OK--- here are two items for you to look at. The first is a short video of me discussing the methods of the Dworkin/Wachs book, the link below it is to the Go Daddy commericial from the Super Bowl. I reference it in my first response to Al.
Dr. R.
BLOG DISCUSSION FOR WEEK STARTING 2/6 CLICK HERE
Hello students,
OK--- here are two items for you to look at. The first is a short video of me discussing the methods of the Dworkin/Wachs book, the link below it is to the Go Daddy commericial from the Super Bowl. I reference it in my first response to Al.
Dr. R.
Click here for the Go Daddy commercial I referenced in my respsonse to Al
OK--- here are two items for you to look at. The first is a short video of me discussing the methods of the Dworkin/Wachs book, the link below it is to the Go Daddy commericial from the Super Bowl. I reference it in my first response to Al.
Dr. R.
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My question and answer session will be from Dworkin and Wachs reading chapter 2: What kinds of subjects and objects.
Body Panic has me puzzled because it seems strictly subjective and their mentality is from the early 60’s and 70’s, or maybe it’s not the authors who are stuck in that time frame , maybe it’s me? So with your help and opinions I hope to see if my thoughts match yours, or do they match the facts our two woman authors.
Our topic is the Body project (Dworkin and Wachs, 30) the fact that women … and men have been objectified throughout the 1960- present (that’s where I can base my knowledge on).
Can you give me two examples for women and two for men where they have used the term “body project” to help move to a privileged status of some type, or to be put in a dominating category for personal growth? Please give your opinion of how this technique is used, and who uses it more, men or woman in the 2012 era?
Thank you for your help
Al
Hello All, I will prepare a formal answer to Al's assertion that the Dworkin/Wachs book is subjective. It is most definitely not. Let me post and introduce one very current example of a particular way women are objectified.I challenge you to consider the types of femininity and the types of masculinity that are on display here. Also, think about the two men- are they very 'macho,' or gorgeous men? Or are they 'regular' white guys? This needs to be part of the analysis as well.
http://videos.godaddy.com/popups/videos.aspx?ci=55110
Looking at the commercial for GoDaddy.com, I see the two plain, "white guys" as the subject in the "story." In this story your average Joe is accepted for who he is, and told that he too can be entertained by these sex symbols with barely any clothes on, if he uses GoDaddy.com for all his business needs. The ladies are not the subject in the story, but the object or "eye-candy" that the "guys" and the viewer get to stare at and enjoy for entertainment and pleasure.
The ladies are ultra sexy with perfect bodies, perfect hair, and perfect makeup. The media is portraying femininity in a very unrealistic way. Let's be honest, most women do not look like the Pussycat Dolls every minute of every day. Most of us never look like that even with our hair and makeup done, and sporting a sexy, little outfit. By airing this advertisement during the Super Bowl, GoDaddy.com knows that all kinds of men will be watching the commercial, and many of them will be the "average Joe."
This commercial implies that even the "average Joe" is masculine enough to be the subject of the story. The subject of the story could be as macho as one of the football players in the Super Bowl or as small, and nerdy as your "average Joe."
What I find very interesting is that most of the commercials during the Super Bowl totally ignore the female audience. It is as if we are living in the 1940's where women were in the kitchen cooking for the men and serving them beverages while the men watched the big game. In many ways the media is telling us that women do not matter. The GoDaddy.com commercial has the attitude that although many women will be watching the Super Bowl, it does not matter if they are offended by the commercial, because they are inferior to men,and will not have their own businesses requiring GoDaddy.com.
I was personally offended by many of the commercials presented to the Super Bowl audience. I especially did not like the Teleflora.com and Fiat commercials. Being a female Physical Education teacher to teenage girls who are constantly trying to dress like the ladies in the aforementioned commercials to be liked, I am outraged by how femininity is displayed by the media.
Al I have not gotten to the section in this chapter where they discuss “body project” so I will get back to you. I would like to touch upon the GoDaddy commercial that is being discussed. I am very torn with how I feel about how women are being portrayed as “objects” (Dworkin & Wachs, 2009). I understand how demeaning certain pictures or commercials can be, but I also feel that being proud of your body is empowering. The way GoDaddy is promoting their cite is pathetic, but the fact that woman can use their bodies and convince a man to buy into a website humors me. If two men were in the commercial discussing all the pros of their website most men would not have even given it a second look. Sex sells and we all know it is true. It doesn’t mean that it is fair or morally correct, but it works in our culture. Dworkin and Wachs (2009) cite Tolman (1994), “where girls and women are centrally concerned about making themselves into an attractive object of desire instead of “owning” or knowing desire for themselves.” I have been “centrally concerned about making myself an attractive object of desire,” but I also feel as though I own my own desire. I feel empowered when given the opportunity to be viewed as someone else’s desire. The women in the GoDaddy commercial wouldn’t be in the commercial if they didn’t feel empowered by it. Sorry ladies...I see both sides of the spectrum.
Laura and Rachel
Ladies I love the fact that we all see how beautiful these woman are, it’s hard to get your body and hair to be that perfect! I am a trainer at a women’s gym. These women have worked hard to get the bodies they have. These ladies are all successful (rock n roll band) and (a pro race car driver in an all men sport). So why did they agree to do the commercial did they sell out for money? Are they real role models for our daughter and young women, or has society changed what is acceptable and what is not. Both responses are awesome!! no wants to take a stab at the male enhancing body’s for gain?
I'd like to weigh in on the discussion about the GoDaddy.com commercial. I think that the fact that the two men are regular guys who go from doing the regular every day thing that guys do (sitting on the couch of their apartment hanging out) to being in "heaven" surrounded by attractive women wearing provocative outfits plays totally in the hands of the advertiser. For GoDaddy, it seems like the perfect ad for them to run during the Super Bowl. While "everyone is watching", I feel like the most invested demographic in the big game is the regular Joe that hangs out for six hours on Sundays watching football with his buddies. This is the demographic that saw this commercial and was probably the most interested. Clearly, the ad is using the objectification of women to market the website and using these beautiful women and their bodies to entice the viewer to sign up. The object of the ad (the Pussycat Dolls) is the eye catcher-- they are 100% the selling point of the commercial while the subjects (the two regular Joes) give the viewer something/someone to almost relate to in a way. The average Joe watching the commercial hears the guy in the commercial say "am I in heaven?" and subconciously relates to how the guy in the commerical feels in that moment. That, I think is the main piece of masculinity on display here in this ad. Dworkin & Wachs (2009) cite Bartky (1990), Berger (1972) and Young (1990) in saying that women and girls come to experience themselves as if someone were looking at them (as an object) and evaluate themselves based on their appearance and their successful presentation of self as an object (Dworkin & Wachs, 2009). I found this excerpt to be very interesting and I think it sort of goes hand in hand about what Rachel said about how sex sells in this country whether we think it is morally correct or not. The women in this ad are fully aware that they are being objectified, and I think they realize why they are included in the commercial. Whether or not we agree with its moral correctness or offensive nature may vary, but I think GoDaddy, as well as all of the ladies featured in the ad understand that the main point of the ad is "sex sells"-- the target audience was the average guy watching the game, and the object that they use to sell their website are the women featured. Rachel was right on point when she said that sex sells and we all know it is true. While much of it is offensive and appalling, I would agree with Rachel's statement.
You know a commercial has crossed the line when it is blocked when watching it at work. To respond to Al’s latest post, I think that with them The Pussycat Dolls and Danica Patrick have all sold out. This is not what I feel younger girls should be looking up to as role models. Society has changed now so little information is considered taboo. Just this week I was trying to get a good kid’s radio station on Pandora for the 8-10 year old students to listen to and it is nearly impossible. But, these students are exposed to this “clean” music on a daily basis on the radio. This commercial, I would think, is deemed acceptable by our society.
Ok, I’m taking a stab at it…as for the male enhancing their body for gain…I would have to mention David Beckham. His new underwear commercial is ridiculous. He is the definition of a sellout. Here you have a man who is displaying the fat-free form as the spokesman. The commercial, if you have not seen it has Beckham only in his underoos kind of like doing weird movements. He was a successful soccer player with (seemingly) more than enough money to retire and use his fame for good, such as charity work. Instead he is advertising underwear. I do not really understand the commercial either…is Beckham an underwear expert? Will his underwear make me play soccer well? It is just blatant selling out. The whole thing is cringe worthy.
In response to Al if there were no dates listed I would have as well thought this perspective was from the 60’s or 70’s. I was shocked at the data on the study they conducted on the current view of women. I would have thought it was starting to even out over the last 10 years. However, this was a qualitative study which was read and coded so I am sure it is accurate and conducted without biasness. Could it be that the study only focused on magazines? Over the last 5 or 6 years I have noticed a drastic increase in sports commentators who are women. Most of them are very knowledgeable on their topics. Also, the Williams sisters seemed to generate a lot of attention in the sports world. I have seen them in advertisements, TV shows, and in the media. To me these two examples would imply that women are gaining interest or for the terms in the text power or domination. Also, there are much more hair and skin care products than ever before. These products were first introduced by females so males followed their trend. These are small examples but perhaps it’s a start to develop a positive change for females as subjects.
In regards to the Go DaddY Commercial I totally agree with Laura. The companies ignore the fact that women watch the Super Bowl. The commercial was very distasteful and not appropriate for the time of day that it was on....kids also watch the game. They use Danica Patrick and the Pussy Cat Dolls to get guys to buy their product....sex sells in this country.
I found the godaddy.com commercial to be extremely distasteful. The women are obviously being displayed as sex objects (Like Rachel & Kenny, I also agree sex sells). Their outfits were not appropriate for my students who I know where watching the super bowl, but that did not bother me as much as their dancing. Children see half naked people whenever they go to the beach. However, the provocative dancing should not be on national television during the “most watched event.” The media definitely gets away with too much. It does not take much to connect why children are having sex at earlier ages compared to 10 years ago.
I think it is interesting that Dan brought up David Beckham. Considering, according to Dworkin & Wachs (2009), “men and women are coming to be presented in a more similar manner, as objects” (p. 34). The David Beckham commercial was unique, in the sense that, males are not used as often as sex symbols for commercials. A question, I would ask for my male classmates, did the David Beckham commercial offend you like the Godaddy.com offended some of our female classmates?
I am not sure of a man or women who have used the term “body project” to help them move to a privileged status of some type. However, I think of Suzanne Somers’ who has been famous for her “thigh master” and is always presenting herself wearing skimpy workout outfits. For men, I think of David Hassolehoff, who is famous for ripping off his shirt to be a lifeguard on a television show. Both of these actors used their body in some way for personal growth.
In response to the GoDaddy.com commercial, I feel that the advertising of this product has crossed and maybe created a new line for inappropriateness. I was a little embarrassed as the commercial ran during my family Super Bowl party. I could only wonder what my four teenage nieces and my two teenage sons were thinking. I now regret not talking to them about the commercial and its insulting nature toward women. I fully agree with Laura in that these women are portrayed as an object for men to salivate over while they decide if this is a good company to get a .com domain site from. Sex does sell, there is no doubt about it. Rachel is correct in that statement. It’s unfortunate that this was the choice of Danica Patrick, The Pussycat Dolls, their agents, and GoDaddy.com. They all made a profit from the beautiful, sexy women dressed as angels while selling their product to two young men. I believe the way I look at this commercial now has changed from what I would have thought of it 20 years ago. Back then I would have loved it!!! Now, with adolescent children, and many nieces and nephews, I worry about the way the world portrays women to them. The NFL, and NBC made a lot of money selling off their one-minute commercial space. Tasteless or Taste great that’s your opinion, but in my opinion I think maybe its time to bring back the Bud Bowl.
Women have been objectified for years just as the reading suggest. It will take years for this type of mentality to change. The Godaddy.com commercial is not very good and I don't think it sells their actual product. On a personal note as a male. I found that there is a transition for males to look at women as individuals and not sex objects. It's a matter of maturity but can be associated to the sociological aspects that can affect our perception. Hey Dan, how should they sell underware? I guess are all forms of the body suppose to be frowned on because of the objective and negative Connotation.
Wow!!!! Love the reactions
Kenny
“Sex sells”!!! We all agree! One question to you and the class, did anyone go to their site to see more or to look into getting or using a (.com)?
Dan
I agree with your comments, do you think other men feel degraded or jalousie, because they weren’t picked because their body wasn’t right or their status was not popular enough. T-bow turned down the offer! Do you ladies want to see what their man might look like in these under ware by going to the corprite site or do imagine what your man would look like in these under ware? Or are you enjoying the sex symbol parading around for you?
Rbap
I’m glad I wasn’t the only person to feel that we were stuck in the 60-70s, don’t we feel in the twenty first century that men and women can dictate their own life, live at home parent or C.E.Os. Men and women use sexuality when they can we use it to their advantage? Is it right or wrong its today’s society? Do you feel that men and women are becoming closer and closer to equality?
Amiee
Let me ask you and the class are America people so hung up on the sexuality of the human body, that we as Americans have turned the human body and sex into something very “dirty” and kind of taboo. In gym class we can’t go shirts and skins because someone might be subconscious of their body, doesn’t have to be the overweight issue, however that’s that new line ( fear of fat) …for males taking off their shirts other than at beach seems to be frown on.
This is great stuff anything else out there beside go daddy?????
Interestingly enough, whether we liked the commercial or were offended by it, GoDaddy.com made an impression on us. If at some point in our lives we are looking to build a website, we will all remember GoDaddy.com as a place to create it. In the end GoDaddy.com did what it set out to do, lure a a future potential buyer!
I would argue that 'sex sells' is not necessarily true. I will try to link here to a recent article and slideshow. Let me know your thoughts. TEXT
Here is the link to the slideshow.
SLIDESHOW
The ideas that Beckham's commercial is 'cringe worthy,' while the GoDaddy! commercial is tasteless are so interesting to me. If we are to really think from a sociological perspective, we need to think broadly and in the most socially significant terms. Beckham's body, it is safe to say, is a stunning and beautiful one. I am sure that his commercial appeals to both men and to women. I am sure that H & M is well aware of this. David Beckham represents on the one hand, a very masculine soccer star. He is one of the most recognizable faces in one of the world's most popular sports. Also, I read his commercial as very suggestive. To me, it is part of the "gay vague" idea on page 58 of DW. Also using some of Dworkin and Wach's analysis, he is turned sideways away from the camera and his body is truly on display from a number of angles. My question would is who benefits when heterosexual men dismiss this commercial with the following response "For all those women who think commercial are sexist, you are wrong because now you ladies can get a good look at David Beckham in the H&M advertisement." Here it is commercial
Hello... Even though I’m a bit late in joining in this discussion, to be honest I disagree with the majority of people on here who feel that both Danica Patrick, as well as the Pussycat Dolls have, "Sold Out."
By definition, selling out is a term that refers to the compromising of one's integrity in exchange for money or other personal gain. So my question is, if one never had legitimacy and/or integrity then how can it be compromised ?? Its not like Danica Patrick was this amazing world champion race car driver who won title after title and then all of a sudden decided to use her body in order to help her land advertising gigs. Patrick has been selling out all along. Similar to Anna Kournakova which whom we've discussed in class, it was never about her abilities as an athlete, it was about her good looks and how she could benefit financially from them.. Call these girls whatever you want, but they're not stupid.. Both Patrick and Kournakova were well aware they were never going to be a NASCAR or WTA champion. They knew from the start of their pro careers that they only had to be good enough to compete at that level of participation, and opportunities would then find them.
Can you blame these girls for knowing they had mediocre talent and had the need to make a living in some other way ? …Same goes for the Pussycat Dolls.. You don’t think they are aware of the fact that their own music SUCKS??... of course they know it sucks, but they know they look good on the album cover (well, except for the bald one). So again that is how they have been making their livings from the start.. Its not like their music was one style that was only popular amongst a small group of music fans, and then they changed to a completely different style in order to please a wider audience... That to me would be selling out..But they haven’t done that.. Their music hasn't changed, it sucked when they first arrived on the music scene, and it continues to do so.. So if fans buy their music for the way the girls look, then shame on the fans... but again in order to be a sell out, you would've had to have once been legitimate, and none of the people mentioned above EVER were...
The funny thing is I didn't know what godaddy was before this blog. Sounds good if you need a website. I'm not sure if seeing a commercial makes me go prowl the Internet or buy new merchandise at all? It has seemed to take a role of entertainment and i'm not sure if that affects the buyer in a negative way?
s for the David Beckham in his drawers commercial… Even though I have little respect for professional male soccer players because of the way they flop onto the ground and lay there for 6 minutes faking injuries while the clock keeps running, I have no issue with the Beckham commercial. I don’t think too many guys in the U.S. were running out to buy a pair of Jockeys or whatever brand it is for, just because David Beckham was sporting them in a Super Bowl tv commercial… I think the commercial had the opposite effect on most men to be honest.. Soccer is not viewed as a very masculine sport in the U.S., compared to in other countries…
Throw UFC Champion Jon Jones out there in his drawers in a Super Bowl television ad instead, and that to me would represent masculinity, … Beckham is way too much of a pretty boy… Woman may love his ad, but they’re not the ones buying men’s underwear…
I do think there is a double standard though, because had it been Victoria Beckham in her underwear instead, I think a lot more people with have a problem with that (def not me though) as in the case with the women in the Go daddy commercial. I think women are much more sensitive to this type of issue than men are, as a commercial with a hot woman in her underwear will def. have a much bigger influence on a young girl, than would a guy in his undies influence a adolescent male… Men would just change the channel and find something better to watch during the commercial break…
The GoDaddy ad wouldn’t be running if it hadn’t resulted in making money for the company in the past. Companies cater to what the public is interested in. It is hard to imagine that someone would make a decision on buying a website based on that commercial. The good news is that the GoDaddy commercial was not highly rated among all the ads for the Super Bowl. I think the women in the commercial see what they are going as a joke and if they didn’t do the spot there would be a long line of other women that would take their place. At my work I struggle with teenage girls and boys about being happy with their bodies. I know that advertisers take advantage of their “body panic” and have little concern for other ramifications for how they make a profit.
On the positive side, I like the publicity that Adele has gotten this week. I saw a portion of an interview where she talks about being happy with how she looks. I am pretty sure that young girls are paying attention to Adele and her music. Oh course I didn’t see a great deal of Adele’s body on display which speaks for itself.
This is some good discussion. I want to clear up what I meant by using the term “cringe worthy” about the David Beckham commercial. I felt it was cringe worthy because it seemed to be a stupid idea for a commercial. I do not see how that commercial would entice anyone to purchase that specific brand of underwear. We see underwear commercials all the time that don’t blatantly show women and men in their underwear such as Michael Jordan for Hanes, and the people in fruit costumes for Fruit of the Loom.
I agree with Brad in that Adele sets a good example of expressing how she is comfortable with the way she looks. Young males and females today need role models to look up to that are average people. The “role models” presented in television and magazines should not be something that young males and females should strive to be. Dworkin and Wachs talk about how the American people associate fat-free with healthy. As we all know now, that is not the case. Young males and females will never be happy with themselves if they strive to look like these models and celebrities because their figures are unattainable by a large portion of the American society.
Dr. Rosenthal, I am very confused on the slide show because that only proved to me more that sex sells. The eye is going to be more focused on the athletes sexually displaying themselves and not the athletic moves. I understand that if women athletes are displaying themselves sexually then certain people will most likely take them less seriously. Therefore, those ads are not selling their sport, but it is drawing attention to the individual. It angers me so much that a woman is looked down upon for displaying her body and a man is not. In our culture most people do not lose respect for a man that shows up shirtless on the cover of a magazine, but for a girl to be displayed on a magazine with less clothing is distasteful. Just like it is acceptable for a man to take a different girl home every night, but if a girl did the same she is placed into a promiscuous category. I am not at all sensitive to women putting themselves on display because that was their choice. I am sensitive to the fact that this woman will now be looked down upon by most and now no longer considered to be a role model. Who are you to judge a woman’s character just because she is not uncomfortable with her body? My Father used moments like the GoDaddy commercial or athletes posing in PLAYBOY as a teachable moment. A woman should not be disrespected because she embraces who she is and is comfortable in her own skin. Some things are classy and others are trashy, but there is not anything wrong with being proud of what you were born with. If you are going to judge someone for their own personal choice…maybe you are the one that needs to re-evaluate how you look at things and the message you are giving.
As for the Beckham commercial…I think what H&M was aiming for, no one is seeing. Who did that commercial mostly attract? Heterosexual women, homosexual men, and the “gay vague” (Dworkin & Wachs, 2009) crowd
What holiday is coming up? Valentine’s Day
Who will be buying the Beckham underwear for their loved ones or for themselves?
All the people that the commercial attracted. Heterosexual women will be buying the underwear for their guy in hopes of them looking as good as Beckham did. Homosexual men will be buying it for themselves or their loved ones. The “gay vague” (Dworkin & Wachs, 2009) crowd will be testing it out to see if they like it. The commercial may not have appealed to all, but there was definitely a method to their madness and I think it worked for most. As for Beckham I do not lose any respect for him. He is the Ana Kournakova of soccer. He has been using his looks to gain a profit for a long time, and if that is what he wants to do, then let him. I do believe it demonstrates Dworkin and Wachs’ (2009) point that more and more men are concerned with their appearance.
ESPN news has nothing on us! I agree with Laura. I also wonder if the advertisers did exactly what they had set out to do. They certainly created a commercial with a buzz and we now all remember the name of their website. Where is the committee who regulates what types commercials can be view on television? If we all agree the commercial was inappropriate, than something must be wrong. I also agree with CJ, the commercial made me feel uncomfortable around children.
I found the article, "Sex Sells Sex, Not Women's Sports" featured on www.thenation.com to be eye-opening.
In the article it said "... media images that emphasize femininity/sexuality actually suppress interest in, not to mention respect for, women’s sports." If we are to look at the way Ms. Vonn is portrayed on the cover of Sports Illustrated, I would have to agree with the author of the article that it left me disappointed in the female athlete. I remember these Olympic games, and the media portrayal of Ms. Vonn. I was put-off by how this superior athlete used the image of her sexy body to gain the attention of our nation. I quickly lost interest in her as an athlete, because I felt that she should have used her athleticism and fearless attitude to make her a heroin to her audience. When I looked at the slide show, that Dr. R posted, I sort of rolled my eyes at the images of athletes that were photographed in posed positions. As a woman athlete I am sick of seeing women athletes posing for the camera, because that is not what they do on the field, court, track, or course. We do not get to see their athleticism in the shot, nor do we get to appreciate their bodies "superhuman" ability. On the other hand, the image of Abby Wambach scoring against the Brazillian goalkeeper definitely caught my interest and made me proud of being a women. I felt empowered by this photograph, as apposed to the other images.
In terms of the Dworkin/Wachs video, I certainly agree with Dr. R. that woman are typically seen as Objects first, while men are seen as Subjects. Women are certainly judged on their appearance more than men are, which certainly isn't right in terms of moral ethics, but is the way the world, including the sports world has always viewed gender roles. Woman have traditionally represented beauty, while men have represented character.
I think that women in the last few decades have done a good job of promoting themselves and their sports, and I think this is very evident in the transition of Duke woman's Basketball covers throughout the past 25 years. Change of this magnitude certainly doesn’t occur overnight, but in a 25 year span, you can clearly see how woman in sports have gone from being viewed as Objects, where all the player went from wearing skirts and looking "proper" on the first cover, to the last cover where players were now looking fierce and aggressive on the court. I think this demonstrates the kind of strides women have made in this time period in the sports world.
However, I think in individual sports, such as tennis and golf, when a woman is all by herself on display, they are always going to be looked at Objects first.
In my own estimation I would guess that 70% of television viewers of sporting events, and sports shows such as "SportsCenter" are men. By nature, men can't help but be attracted to women, which causes them to look at a woman as an object. If women want to change this stereotype of being looked at as objects first, they will need to have much higher viewer ship, attendance, and support for women's sports. Even in a league such as WNBA, only an estimated 60% of their fan base is women. This clearly reinforces the dominance that men have in controlling sport. Woman need to support leagues such as the WNBA, the LPGA, and the WTA to the point where legitimate coverage of these leagues is warranted, and this in turn will enable the athletes of these leagues to be able to show off their personalities and character to a larger audience (which includes men.) This type of exposure to me would certainly make these athletes more of subjects, and less of objects...
This has really been an interesting discussion. In response to Jared, do you think having more female viewers of women’s professional sports is going to actually change how man objectify women? I don’t. I think if women’s professional sports were to become more “popular” it might help, but it is definitely not the only thing that would have to be modified.
Sometimes I think the problem with professional women’s sports is that the games are different and are not given a chance. As everyone knows, women sports came after men’s. So therefore, you are always going to compare the second thing to the first. Women’s high ice hockey is a different game then men’s hockey. I remember growing up hearing about the WNBA and men saying “the girls can’t shoot as good as the men”.
Even with the summer Olympics coming up, the women’s sports that will emphasized will be gymnastics, swimming, track, diving and volleyball. It seems as if NBC does not think anyone will watch the women’s field hockey, basketball or softball team. I don’t know what will change this, if it ever will. But sometimes I wish others would really look at the perspective of women’s and men’s sports because they are clearly not given the same stature.
I agree with Rachel and Jared and their comment about the David Beckham commercial. Seeing Beckham in his underwear did not make me want to go out and get some new underwear. I also agree seeing heterosexual women buying this product for their boyfriends/husbands and homosexual males purchasing this product for their partner/husband. The “Gay Vague” (Dworkin, Wachs 2009) stated that the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) community consumers have a $600 million worth of purchasing power. I believe that number alone will stimulate companies on how to attract buyers from the GLBT community. My question would be, does this type of advertising turn off the heterosexual male buyer and affect the profits off companies who target the GLBT community.
I'd like to weigh in on the comment that because men can't help being attracted to women that they automatically view them as an object. I think that's kind of an unfair statement to make. I think that there are a whole lot of variables that go along with that statement and while I understand where you're coming from, it just seems like way too much of a generalized statement.
I would also argue that individual women's sports garner much more attention than women's team sports. Athletes such as the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, Michelle Wie, and Danica Patrick are far more well known than any WNBA or women's soccer player aside from probably Mia Hamm. From that standpoint, yes, these women are objectified by men. However, I'm not sure how much the objectification of these athletes has a negative effect on their popularity. I think Aimee raises a really good point about the popularity of women's sports. I do think that a lot of it has to do with how it's always been-- people are always going to compare the second thing to the first thing, and usually they just say it's not as good. People do indeed tend to just dismiss women's sports before they are even given a chance in the first place and I would agree with Aimee that this is a huge reason that they are not given their due attention by many of the major national sports media outlets.
The Beckham underwear commercial was definitely cringe worthy. I'm not really sure how that could be marketed to men to go out and buy underwear. I agree with CJ that the ad is probably more geared towards women for the husbands/gay men for their partners.
The slide show was rather interesting. It depicts a few “sex sells” ads but I think it showed more pictures of how society pictures the “perfect women”. Our society has this image of the “perfect women” as seen in the All American Girl Next Door Picture. Our society also has an image of the “perfect women athlete”, use the Mia Hamm picture as an example. Mia Ham is arguably the best women soccer player ever and the picture is perfect because it shows her in a heterosexual role. The other pictures are your typical sexual ads. The Lingerie Bowl, we have to have women play football in their underwear so they still “look” like women, we can’t have them looking like “men” while playing how unattractive would that be. I am surprised that all women athletes are not forced to compete in skirts.
In regards to the GoDaddy commercial that is the definition of cheesy. There is an obvious concern for younger viewers to be attracted to how these women willingly objectified themselves. Wow they make average white men look so dumb too. We also must be aware of rebellions. Girl power and boy rage and the ability of cultural subjects to act as they wish, no matter what the messages "say". Subjects can and do take alternative meanings out of texts. Dworkin and Wachs (2009) Personally this commercial evokes the urge to rebel and think alternatively. The message I received as a husband and a father is that heterosexual men only desire women with rock solid bodies that dress like strippers... This is so incredibly cheesy and degrading on multiple levels. A younger viewer may assume that it will make them more desirable or popular to look like a stripper but it will equally anger a bunch of people off and cause them to rebel.
I'm not sure that people will rebel Sean. I do agree with you, it can be looked at as degrading. If you want to see degrading, look at some of the dresses at the Grammies. Awareness is definitely being aroused. Maybe what needs to happen is assignments in schools' that highlight what not to do like famous people. This would be very different from what we all experienced from our childhoods. Maybe the age of role models are fading.
In some ways I think we ascribe too much intelligence to the making of commercials. One of my favorite things to say to my wife after watching a ridiculous commercial is something along the lines of, “can you believe that a group of people in an advertising agency decided on that ad!!!” The only way to regulate poor advertising is to ignore it and not be influenced. I don’t want someone censoring what we watch. I wish we could be treated more like the smart the consumers that most of us are. It reminds me of my dealings with auto mechanics. Despite the fact that I have quite a bit of mechanical experience, rarely does a mechanic give me any credit for knowing what I am talking about. Advertisers seem to treat all of us like we are naive 16 year olds
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