MAKE-UP BLOG POST#4: Selling Culture

The image above is the epitome of how ads use sex for sell, but what else does it tell us? So there's a man in a suit, standing dominantly over a woman, whose breasts are overly exposed in a teeny weeny bikini, topped off with a skyline as the backdrop. Who comes up with this stuff? The typical ad defines the world of gender roles we live in, playing on roles we are familiar with, as it suggests the man wears the suit, as the bread-winner, and the woman serves as a sex symbol who is beneath man (literally and figuratively). These roles have been in our culture for years and years, but the  media has played on these roles and these roles continue to dominate advertisements. But the ad may be doing more than we realize. What happens when these images become who we are?

With these images plaguing our everyday lives, they're hard to ignore. Whether we realize it or not, these images are the reason we are who we are today. They are vital to the set up of gender expressions. Anything outside of what media portrays as "feminine" or "masculine" is considered abnormal, but why is that? Simply because these ads have become our culture. Our culture sits on racks in magazines, flashes on the television during commercials and rides past us on buses. Living in this culture, anything outside of the "social norm" is looked down upon, developing generalizations based on common stereotypes. Sexual orientation is a prime example. This is where "gay" comes from. Those women in society that are less feminine are often perceived as "gay", as males less masculine as "gay" as well. Unfortunately, living outside of the norms has brought issues to society.

What does this ad do exactly? It sets up more barriers. It builds more walls. Tightens more chains. Sex may sell, but it's selling certain conventional images as well, like the one above. With the images connected to our culture, it's defining sexuality and shunning the unlike. This leads to institutional oppression when things differ from the dominant culture. As ads continue to play on popular gender roles and stereotypes, the sex culture grows. In the media, when sex sells, so does culture. A domino effect. Unfortunately, it's a two-for-one deal that our society has accepted.