The Covert Display of Sexism in Our Advertisements
Have you ever taken a close look at the advertisements on
the television? It is commendable how they manage to appeal to you more often
than not. How they know which cord to strike exactly to make you emotional and
feel connected.
So the other day, I was listening to some ad jingle, and
thanks to Google's autoplay, found myself listening to the most emotional or
heart-touching ads on Indian television. Well, having listened to about a dozen
such ads, I felt a little offended. I realized that most ads are highly sexist
and subconsciously promote the gender stereotypes of society. But this sexism
is wrapped in so well in emotions and grand gestures that we all don't seem to
notice it at first.
Throughout history, advertisements have been marred by
overt and explicit sexism, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and objectifying
women. However, as society has become more attuned to such overt sexist
displays, advertisers have adapted by transitioning from overt sexism to covert
sexism. While earlier advertisements were blatantly sexist,, advertisements
today tend to be more subtle.
You have to hand it to the genius of people who make our advertisements. They have a remarkable ability to tap into the emotional fabric of society and craft narratives that resonate with viewers. It is within these emotionally charged narratives that gender stereotypes and biases are seamlessly woven. Whether it's reinforcing traditional roles, objectifying women, or perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards.
This is a significant issue in the advertising industry.
With one advertisement, they cancel out all the efforts and struggles that we
as women face every single day. These ads are not overtly sexist but you can
notice sexism hidden subtly in the background. And with our younger generations
growing in front of the plasma screen, you can't blame them when they start to
internalize this behavior. They have after all grown up seeing this. Our ads
reinforce the gender discrimination that exists in our day-to-day lives. The
discrimination we fight against every day.
There are many examples that I could give you but the worst
of them all is "Men will be men" as if this was a good
enough excuse to look the other way when men do something they aren't supposed
to be doing. And the way this tagline is used, with such pride and pomp, makes
me want to question the judgment of the entire industry. This can be seen in
ads from almost all types of industries, be it insurance industries or
groceries. When it comes to healthy oil or instant noodles or those pesky
stains, it is always the mother or a female character to be found in the
vicinity. If we were to go by such advertisements, the burden of running the
house is still firmly sitting on the woman's shoulder.
One recent advertisement featured a "smart"
washing machine, where you just need to press a button suggesting that even men
can do laundry now, perpetuating the stereotype that household chores are
primarily a woman's responsibility. It's not just the portrayal of women in
these ads that is problematic; it's also the clear distinction in target audiences
for certain products. For instance, the insurance industry's consistent focus
on men as the decision-makers implies that women may not be considered equal
partners in financial decisions.
It is not just the portrayal of women in our ads that is
problematic for society. It is also, who these ads are targeted to. There is a
very clear distinction when it comes to the target audience for certain
products. If you take the insurance industry, for example, they are always
speaking to the man of the house, as if the women maybe aren't good enough for
their policies or are they still living in the past, and have failed to
acknowledge the women workforce in the industry.
These covert forms of sexism is harder to identify at first
glance, yet they continue to limit and pigeonhole individuals based on their
gender and undoing everything women have worked to achieve.
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