Onslaught

I have watched this video over five times, and each time it gave me a creepy feeling.  This video really made me think about about how prevalent beauty campaigns are in the public sector.  Even if you tried to avoid media that promoted these kind of standards, you wouldn't be able to surf TV channels, drive down the highway, or go to the movies. I just wish campaigns like this were half as prevalent as the campaigns that promote unrealistic female beauty standards!

I love what Dove is doing in their campaign for Real Beauty, everyone should feel comfortable in their own skin!

Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6JvK0W60I

Are They Promoting Gang Rape or Clothing?

This Dolce&Gabbana campaign from 2008 looks more like a shot promoting a gang rape rather than the clothing worn by the female model and scantily clad male onlookers.  While this ad is supposed to convince readers to wear D&G's clothes, all it tells me is that in order to get a male's attention, I must parade around in a bathing suit and heels, lube up my legs, and lose 30 pounds.  In so many of today's print Ads, the visual media depicts men looking directly at women's bodies.  Not only is this ad a bad representation of female standards of beauty but it is even worse in promoting sexual violence against females.

No wonder women feel objectified!

The Photoshop Effect

Many of you have probably seen this Dove film, but it stuns me every time! The fact that average women cannot be used to market to other average women astonishes me.  According to Newsweek magazine, the retouching of photos has become so mainstream, it is not only expected but DEMANDED from publicists.  However, magazine editors do not feel that they are misleading the reader because they assume the reader knows the images have been altered.

Do readers actually know the extent to which these images are altered?
Time Lynch, photographer/retoucher claims that over 99.9% of images in magazines are photoshopped! Yikes!

Video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4y5b7INvqE&playnext=1&list=PL8BFA974695E9BCF0
Information source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP31r70_QNM