Supersize Me

I have seen Supersize Me three times, every time it bothers me. Morgan Spurlock challenges the fast food companies and ultimately wins. He shows how harmful eating fast food can be. Still though, it is the consumers who are the really at fault. When looking for lunch, you do not have to walk through the doors of a McDonalds, everyone has the option to pack a healthy lunch or go home. Disturbingly, I just found out that McDonalds is in the Microsoft word dictionary. Anyways, we as consumers are able to make the choices in the food we eat. This being said I don’t think Spurlock’s documentary is completely valid. The average American does not eat McDonalds every day for every meal. His documentary is an over exaggeration in my opinion. Is it truly valid?

Axe Body Spray (irresistible to women)

I found this image on the internet. Axe is a body spray for men, that is suppose to drive women crazy, and have them chasing men all over. Now a days you dont even need actual individuals in ads. Ads are very sexualized. " The use of clothing alows images to become more sexualized." The use of the sleeve of the shirt's arm in the open jeans allows viewer's to assume if you wear this body spray a women will stick her hand down your jeans! Another thing I noticed is if you look at the clothes it tells you what type of woman you are going to attract. The type of woman the ad is implying is that you will get a very skinny woman, attractive and will defnitely be wearing a cute thong, but no pants. I believe in no way that a body spray is going to cause a women to lose control and chase down a man. I do think advertising has become a problem, but if the ad. didnt use the womans arm in the jeans the ad wouldn't have a point

Do men really want Barbie?

A lot of our class discussion and essays we have read about gender identity has been centered on Barbie. What is her impact on a girl's self-esteem and self-expectations. I just wonder if men like a Barbie figure or are turned off by Barbie like a lot of women are, for what she represents. An article from The Christian Century magazine indicates that while it has been believed for a long time by psychologists that men prefer a Barbie-like figure, new research supports that this is only true in countries where women are not independent. Eastern cultures as well as England and Denmark, where women are independent mostly, don't show an interest in a Barbie like curvy figure like countries like Japan, Greece, and Portugal do. And American men surprisingly opt for the normal looking woman over the super skinny model according to new research.

Superbowl Pepsi Ad

This years Pepsi Superbowl ad depicted Justin Timberlake being thrown from a restaurant with friends out into the street by an unknown force. He is thrown down the street out into traffic, down the street, slammed into buildings, thrown into a river, dragged on the ground, hit in the crotch by a mailbox, all pulled by an invisible string. He lands in a girl's backyard and we realize it is her drinking a Pepsi from a straw that is what pulls him. He is then knocked unconscious by a flying flat-screen TV that the girl's father had summoned in the same manner as Justin, by drinking a Pepsi. It seems harmless, but imagine if the gender roles in this ad were reversed. What if a muscular man was sipping on a Pepsi and summoning a pretty girl who goes through the abuse Timberlake did, it would be a completely different un-PC story! It is a funny, successful commercial because of the abuse Timberlake takes, if it was a woman being abused like that feminists would surely be up in arms.

Dove, Real Women

Dove strives to change the image that people see of women in the media. In many of their ad's they show women of all shapes and sizes, races and backgrounds. Dove shows how wrong many companies can be when advertising their products. They have recognized the effects of advertisements on women’s self esteem. These being mostly negative effects as many women in the media are very small and “dolled up.” This kind of advertising, where women have obviously spent hours in the makeup chair can cause serious self esteem issues. Not only has dove recognized this but they have also recognized how men view these ad’s and how they affect their view on women. Dove’s approach at making everyone feel beautiful sells their product. If a woman sees another that looks like her in a commercial, she will want to buy the product.

Really?...Come On

Advertising today has escalated to a whole new level. When were not seeing it in piles of junk mail, on billboards, or buses, were hearing it on the radio or watching it on TV, and seeing it on almost every web page out there. Often times we don't even realize that it's surrounding us. After we started discussing advertising, i began to look more closely at just how many ads are out there to catch my attention. It was overwhelming to know that ads are covering anything agencies can get their hands on. Quality brands that tastefully advertise like Nike, and Apple, do it to keep their business stimulated, but i don't see them over doing it like most other companies. Advertise something you believe in. To me it seems that the products that have the most annoying, and false advertising are the beauty products. Face creams, teeth whitening products. If your just trying to scam the few people that will buy it, target them. Don't clutter the rest of our brains with your phony ads.

Is Disney to Blame ?

From every Disney Movie, it is easy to pull out the gender stereotypes. In most Disney films, their is the heroic male that saves the female and wins her over. Which i think sends a message to young girls that they need a man in their life just to survive. The female characters never show the women being intelligente,successful or smart. Most of the Disney princesses are either working or cleaning. The Disney princesses are portrayed as weak and powerless, they can not stand up for themselves and need the help of a man. They portray powerful women as evil. The men are portrayed as brave and strong. Young girls/boys look at these movies and think hey i want to look just lik him or her and i think that is why most kids minds are corrupted with alot of nonsence. I think children need to learn that being poor does not necessarily mean you have to be helpless and unhappy & being a powerful woman does not mean you have to be evil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CWMCt35oFY

Gender Identity

Years ago the idea of sticking a girl with a Barbie, and giving a boy a football was a way of protecting children. Parents would be terrified to know that their son was interested in fashion, or their daughter wanted to play a contact sport. Back then, if a gender mixed with the other genders activities, they could be seen as homosexuals. Today, all these things have little to do with each other. Gender identity can be a hard subject to understand, but in recent years I think it’s been made easier. Today we don’t limit our children’s future to weather they are in a pink or a blue blanket. Over time, gender identity has been made the choice of the individual, and how they appear or act isn’t as discriminated as it used to be. Men can be bulk, or scrawny. Women can be housewives or CEOs. There are always exceptions, but I find gender identity to be a more free topic today than it used to be.

The following video captures some gender issues in classic Disney movies that can be overlooked, but could possibly have a negative impact on childrens behaviors.

http://www.racewire.org/archives/2007/07/video_captures_sexism_problems.html

Are Women Really Worse Drivers?

Women are worse drivers then men. We have all heard this before but how true is it? Reports from insurance companies show that men are twice as likely to instigate road rage then women are. These companies will generally charge men more on a quote then they would women. The companies support their rates with the argument that men are usually the faster drivers, the lesser likely to wear their seat belt, and more likely to get offenses such as reckless driving or DUI. Studies done by AutoWeb say that “53% of men admitted to regularly breaking the speed limit compared to only 30% of women." Men tend to inflate their driving abilities. This overconfidence can be their downfall. The Washington Post suggests that men, overconfident about their driving abilities, will attempt a turn to fast, or think they will be able to cut in front of someone quicker then they could, causing an accident. Women however play it safe and will wait for that car to pass, or will brake before the turn.

Mean Girls

Mean Girls is a very cleverly written film. Some of the scenes may seem really exaggerated, but I can see where it comes from. The main character would have been a complete outcast if she wasn't so pretty. Since she was, she was immediately accepted into the popular group of girls. This and other dramatic scenes can seem unrealistic, but compared to males, I honestly think girls are more ruthless and mean than males are. Whether it is competitive nature, or insecure behavior, relationships between girls and girls are more delicate than relationships between guys and guys.