Portrayal of Women in Advertising Damaging

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Use Me. Abuse Me. I’m An Ad Babe

Feminist Naomi Wolf says that the beauty myth isn’t good for men or women. “It prevents (men) from actually seeing women…in suggesting a vision in place of a woman, it has a numbing effect, reducing all sense but the visual…”

That’s a fairly poignant statement regarding the numbification of society because marketing images portray impossible-to-achieve beauty and the representation of women as playthings. Granted, marketers are never going to show an ugly slob in an ad because no one wants to see a slob and we all aspire to something greater. But if all we see are unachievable representations of ourselves then certain unhealthy illusions of self are sure to emerge. And have. Just visit a highschool hallway.

About Face, whose mission is “to promote positive self-esteem in girls and women of all ages, sizes, races and backgrounds through a spirited approach to media education, outreach and activism,” examines the portrayal of women, specifically, in advertising and comments on how damaging the images can be to the psyche of consumers. Part of the site has a list of the top ten marketers who, in the opinion of About Face, damage society through their imagery of women advertising.

Picture of Steve Hall

Steve Hall

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