How Does Jean Kilbourne Objectify Women?

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In today’s society, a person needs to be attractive, skinny, and light-skinned to be accepted. Companies today put out ads that objectify men and women as sexual objects rather than human beings. In her video, Killing Us Softly 4, media scholar Jean Kilbourne explains that men and women are sexualized and objectified in advertisements because that’s what sells. When you’re flipping through a magazine and you see an attractive man or woman on the page, you’re going to stop and look. My two ads for Natan brand diamond rings align with Kilbourne’s ideas about the objectification of men and women in advertisements

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Fig. 1. Natan Jewelry Ad 1

In my first advertisement, Figure 1, the picture has been taken from above. From this angle, the focus is put on a woman’s legs. The woman’s legs are extremely pale and thin, and the color of them causes the legs to be the first thing you look at. The woman is wearing a pair of black heels and there is indication of a black skirt or dress resting on her thighs. At the top of the image, you can see a man’s hands holding a ring box in front of the woman. Since the picture is taken from above, you can see the carpet in the advertisement. The color is …show more content…
With her legs uncrossed, the woman’s body language should be considered submissive. Even though you can only see the man’s hands in the advertisement, you can tell that he is the more dominant figure. In Kilbourne’s video, she talks about how women are portrayed as weak and unpowerful, whereas men are seen as strong and dominant. She also talks about how women are objectified and sexualized in ads. The advertisement in Figure 1 fits perfectly with these assumptions. The woman is basically being controlled by the man through the use of a diamond. She is also being sexualized and objectified. She is being turned into a sex object for the man. She is no longer a human being; she’s just a pair of
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