Commercials: Exploiting women
For anyone who watches television, commercials have become a major part of life. One cannot change the channel without being bombarded with some sort of advertisement. To the untrained eye, a commercial may simply be the annoying break during their favorite television show. Some might actually enjoy commercials for their comical elements. However, like the other media outlets discussed on this page women are exploited in commercials.
Cleaning
As described by Lorber, men and women are separated by a social institution created by society in order to maintain men’s dominance over women. Women have traditionally been treated as the inferior gender. They are stereotypically characterized as passive, caregivers, inferior as well as sex objects (1994). These stereotypes are often portrayed in various advertisements. For example, commercials reinforce the concept that housework is the job of women, and women belong in the home. These commercials are often specifically marketed for women as they typically feature a woman utilizing the product. Piety (2009) points out, that women are sometimes even shown having a sort of romantic relationship with cleaning products. The mop brand, Swiffer,” has a series of commercials depicting the relationship between a woman and her mop and broom as a romantic relationship (Piety 2009). The Mr. Clean commercials are an older example of how women are portrayed as the primary house worker, as it featured a man who saves the housewife by providing her with a more efficient cleaning tool (Piety 2009). Essentially, through the use of commercials, women
are marketed to the public as primary house workers.
are marketed to the public as primary house workers.
Sex
Not only are women portrayed as belonging in the house, but they are often depicted as sex objects. If women are not shown holding a mop in a commercial, they will most likely be portrayed as some sort of sexual object. Often women are shown in bikinis, or revealing outfits when advertising different products such as beer, cars, clothing, shoes, or food (Piety 2009). Also, due to the desensitization of sex, advertisements of strip clubs and escort services are becoming more common. As stated by Piety (2009), “These ads carry a double whammy. At the first level they offer a particular representation of women and of female beauty that may be unattainable for most women. But worse, they also highlight that in these businesses, women are the commodity.”
Essentially, gender is a social construction that creates the distinction between men and women necessary to maintain a gender stratification system in which women are considered inferior to men in almost every regard, and commercials are simply another outlet for this stratification and exploitation of women to continue.