Sex sells. It always has and it always will. The younger the model the better the appeal because it seduces the consumers to be buy the product that the company is trying to sell. This is the case for most, if not all companies.
As is the case for the lingerie brand’s Victoria Secret’s Pink. Pink’s targeted audience is teenagers and young adults. In the original advertisement we see that four young attractive girls ,most likely in their late teens parading in Pink’s panties and t-shirts. When we look at the ad , we see a group of fun, confident and even slightly flirtatious girls. This is the image that Pink guarantees to its consumers who are often young adults While lingerie’s aim is to promote sexual freedom and empowerment, Pink’s aim to do the same by using such young models is very disturbing. It cannot be denied that women have come along way in terms of embracing sexuality yet in spite of the progress, women are still being objectified from a very young age.
I picked this to show that even if Pink’s target is to sell lingerie to a younger audience, not only is it disturbing but it sets impossible standards for pre-teens and adolescents. This ad portray everything that wrong with our current culture; firstly, not only does it objectifies younger women bit also this ad “approves” objectification of younger women. Second , it promotes a very unhealthy body image for those who are entering their teens year. We all know the teenage years difficult for young girls and couple that with ad as such would create feelings of inferiority and dissatisfaction.
Culture Jam:
My cultural jam focuses on the sexualization as well as objectification of these models which in turn sends the message that it is alright to parade younger women in such skimpy clothes out in the open. Objectification has and will always be a battle for women. Whether men do it or women do it themselves, objectification will always exist because women require validation. Advertisements as such make us believe that if we want to be attractive ,regardless of our qualifications , we need to look a certain way, talk a certain way and have a certain features to be deemed attractive. Our body image is heavily influenced by these advertisements because of our insecurities. Both genders have impractical expectations because most young men assume women to be as attractive and “flawless” as lingerie models while most young women believe that if they do not look like that model, then they are not beautiful. What’s worst is that sexualization through media starts from a very young age, hence manipulating those who are going through their difficult, hormone-filled, teenage years. Moreover, we corporations tend to overlook that promoting their products by using young models(as Pink has) increases the risk of sexual violence amongst younger women. Advertisements as such has set us back because from a young age, we validate our worth based on standards that are impossible to achieve.