It Is Profitable To Make Women Feel
Ugly
marily gayeta
They
are visual feasts we see everywhere . Images
of goddesses descended from the
heavens . They mesmerize us as they
appear on our television screens . They seduce us as they arch their backs on glossy magazine covers and giant billboards . They entice us with their wicked smiles as they
pop up on our computer monitors . Women in the media , particularly in beauty advertisements . All are epitomes of modern beauty : lean
body , hour-glass figure , silky
hair , flawless white skin .
A study in the US reveals that the average
woman sees 400 to 600 advertisements a day.By the age of 17, an average girl has seen 250,000
ads. More than half of
these advertisements use the concept of
“ beauty ” as a product appeal. The
product is not necessarily cosmetics or fashion items --- it can be a fast food
restaurant , a smart phone or even a car
. But just the same , they attract consumers
by using beautiful women in the ads. According to Chris Downs and Sheila Harrison ,
whose study was published in Sex
Roles: A Journal of Research, one out of every 3.8 television commercials has a message about
attractiveness in it.
Apparently
, advertisements are doing the jobs they are intended to do. Otherwise , the advertising and the
cosmetic industries would not have grown into the giant industries that they are . But how do ads work ? Dr. George Gerbner , a communications
expert who conducted extensive research on the effects of television on people , came up with
Cultivation theory . A major idea
from this theory says
that repetitive exposure to something will have
cumulative effect over time . Gerbner’s
study actually did not focus on
beauty advertisements , but the
conclusions are applicable. To expound on his findings , if you bombard
women with propaganda showing what “ beauty” should be and
with ads of products that would supposedly make them beautiful
, they would believe it ---instantly or
eventually. Even if there is resistance at the beginning , women will finally cave in.
The
visual images in the ads transmit the
intended message more effectively than words do . Physical beauty is all that
matters and it can be achieved by buying
and using a particular product. This is
the message that seeps into the
sub-conscious mind of women and subsequently affects their feelings. And
research says that those feelings
are, most of the time, negative.
When
ordinary women look at these idealized
images and then look at themselves in the mirror , they see the stark difference. And that usually hurts.
Philip Myers Jr. and Frank Biocca , both academic
researchers , concluded in their study published in the Journal
of Communication, that a woman's self-perceived body image
can change after watching a half-an-hour of television programming and
advertising. On the other hand , the research of Yoku Yamamiya and Thomas F. Cash yielded
a more alarming result :
"Even a 5- minute exposure to thin-and-beautiful media images
results in a more negative body image than does exposure to images of neutral
object.”
Tiggemann
and Mcgill ( as cited in Serdar ) , on
the other hand , discovered that even
brief exposure to images of beautiful
females (11 images) led to increased levels of body dissatisfaction and
weight anxiety among women . This finding is disturbing because the number of
images used in the study is far less than what is present in any women's
magazine or shown in most television programming.
A
study by Duane Hargreaves of Flinders
University in South Australia had
similar results . Females who saw ads
with idealized female imagery experienced a greater degree of body dissatisfaction , negative moods and
anger. Teen-age girls are more likely to be negatively affected by what they see on the media.
The
studies mentioned above are just a small
part of extensive evidence showing
that women suffer emotionally
and psychologically due to exposure to
beautiful images in ads and other
forms of media.
But wait . Isn’t this the very intention of beauty advertising ?
To make a consumer feel sorry for herself because she has dark skin . Because she
is fat . Because she has pimples . Because
she’s getting old. Creators of the ad, and they are very smart, know
what’s inside the deep recesses of a
woman’s mind and heart . Fully aware of a woman’s vulnerable spots , they hit her self-esteem with underlying messages . You are not good enough . You are not pretty
enough . You are ugly . But then
, as she squirms on her couch with self-pity ,
she gets the other message . “ Don’t
despair , lady ! There’s hope ! Use our
product and you will be as beautiful as
these models .You will get perfectly
white skin .You will have this body . You will catch Mr. Right. “ The woman
now rushes to the nearest mall --- where
sales agents wait for the prey who needs only
very little pushing to buy the
product.
TV
shows are in connivance with the ads. Most women on TV ( soap operas
, entertainment shows ) are slim and white-skinned. Other females
who don’t fit this description
are more of the exception than the rule.
Some of them are on a show for
comic relief.
Today’s
women are willing and unwilling victims of the media’s portrayal of what “ beauty ”should be .
Though there are many great things that
the media can be credited for , this
is not one of them. Women are forced ,
or at least , are pressured to
somehow look like the women they frequently see on advertisements and TV shows.
But
aren’t women paying too much for psychological gratification and conformity ? And
how much of what we see should we believe ?
First
, let us take a look at the ads and
the endorsers’ faces . The
symmetry . The contour . The color . The “ texture” . Perfect . But how near are these images to the endorsers’ real faces ? And how
far did the air-brushing and the photoshopping
go ?
We
could learn a thing or two from the Advertising Standards Authority ( ASA ) of
the United Kingdom. The ASA –UK banned
several cosmetic advertisements which the agency thought were unrealistic and misleading
.
These
were the advertisements banned
in the UK ( but not in other countries )
: in 2012, L’Oreal’s Revitalift Repair 10
with Rachel Weisz as model ; in 2011 , Lancome’s Teint Miracle Foundation with Julia Roberts as model ; in 2012 ,
Dior’s Mascara with Natalie Portman as
model . ASA – UK officials claimed that
the images of the women in these advertisements ---- even if they are
really beautiful in real life ---were
too good to be true . Julia’s and
Rachel’s skin were too perfect . Natalie’s eyelashes were thick ,
long and prim beyond reality . Creators of the ad admitted “ digitally enhancing ” the images ---- and
this is on top of the hours spent by professional stylists preparing the endorsers for the
commercial shoot. These
things are normal in the ad industry . Thus , the images
that consumers see are actually
the combined result of the endorsers’ physical assets , IT people’s technical skills and digital
tools , and the make-up artists’ flair . Then , there are the well- choreographed
movements . And there is a
fan , yes , that fan--- gently blowing into the model’s hair. So many things come into play in the making
of an ad. It’s not just the model’s face or body . Never. Most of us know this ---- but we still get
duped.
banned in the UK in 2011
banned in the UK in 2012
banned in the UK in 2012
Consumers in the UK are fortunate to
have an agency that vigilantly screens
advertisements . They have a disinterested institution that gives them a wake-up pat in the face
before they get completely
hypnotized by the ad. But in most
countries ---- the advertising
industry is either loosely regulated or
totally unregulated at all. Consumers
are left on their own and just rush to emotionally-charged
purchases.
Aside from “ perfect faces” ,
another contentious issue is the
prevalence of images of thin women . Television , print media and the internet teem
with images of slim --- rather thin ---models , with
their collar bones and ribs sticking out. Twenty
years ago , models weighed
only eight percent less than the average woman that time . But these
days , models weigh 23 percent less than the average woman. One study reveals
that most models these days are 20%
underweight --- and this is far from healthy . Yet , women look up to them and
try to imitate them. The modern weight standard
is unattainable for most women ---
leading to negative self perception as
studies suggest . Then , they rush to
buy slimming pills ---- many of
which did not undergo strict laboratory
or scientific testing . In many countries , especially those with
corrupt governments --- it is very easy for businessmen to get permits for their products .Many consumers are not aware that sub-standard diet pills and misuse of standard diet pills may
have serious consequences like blurred
vision , unstable blood pressure
and congestive heart failure .
Women starve themselves to be slim like them.
“ White skin ” is another issue . The skin whitening craze in Asia and Africa
has gone to, well , crazy levels. And it
is being fueled by the media’s love affair with white-skinned models and leading ladies . Whitening soaps , whitening
lotions, whitening capsules. Then , there are whitening medical procedures like
lasers and intravenous glutathione . The
media continues to send the message that
white skin is more beautiful than brown
or black skin. Although skin whitening has been done by women for centuries -----it has never been so
popular and widespread as it is these
days.
Skin whitening advertisements are
everywhere in Asian countries . Many of the endorsers were born with
white skin in the first place.
That is clear deception. And it is
infuriating that governments actually allow them . ( There should be an ASA UK-
style in every country. ) And the
ads are getting bolder --- just a strand
short of directly saying that dark
skin is ugly.
These
marketing ploys are succeeding.
According to a 2004 study by global marketing firm Synovate, nearly 40 percent
of women in Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines used
skin whitening and lightening products that year. That was ten years ago. The
figure must be higher these days. In terms of
purchases , it is said that
Asians now spend US$
13 to 18
billion annually on skin whitening products alone .
Women want this skin .
Before and after . What's wrong with " before " ?
This
desire for white skin is mainly rooted in colonialism , particularly in Eurocentrism . Most
countries in Asia and Africa were once colonized by white people : Americans ,
British , French, Spanish . White is the
color of the masters. White is the color of wealth . On the other hand , black is the color of the
slaves. Brown is the color of poverty and ignorance.
Then
enter Hollywood , selling glittering entertainment with pretty sultry white actors and actresses . From Elizabeth
Taylor to Marilyn Monroe and now , Scarlett Johansson , Megan Fox and Jennifer Lawrence .Savvy businesspeople capitalized on the phenomenon ---- and
launched their skin whitening campaigns.
Their battlecry is based on an ancient saying : “ One whiteness can
cover three ugliness. ” ( Or seven ugliness . The number varies and it is
getting bigger . )
Westerners
who visit Asian countries are just shocked at the skin whitening phenomenon and the
prejudice that goes with it.
There
is a bit of irony here. Asians and
Africans nowadays are sensitive when it comes to racism committed by
Westerners. Yet , among themselves , there exists “ colorism ” . Colorism is a form of prejudice that favors lighter -skinned people over
dark-skinned people in the same
ethnic group. When Asians and Africans denounce racism yet condone colorism--- that is hypocrisy.
Chao-uanTsen,
a member of Awakening Foundation, a
womens' rights organization in Taipei , says that the whitening trend is a “ form of self hatred. “ On the other hand , The
Beauty Myth author Naomi Wolf believes that modern
standards of beauty are “ a plot
to keep women politically, economically, and sexually subjugated to
men—apparently by keeping them too busy curling their eyelashes to have time
for political action .” These may be extreme views which should not be taken in their entirety
--- but they have some nuggets of wisdom
in them.
Women
like Chao-uan Tsen and Wolf may decry this trend until they get hoarse .
But the end to this is so far from
sight.
The
media and corporations will not
allow women to be really happy with themselves because the moment that happens , it will be
the end of many businesses.
A
happy , contented woman is a smart , cautious spender . She does not need much
because her happiness comes from
within. Businesses have to make her unhappy , discontented and irrational --- so that she would go into a shopping binge of make-up
, skin whiteners and diet pills ( and clothes , accessories ,etc.
). TV shows will continue
to glorify white skin and thin
bodies . Advertisements will
continue to point out flaw after flaw ,
defect after defect .They will spare no part of the human anatomy : from the
scalp down to the heels. Armed with catchy lines
and images of beautiful
women --- they will continue to ensnare women into the vicious
cycle of beauty trap .
Advertising
is the lifeblood of media companies and
it is a US$100 billion a year industry. On the other hand , the global beauty industry is worth US$160 billion a year. There is no way corporations and individuals are
going to let go of that money . Top
and middle executives are buying
mansions , yachts and private
planes. Sales agents are making
six-digit incomes and even millions.
Indeed
, it is profitable to make women feel
ugly.
This
is not to demonize the media. This is not to paint an ugly picture of all
corporations with the same soiled
brush. They have their own
positive contributions to society but it is still the desire for money that rules them. Businesses exist to earn profit . They will do what they need to do for better
bottomlines . Ultimately , women are
responsible for their own decisions and actions. It is up to women themselves to stop unbridled , ignorant consumerism
and blind conformity to
society’s standards.
The
key is awareness and balance.
Women
have to be aware of how the media impacts
viewers. When a woman looks at a
beauty ad , she should remember that it is designed to create emotional
discomfort and to lower her self-esteem . She should guard her own emotions and determine her own needs . “ Do I really
need this product ? Or will I be wasting
my money ? ”
Awareneness
means knowing the options. For instance , many women do not know
that a cosmetic or a pharmaceutical company
usually produces both expensive
and cheap versions of the same product ( for example , moisturizer ) . If the first five ingredients
are the same , the products would give
almost the same result . So , why burn
your money on the expensive version ? But
women have to develop the habit of reading and comparing. With just a click of the mouse , women can
find out which products will give value for their money and which
companies deserve to be trusted .
Awareness
also means knowing the health issues
involved. Many Asian
and African women do not know
upon purchase how long they
would have to be dependent on a product
to keep the whiteness of their skin.
Usually , it’s a lifetime of dependence
[ that is , if the product works at all ] . That also means long-term
exposure to certain substances .
Sub-standard
whitening products , and
some of them may have
been approved by your government , contain mercury and hydroquinone , both of which have adverse effects on
health . It is also a well-known fact in scientific circles that melanin protects the skin from
cancer . When the skin is stripped of
melanin--- and this is what skin whiteners do --- the person becomes
more prone to skin problems .Says Dr. Ernesto Gonzalez , director of
International Dermatology Training at Boston’s Massachusetts General
Hospital, “ The whiter they become, the more chances they will be subjected to
skin damage and skin cancer."
Kanebo
, a
popular global cosmetic brand
based in Japan , has built a reputation for excellent products. Yet , in 2013 ,
it had to recall some of its skin whitening products because some customers developed ugly blotches on their skin ---- instead of the
smooth ,flawless white skin that was promised in their advertisements. This
incident is a proof that things can go wrong
even in the most strictly supervised corporatons.
Advertisements gloss over
not-so-pretty facts and sales
agents won’t volunteer them.
They are actually experts at evading “ uncomfortable “ questions . And
it is not a wise move to ask questions
to somebody who stands to gain money from you . Therefore , women have to dig for the information themselves.
Awareness also means distinguishing between
capricious cosmetic issues and
genuine medical concerns
that are worth spending on. For
example , morbid obesity does need medical attention because it is
closely associated with cardiac diseases , diabetes and other
illnesses. On the other hand , a flab
in the belly is not necessarily life-threatening , and can be either flaunted or hidden by an appropriately cut dress. Chronic
acne should also be
treated because of the discomfort caused by the inflammation and the itching
.Dark skin , on the other hand , is not
a medical problem. It is a perception problem. Same is true with wrinkles , flat noses and line-less eyelids typical
of many Southeast Asian women. A perception problem can be solved by changing the way we look at ourselves and the way we handle criticism . The solution can be found inside us --- not inside a jar or a clinic. And it is free.
Women
who constantly feel insecure
without make-up or
women who always feel paranoid about how other people judge their
physical appearance may have deep-seated problems. Women who go overboard
trying to please society may be
emotionally disturbed . They need a
psychiatrist , not a cosmetologist , not
a dermatologist and certainly not a plastic surgeon.
Now , let us
be realistic . Let’s put our thoughts in
the context of the current society where women live .
No
woman---no matter how intelligent ---
can be totally immune from the effects of beauty advertising. She will be affected , whether she admits it
or not , whether she knows it or not. No woman --- no matter how
independent --- can completely stand up against the pressures of society to look good. She will have to conform –whether she
likes it or not. And no woman
can completely ignore the
longings nature has ascribed to
her gender . Which woman had not
wished , at least once in her life ,
to be given a second admiring
look by men?
But
it is the extent to which she
allows herself to be pressured by outside forces . It is the
degree to which she allows the media, businesses and society to influence what
she should buy , how much she should spend,
how she should look and how she should feel about herself.
A woman
will always need to be neat , clean and presentable for herself , her family
and her career. She can do that without much toll on her income and with minimum rituals in front of the mirror.
We
don’t want women losing
hard-earned money on products
that hardly work , or products that they don’t need at all. “ The
fool and his money are soon parted ” , as a sage once said . (Well , “ her “
would be the better pronoun here .
) Money that should have gone to family
savings had gone instead to a bottle of
diet pills. Money that should have been spent
on cheaper life-saving
procedures like mammogram or cervical cancer screening had been spent on a jar of whitening cream .
And how many women have buried themselves on a pile of debts by carelessly swiping their credit cards for
that “ new volumizing mascara” , “
smudge-free lipstick” … the list of women’s whims is endless.
We want women to use make-up with simplicity in
mind . We don’t want them to be ridiculed for being “ pretty “ almost beyond recognition. What’s the point of
looking like a movie star only because of
make-up ? What happens when you
wash that mask off ? A
simple face powder and a thin layer
of lip stick will do. The nearer your
made-up face is to your natural face ,
the better . No need for heavy
make-up that only makes you look like a
cosplayer or an aging whore.
We
also don’t want women starving themselves to anorexic levels , or working –out too
hard because they want to get slim. Women should eat right and do exercise to be healthy , and not to please
an appearance-obsessed society. They don’t need to deprive themselves of the gustatory delight a slice of cheese cake
brings , or the pleasure of lingering on a soft bed. “ Moderation ” is the word. Anything in excess is bad.
We
don’t want Asian and African women feeling ashamed of their brown
or black skin .We don’t want young girls
from these places to grow up
insecure , thinking that there is something wrong with dark skin. If there
is something wrong
that we should all be ashamed of
--- it is racism , colorism , looksism , greed and deception.
The
idea that “ beautiful women have it all
” is an exaggeration that we see on the media . Nobody has it all. Yes ,
physical beauty , as the media currently defines it , has advantages . Let’s accept that . But only
to a certain extent. At the end of the day , it is still the things that our grandmothers taught us that would spell
the difference between success and failure .
Let us mention two women who don’t fit into
the modern standard of slim and white beauty --- and yet
were able to scale great heights .
Indra
Nooyi , the Indian –born American CEO of
Pepsi Cola since 2006 is consistenly listed as one of the most powerful women
in the world . Her business acumen
has sent shivers to the spine of Pepsi Cola’s competitors. Cristeta Comerford , the Filipino-American executive chef of the White House has been nourishing and delighting American presidents, their families and guests since 2005. Look at them . Two
simple women –with exemplary accomplishments. Even in our own communities , there are many other
women --- plain looking women , dark-skinned women , overweight women , even
women with physical handicaps --- who have successful careers and relationships
. But we don’t see them , we don’t notice them ---because we keep on looking
at that girl on the billboard .
Women we should be looking up to.
Indra Nooyi
Cristeta Comerford with US First Lady Michelle Obama
We
want women to stop comparing themselves
to ad endorsers , movie stars and
models whose careers and lives have
far different requirements from theirs.
We want women to
see their own worth and
feel proud of who they are . We want them to focus on things that really
matter : character , brains, health . We want them , not other people , to choose for themselves how they would look and how they would feel . And we want women to realize that they can be
truly beautiful in whatever shape , size , age or
color they are in.
Sources
/ Works Cited
Alkon , A. ( 2010 Nov 1 ) .The truth about beauty.www.psychologytoday.com.
Hirsi,
I. ( 2013 Aug 21 ) Somali woman researches health risks of skin lightening practices.
Minneapolis
Post .
Kendrick.
( 2013 July 4 ) Voluntary recall of products ( Skin Care ) www.facestorysg.wordpress.com
Ross
, K. ( 2014 March 11 ) Asia skin lightening --- an obsession that’s here to stay.
Serdar, K. ( n.d. ) Female body image and the mass media : Perspectives on how women internalize
Swinson,
J. ( 2011 Aug 10 ) False beauty in advertising and the pressure to look good.
Tsang , E. ( 2013 July 5 ) Kanebo recalls skin whitening products. South China Morning Post.
Zafar
, A. ( 2012 Feb 3 ).Too perfect ? Rachel
Weisz’s L’Oreal ad banned in Britain for being
Websites
www.jour.unr.edu. Advertisements and their negative effects on
women and girls. June 30,2004
www.reuters.com. L’Oreal
UK ads banned for retouched photos. July 27 ,2011.
( e-mail received on September 29, 2014 )
