Women in Art and Advertisements

For so many years, women have been displayed as objects of pleasure in advertisements. Whether we are looking at T.V. commercials, magazine ads, billboards, or ads on the Internet, images of flawlessly beautiful women can often be found just shouting "Look at me! Am I hot or what?" to everyone (especially men). Although countless ads show women who are half naked in poses that appear very sexual, men don't normally appear this way in ads. Since many ads are directed towards men, women are used to attract their gaze and encourage them to buy whatever it is that the ads are trying to sell them. Of course, the way companies try to attract the largest number of customers is by making the women in their ads appear as physically attractive as possible, often with them wearing a lot of make-up and showing off thin, delicate figures. People aren't likely to read a company's ad and consider buying something from them if the image is of someone unattractive and dull-looking. Not only do these types of ads attract many men to them, but they also often cause many women to look at themselves with discontent about their appearances, which pushes them to be consumers as well and buy items that they think will help them look like the models from the ads. Besides physical beauty being important in selling products or services, gender roles that are expressed in the images are also just as important. Females in advertising tend to look submissive and passive in their poses in order to satisfy the norms of society, and the men are usually seen in poses that display their dominance and aggressiveness. In a male-dominated world, it is essential that the two sexes be displayed this way if companies are to be successful in earning the profits they strive for. Most of us realize that advertisements where traditional gender roles are violated by the men and women in them usually aren't likely to encourage many people to buy the company's products or services. While women typically face exploitation in ads, the story is completely different for those women who appear in fine art. Artists who create pieces with women in them don't do so in order to make the best profits they possibly can like companies try to with their visually pleasing ads. They create these pieces so that others can appreciate the artwork and the women in them for who they truly are and recognize imperfect beauty in women as the idea that should be celebrated (since it represents reality).