Femininity Representation and Violence in Advertising

In her film “ Killing Us Softly 4,” Jean Kilbourne (2010) delivers a strong wake-up call to the general public who are aware of what is happening with how femininity is being represented in advertising but not realizing fully the impact of the collective image that they give. Kilbourne examines what’s the same and what’s changed from the earlier versions, which illustrate how woman are objectified and presented as sex-objects; a portrayal which, cumulatively and unconsciously, leads a society to think it is acceptable to commit violence against woman. Jean Kilbourne has driven her point home from the first part of her speech shown in the video. To quote: “Ads sell more than products. They sell values, they sell concepts, they sell images of love and sexuality, of success, and perhaps most important, of normalcy. To a great extent they tell us who we are and who we should be (2010).”

Immoral and unacceptable as it may seem to some, sex information does grab attention and therefore evokes a hardwired emotional response that is linked to species survival. We can’t help our eyes and ears are drawn to it because emotional information has a way of piercing our perceptual fields by rising above other environmental information trying to get our attention (Reichert, 2009). The media is a powerful tool that in the wrong hands can be very dangerous and destructive. Media and its components must always be fully aware of the role it plays in society, for it really has the power to change the world for the good or for the worse of it so chooses. It gives us the message. Now, it is our job to respond with responsibility and in turn, know our rightful place in society without being hampered by