Objectification

I am an advertising major so I've seen many examples of good and bad advertising. Objectification of women is something that has been around for awhile. One ad in particular that interested me was of a woman that had been turned into a pair of scissors (I can't remember what it was for) and at first I thought of it as more of an interesting design concept. An artistic piece so to speak. There are also ads that objectify men. We started talking about it in class and I realized how it could be conceived as inappropriate. While I agree that this ad shouldn't be used as something that a child should see, I also don't think a child should see the Vogue or Cosmopolitan magazines that it appears in. Some people might argue it is impossible to keep young people from looking at these magazines but I would have to disagree. My mom kept me away from them. Children watch the television and the news that portray women and men in negative lights all the time. While I do agree that the media can get out of hand, I also think it is our job as parents and caregivers to educate children on the importance of equality. Female models are very skinny and male models buff, which of course can lead young people to have a negative self-image. Children learn from the beginning from their parents and others immediately around them, it is often not thought of to educate children on matters like eating disorders, sex, equality at home at an early age but it is something that needs to be considered. This isn't meant to sound like I agree with all the choices made in advertising, I do not. I just think that we need to be aware of what kids see and very early in their lives be able to talk to them about what is not okay and how to deal with what they see and how to have an appropriate attitude.