The Objectification of Women by Equating Their Bodies to Sources of Income

Figure 1: Advert for Keto. Source: https://www.google.com/search?q=adverts+for+Vital+Max+Keto&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=ACYBGNT7VlnG-wIpAfQzLdsSOYUMIe-Cfw:1575777495664&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=1Ld2yyNagbQBkM%253A%252Ccj9sQKe6fQDFxM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTC1wrb1nIW3IicNyyx0VFDcnCKSA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjR3f7OlKXmAhWWDGMBHZ1-CqcQ9QEwC3oECAkQCQ#imgrc=1Ld2yyNagbQBkM:&vet=1 

The Fig. 1 above advert exemplifies the objectification of women by equating their bodies to sources of income among people. The reason is that it can be seen that next to the woman’s body, there is a price tag that tells people the need to pay for the slimming product as soon as possible. To the advertisers, their central concern is to use the body of the woman to attract the attention of the audience and then drive it next to the monetary aspect that appears to be the central theme. As our textbook notes on page 199, women are mostly stigmatized by weight issues. That is why they will do everything within their power to lose the excess weight they may have put on. That is where the objectification of women comes in. When it comes to queerness, it is possible to see that the advert places the slimming product, Keto, closer to the viewer than the female model. It appears to them that selling the product is a priority. That is why the product is placed closest to the viewer so that she can see it first. A description of the product is also vivid, making it possible for the audience to see what the product can do for them. The audience for the fig.1 advert is women who would like to lose their weight.

F igure 2 : Coca Cola Advert. from https://www.google.com/search?q=the+use+of+female+models+on+Coca+Cola+adverts&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=ACYBGNRfj2_S3N7qy3ffaaa1EN4mVHewdQ:1575777835533&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=Z-j4Ji5xlrQmCM%253A%252CHAcyThjU9enCdM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kRlcLKnmB83J01Y61ljeBKarPdP4A&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjIyYbxlaXmAhUb4OAKHb0iAwIQ9QEwCnoECAkQCQ#imgrc=ElVQXvaQLG2Z9M:&vet=1 

The above advert shows the commoditization of women as having unique selling points that can be used to attract the attention of men. The above advert targets men. The reason is that it has given prominence to a skimpily dressed woman at the expense of the Coca Cola product that is being advertised. The voluptuous cleavage of the model and the half-exposed breast will surely make men's mind hover over the bosom for long before moving to the left-hand side where a small bottle of Coca Cola is found. More so, the printing of the words Coca Cola just around the navel area of the woman is also likely to stir the emotions of men. In so doing, the whole advert has made the woman appear as if she is the commodity that is on sale. That is why her image has taken up more than three-quarters of the space of the advert.

Queerness in fig.2 advert comes from how the sexualisation of the Coca Cola product has been done. It is possible to see that the advert has more sexual undertones that outshine the product that is being advertised. The woman used in the advert holds a tiny bottle of the Coca Cola product. Apart from the name of the product appearing underneath, the audience is not told of any benefits of buying the drink apart from the fact that it is selling at 5c.

Figure 3 : Objectifying of women advert from https://www.google.com/search?q=adverts+having+women&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=ACYBGNQi9_Zjm37UegySa5U9_mwXdUDxgw:1575778236977&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=tGptlB4o7O4qOM%253A%252CFpuukZ_Hb71JcM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQ8mVinMl86OZWCuPelyo5Bxfd2rQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwib77ywl6XmAhXD6eAKHXBgCXwQ9QEwAnoECAoQBg#imgrc=yV4gI9ZjbXFTbM:&vet=1 

The concept of queerness is apparent in Fig.3 advert, as it shows that alcohol is more significant than a woman. The queerness is demonstrated by how a bottle of Budweiser beer is placed side by side to the figure of a woman. From the advert, the beer bottle is more significant than the woman. The target audience of this advert is men. The message being sent is that beer is bigger than women. Sexual undertones are being presented in this advert, as it is apparent that given a choice between a beer and a woman, men will go for a beer as it is bigger and stronger than the half-dressed woman next to it. The concept of objectification is shown in the advert as it shows women as being sexual objects that can be compared to beer. In comparison, the beer appears to be more popular than women. The comparison aspect is done from an objectification angle. From our textbook page 196, we get the message that focusing on sexuality deflects people’s views to other fields that show how gendered power is manifested. That is why the advert has made a comparison between the woman and the bottle of beer, and the greatness of the beer appears higher than that of the woman.