Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Listicle #1 - Diversity in Media around TCU

For this listicle, I found two very intriguing artifacts around campus to focus on. One artifact related to sexual innuendo in advertisements and the other related to insensitivity and stereotyping in magazine publications. I then found other items in which related to the topics the artifacts found here at TCU reflected.

Sexual Innuendo in Advertisements for Unrelated Products and Services:


The first artifact was located in the first floor bathroom of Milton Daniel Hall. I was overall surprised how an inanimate object such as a light switch could be sexualized, especially in a educational setting. Although the light switch graphic does not have a specific gender, it was located in the women's bathroom, suggesting that we should be disappointed when men reject us. Although it is just an analogy to save energy and it isn't overtly sexualized, the sexualized nature within a women's bathroom is unnecessary. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/sex-sells-ads-should-have-thought-twice_n_4653226.html

This particular email promotional material for Spirit Airlines, they use terms such as "shaving" and "go down on us" with the image of a woman's bikini line to intrigue the audience to take their flights to the Caribbean or other locations. Although airlines have nothing to do with sexual behavior or shaving, they suggest that by travelling on their airline, you can go to the Caribbean where women have shaved and therefore are inept to sexual behavior. Overall, it has nothing to do with the actual service itself and ridiculously sexualizes women through both the text and imagery.


http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-blog/blogs/radioshack_hot_dog.jpg

This image is taken from the video commercial for the Beats Pill speaker which features Robin Thicke's extremely sexualized song "Blurred Lines". In this case, it uses scantily dressed women holding the speaker and moving about in sexually suggestive ways. This advertisement also takes inanimate object of a speaker and utilizes the shape to be sexualize women. Overall, similarly to the examples above, it uses women in an overtly sexualized way even when sex has nothing to do with the product itself. 

Link to the commercial segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbtewxfcptw

http://sutton26.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/carlsjr1.jpg?w=490

This advertisement is full of sexual innuendo towards women within the text. By using the pronoun "she", it stereotypes all women in a sexual way. The text at the bottom "It's gonna get messy", connects sexual action with the product which overall has nothing to do with sexual acts.

Insensitivity and Stereotyping in Magazine Covers:


I found this artifact in a magazine rack in Kroger right next to campus and found the title very alarming. Overall, it is reflecting on the deaths of Joan Rivers in an extremely insensitive and stereotypical way. The title "Who'll Die Next?" stereotypes the other celebrities on the cover to be in poor health and close to death due to plastic surgery or other health conditions. First of all, this is insensitive in the fact that the deaths of Robin Williams and Joan Rivers are completely unrelated to each other and other celebrities. Also, by relating these celebrities to recently deceased Joan Rivers and Robin Williams, it stereotypes them as ill, weak and old. In general, it is disrespectful towards both the deceased and the living people featured on the cover.



http://www.bohomoth.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/National-Enquirer2.jpg

This publication of the National Enquirer stereotypes a large amount of women with children for being "out of control". This is insensitive towards the private issues they may be going through and is also insensitive towards how this type of media coverage of mothers could affect their children and overall the relationship between these mothers and their children. By referring to them as "out of control", they also suggest that they have poor parenting skills when in truth, the social or public actions of individuals often differ in private settings, such as settings with their children. Therefore, it is unethical and insensitive to stereotype their parenting based on public portrayal. 

http://img004.lazyboys.info/people/tom_cruise/tom_cruise_tom_cruise_people_magazine_united_states_19_february_2001_magazine_cover_photo_4sDovbuu.sized.jpg

This edition of People discussed Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's breakup. Overall, it stereotypes happy marriages with being together for a long time, having children and living in luxury. However, often times children and luxury can put strains on relationships. The main title "Unhappy Ending" even stereotyped their relationship as being like a fairytale that did not end "happily ever after". Overall, it inaccurately stereotypes relationships for being good when they are long-lasting, involve children and involve luxury. 

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