Beauty and the beast: images of women in advertisements

THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISEMENTS
The aspect of advertising most in need of analysis and change is the portrayal of
women. Many critics argue that the roles that women play in the media are demeaning.
They are treated, all too often, only as sexual objects, used for display or as dummies who
get excited about some brand of cleaning product. They are seldom portrayed as
professionals who can be productive and should be taken seriously. Frequently, they are
not shown as active, but rather as passive figures who react to the initiatives of others,
usually males (Berger, 1999). Conventional beauty is her only attribute. She has no lines
of wrinkles, young, no scars, pores or blemishes. She is thin, generally tall and long-
legged. All ‘beautiful” women in ads conform to this norm. Women are constantly
exhorted to achieve this ideal, to feel ashamed and guilty if they fail, and to feel that their
desirability and lovability are contingent upon physical perfection. A survey of students
by 
Wall Street Journal
in four Chicago-area schools found that more than half the fourth-
grade girls were dieting and three-quarters felt they were over-weight. One student

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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: IMAGES OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISMENTS (Esther H. Kuntjara)
Jurusan Desain Komunikasi Visual, Fakultas Seni dan Desain –Universitas Kristen Petra
http://puslit.petra.ac.id/journals/design/
99
commented, “We don’t expect boys to be handsome. We take them as they are.” Another
added, “But boys expect girls to be perfect and beautiful. And skinny” (Kilbourne, 1999,
p. 179).
WOMEN ARE MARKED
An old saying says that women are to be seen not heard. Imagine we are going to a
gathering in a conference where women and men are present. Most of the women could
be marked by their hair styles, clothing, makeup and accessories, and each of them carries
meaning. Men, however, are mostly unmarked. Their hair is in standard length and styles.
They wear dark pants and shirts of lighter colors. Yet there is no women’s hair styles that
can be called standard, that says nothing about her. A woman whose hair has no particular
style is perceived as not caring about how she looks. Women must also choose their
shoes, flat, laced shoes, or high heels. A tight and sexy clothing of a woman sends a
message, i.e. she wants to be attractive and possibly still available. There are thousands of
cosmetic products from which women can choose and try ways of applying them. No
wonder women are always the targets of advertisements. Women’s magazines are sold
more than magazines about men. There are no men’s beauty and glamour magazines with
circulations even approaching those of the women’s magazines. The idea of men’s beauty
magazines may sound odd. Men who are concerned overtly with their appearance can be
considered effiminate, not ‘real men.’
Unfortunately, the images of women most ads portray are usually the creation of
artificiality that establishes an impossible standard of physical perfection for women.
Beauty is something that comes from without and women are willing to spend money and
time on cosmetics. When they cannot conform to an ideal and impossible standard, they
go to great length of effort to manipulate and change their faces and bodies. A woman
seems to have been conditioned to view her face as a mask and her body as an object. She
is in constant need of alteration, improvement, and disguise. She is made to feel
dissatisfied with and ashamed of herself. Growing older is a taboo. Women are
encouraged to remain like girls, never to mature, but be passive and dependent.

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NIRMANA Vol. 3, No. 2, Juli 2001: 97 - 106
Jurusan Desain Komunikasi Visual, Fakultas Seni dan Desain –Universitas Kristen Petra
http://puslit.petra.ac.id/journals/design/