Although I can name a few positive things about ads, I have a big problem with many of them. Especially those directed at young women (probably because these are the ads that affect me.) My interest in feminism has made me extremely observant of advertising. I don’t notice clothes so much anymore. Instead, I notice models. I don’t look at the basic messages; I try to interpret the rhetoric underlying the messages. Often times, I am deeply disturbed. This is a phrase I saw on a “pro-health” website today:
“Would you like hip bones or pizza? A gap between your thighs or cake? A flat tight stomach or soda? To feel confident or nachos? Every choice you make will determine your emotions and how you look. Don’t give in, Don’t give up.”
Forget that any of those foods (in excess) are bad for your health and are absolutely fine in moderation. Your health doesn’t matter. Only your looks. (According to the creators of this message.) I hope that bothers you as much as it bothered me. This stuff is everywhere. What does that message have to do with health? Nada. Why is it all about the way we look if we all have different bodies? In my opinion, this message is pretty blatantly messed up. Other messages are subtler.
Open a magazine. Try to count the models in there that you think might be starving themselves in order to keep their jobs. Many of them are, and many of them suffer from devastating eating disorders. Watch a movie. Count the dangerously thin actresses (there won’t be very many guys in this area, unless perhaps they’re pre-pubescent.) Listen to the young women around you. We all complain about our bodies. We don’t talk about eating more vegetables to improve our health and longevity. We talk about them in relation to their low calorie content. We cut back on fats in order to lose weight, not because we’re afraid of a heart attack. We exercise to lose weight rather than to improve our health. We’re surrounded with a lot of negative messages, and it’s hurting our young women’s minds and bodies.
To even things out a bit, I know a lot of girls who have a really positive self-image. They run because they’re training for a race. They lift because they want to be stronger. They eat healthy because they want to live a long, enjoyable life. I love to surround myself with these people. I want more people to feel like these strong women.
Negative ads and toxic messages are not the model’s fault, nor the body conscious friend’s fault. The problem lies in societal messages, forced into our brains everyday through the media and our culture. Ads affect you, directly or indirectly. They’re hurting millions of people. If you see an ad or a public message that’s messed up, please say something to the people around you. Call it out. Messages like that aren’t okay, and we can’t let them rule over us.