Sexism is a controversial topic in most societies of the world. However, it is very ironic that the topic despite being loathed by many is always depicted in many things in the society and people don not even notice it or find it entertaining. One of the places where sexism is the order of the day is advertisements. Advertisements seek to market products attract people to bus to ensure that a firm makes more profits. In order to catch the attention of the potential customers the advertisements must be very entertaining. Most advertisers have turned to sexism to make their advertisements more entertaining and attention getter as possible. The audience (society) on the other hand despite the fact that it treats sexism as an omen, it goes ahead to enjoy the advertisements and even make more sexist jokes on them. As such, it seems the society loathes sexism as no being part of an idea human society yet craves for it and enjoys it.
One of the most notable users of sexism in advertisement in order to increase sales in the American clothing company American Apparel. The company, which is famous for manufactures of trendy clothes, certainly has a lot going for it. Fist, company has a very noble idea or concept of making simple and fashionable clothes and avail them in a wide range of colors. Second, the company has commendable corporate social responsibility. It manufactures free sweatshop clothes in downtown Los Angels. Further more the company’s employees are paid more that minimum wage. They all the benefits and immigrant employee are given free English lesions in addition to employment all year-round. The company has a rare worker-friendly model is exceptional and separates the firm for all of its American competitors.
With all this attributes, no one can dispute that the firm have everything going for it. However, more exposure to the company will cierteinly reveal its satirical and ironical advartisement behaviour. This company whose foundation is based on the principles of social responsibility and non-exploitation in dealing with its workers is one of the leading firms in terms of pusshing beyond socialy acceptable limite in by using sexism depictions of women in their consumer adverstisemsnet
The companies advartisemet are easily recognisable because of their excessivel sexual nature. The advaetisements repeatedly depict women in very provocative poses such as lying in bed, on all their fours, with legs spread, from behind, bend over and others. They have don’t done it all. In fact they look like they are always in a rush to use all the poses before anyone else uses them and steals the show.
This kind of racy consuemer advartisements make the otherwise reputable company vulnarable to charges of objefication of women as well as their exploitation. In this advertisements the company seam to epitomize the male gaze. This idea is taken from the idea of a heterosexuale male looking at a lady that is in some way sexually available to him. It is ironical that the company seeling clothes use pitucres of women that are nude. Acccodrding to Gender Focus (2010) the women that depicted in the comapany’s advaetvertisement sell tehmsloveve othe that clothes. Having not clothes on mean that the women are seliing their bodies and sexuality.
With such kind of advartisement, it is very dificult to distinguish between ponography and consumer advertisements. It is even more difficulty to understand why some photgraphs are considerd are often described as being raucnhy, explicit as well as sexually charged and are nod to be displayed publicaly and not to be seen by minors yet the company, American Apparel, advartisements which share the same charecterirsic of the burned pictures are blosteringly displayed in magazines. On buses and on billboards.
The american Apparel company is no the only company that has these kind of advartiesemnents. Many companies seem to have discovered tha exploitation of sexuality espescially women sexualit increases sales and as a result ther is what can be can be cinsidered as a pandemic if this advartisement. As Kreisinger (2010) note sexism hase be employe ironical in many advaerisements because has pornoraphic conottation and it is likely to appeal to men. The sexual arony in these advertisments is very hard to point out. Feminist freequency (2010) this form of advertisement also makes use of irony and houmour in a way that distances it from sexist representations and the sexual stereotpes they depict or perpetuate. As a result, the marketer have increasingly employed the use of retro sexism to sell products. Retro sexism can be defined as modern day attitudes and behaviours that mimic and glorigy aspects of sexism of the past in a commical and ironic way. The types of sexism depicted in adevertisements is diverse.
In sum, the use of the exploitation sexuality in advaetisiment is very ironical given that the society and is founded on strick social morals that condem sexualism. It herefore become ironica that the same society enjoys and encorages sexism in advertisements. Certainly, we need to draw a line between what the sociey has to embrace and what the society should shun. Whenever the limits and trespassed, it is necessary to state it and call for a return to what is write. Otherwise companies such as the Amercan Apparel, having worker friendly plicies yet exploiting sexuality in its adverts is having double stands. It time that ever entity stood for what they proffes sexism or whater it is.