspiracy on behalf of advertising companies. It’s possible some of them are unaware of the damage they inflict.
“I don’t think they get together in their board rooms and say, ‘let’s warp the psyche of the nation,’ but I think of lot of it is the certain by-product of using stereotypes to sell stuff,” she said. “Some of these products make a living by making women feel terrible about themselves. They can’t sell their stuff without preying on and creating insecurity, fear, and dread.”
In order to combat these problems, she said it is important to first recognize it as a threat to society. She even sees it as a public health issue.
“Treating violence against women as a public health issue means changing the environment, making it unacceptable,” Kilbourne said. “We can do that through citizen activism, education, discussion, teaching media literacy, and working together to change the norms.”
Kilbourne’s interest in the topic started in the late sixties. She began collecting advertisements she thought were threatening to society and put together a slide presentation of images she believed to be problematic and it eventually blossomed into more.
“I didn’t intend to make a career out of it but that’s how it happened,” she said. “One thing led to another and it struck me that this was a very powerful source and it needed to be looked at.”
After she graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in English, she had to go to secretarial school to get a job. One way women could make a decent living was by modeling.
“In those days, I had some experience as a model,” she said. “It was very alienating. It left me with a life long interest in the whole idea of the image.”
Kilbourne’s presentation was one in a series of events organized by Johnson & Wales University’s Gender Equity Center, and Day One, a local organization that offers a wide range of programs for individuals affected by sexual assault and domestic violence. Her speech was also in honor of Civility Week, which was March 28 through April 1.
Korina Ramsland, Director of the Gender Equity Center at Johnson & Wales, said, “it’s a wonderful opportunity to join together our educational programs and our prevention and awareness campaigns on college campus. It brings both community and college together. It’s about engaging both men and women.”
In addition to graduating from Wellesley College, Kilbourne has a doctorate in education from Boston University, as well as an honorary doctorate from Westfield State College. She is primarily known for her film series, Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women, which was released in 1979 and updated three times. She is the co-author of Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Feel; So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids; and Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising.
SEX IN THE MASS MEDIA: Jean Kilbourne, award winning author and filmmaker, spoke at the Radisson Hotel on Post Road last week in spirit of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Her presentation focused on how images in advertising contribute to sexual violence, particularly in relation to children and young adults. She offered advice on how to combat the issue.
“Sex is used to sell everything,” said Jean Kilbourne, award-winning author and filmmaker. “The objectification of women in advertising and throughout the popular culture creates a climate that encourages violence against women and young girls.”
In spirit of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which is April, Kilbourne spoke at the Radisson Hotel on Post Road last week. She believes certain images cause people to loose their sense of sexuality and feels they influence the sexual abuse of children, teenage pregnancy, eating disorders, and other issues concerning low self-esteem for both genders of all ages.
“The definition of ‘sexy’ in the popular culture excludes almost everyone,” she said. “It excludes the imperfect, the disabled, and the middle-aged, especially for women. The ideal image of beauty is completely artificial and constructed. I think [many advertisements] are actually anti-erotic because they can make people feel less desirable. How sexy can you feel if you hate your body?”
While she said there is “nothing wrong” with wanting to be attractive, the mass media places a great deal of emphasis on being absolutely flawless and excessively thin. The problem is that these ideals are unrealistic.
“What’s wrong is that it is emphasized for girls at incredibly young ages and to the exclusion of other important qualities and aspects,” said Kilbourne. “It causes real harm to real girls and women. They are put into an impossible double bind. They are getting the message that they are supposed to be innocent yet sexy, and virginal but experienced. As many of you know, this is tricky. It’s also insulting.”
She also said sex in advertising is “relentlessly heterosexist.” She believes gay men barely exist outside the publications that target them and the portrayal of lesbians, “almost always comes straight from the world of porn with women fondling and titillating one another.”
Furthermore, she said heterosexual men are often influenced to be insensitive and brutal by advertisements.
“Masculinity is often associated with violence,” said Kilbourne. “Men are encouraged to be tough and insensitive. It causes men to devalue not only woman, but also qualities that are labeled feminine by the culture, like compassion, empathy, intuition, and sensitivity. Men are socialized to repress these qualities.”
Kilbourne said the use of the Internet has promoted this type of behavior, as it offers society an “inescapable” and easy way to access pornography, which she finds damaging to sexuality. She reminded everyone that pornography was more difficult to acquire twenty years ago.
“People certainly don’t have to go to adult book stores and seedy parts of town anymore,” said Kilbourne. “In fact, 12 percent of all websites are pornography. 25 percent of all search engine requests are for porn. This is all available to children who often stumble upon it.”
As girls learn from a very early age that their sexualized behavior and appearance are often rewarded in society, Kilbourne said they often sexualize themselves and view themselves as objects. She feels they are taught to see this as their own choice as a declaration of empowerment to present themselves in clichéd and stereotypical ways.
“Perhaps the saddest thing is how many girls and young women have been convinced that dressing and acting like porn stars and servicing boys and men without any expectation of mutuality is liberating,” she said. “There is enormous pressure to be hot and sexy and it comes from the mainstreaming of pornography. It doesn’t do wonders for self-esteem.”
Another problem Kilbourne addressed is that females often internalize the messages they receive through advertisements. As a woman, she believes it’s difficult not to.
“The thing about cultural conditioning is that it runs very deep,” she said. “It leads to an awful lot of women disliking each other and projecting the worst kinds of messages on each other. It’s mostly subconscious, which is why one of the antidotes is making it conscious to women.”
Throughout her studies, Kilbourne said she came to the conclusion that sexual images are not intended to sell children on sex. Rather, they are meant to keep them shopping.
“It’s to promote consumerism, not just in childhood, but through the rest of their lives,” she said. “When children are encouraged to link shopping with sex and to think of sexuality as something that can be bought, they’ll be hanging out in malls the rest of their lives. The corporations say, ‘well, if you don’t want your child seeing this stuff then don’t let them watch it,’ which is really like saying, ‘the air is poisoned; don’t let them breathe.’”
However, Kilbourne said she doesn’t believe it’s always a conscious conspiracy on behalf of advertising companies. It’s possible some of them are unaware of the damage they inflict.
“I don’t think they get together in their board rooms and say, ‘let’s warp the psyche of the nation,’ but I think of lot of it is the certain by-product of using stereotypes to sell stuff,” she said. “Some of these products make a living by making women feel terrible about themselves. They can’t sell their stuff without preying on and creating insecurity, fear, and dread.”
In order to combat these problems, she said it is important to first recognize it as a threat to society. She even sees it as a public health issue.
“Treating violence against women as a public health issue means changing the environment, making it unacceptable,” Kilbourne said. “We can do that through citizen activism, education, discussion, teaching media literacy, and working together to change the norms.”
Kilbourne’s interest in the topic started in the late sixties. She began collecting advertisements she thought were threatening to society and put together a slide presentation of images she believed to be problematic and it eventually blossomed into more.
“I didn’t intend to make a career out of it but that’s how it happened,” she said. “One thing led to another and it struck me that this was a very powerful source and it needed to be looked at.”
After she graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in English, she had to go to secretarial school to get a job. One way women could make a decent living was by modeling.
“In those days, I had some experience as a model,” she said. “It was very alienating. It left me with a life long interest in the whole idea of the image.”
Kilbourne’s presentation was one in a series of events organized by Johnson & Wales University’s Gender Equity Center, and Day One, a local organization that offers a wide range of programs for individuals affected by sexual assault and domestic violence. Her speech was also in honor of Civility Week, which was March 28 through April 1.
Korina Ramsland, Director of the Gender Equity Center at Johnson & Wales, said, “it’s a wonderful opportunity to join together our educational programs and our prevention and awareness campaigns on college campus. It brings both community and college together. It’s about engaging both men and women.”
In addition to graduating from Wellesley College, Kilbourne has a doctorate in education from Boston University, as well as an honorary doctorate from Westfield State College. She is primarily known for her film series, Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women, which was released in 1979 and updated three times. She is the co-author of Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Feel; So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids; and Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising.