Final Draft

December 9, 2012

Dear 13-year-old girl,

Popular culture is out to get you. The messages from advertisements and pop music have a direct and indirect effect on the choices girls make. Girls are being bombarded with images of skinny, computer edited, so called sexy models that are impossible to look like. In order to survive the assault of the media, one must learn how to see through and understand the objective of media and advertising. If girls can distinguish between the positive and negative aspects of popular culture-the desire to be skinny, provocative, and seductive or the desire to be creative, powerful, and ambitious, girls can use their female traits to their advantage.

In my experience in high school, the teenage years were all about fitting in. Any chance available to try something new (like wearing hip new clothes or listening to the new singer sensation) will unite kids together by the common interests they share. Once teenagers find where they fit in, they often stay with the same group of kids through out high school. It is in these years where teen girls are most vulnerable to media and popular culture because the propensity to emulate trends is so strong.

In these teenage years, media can have harmful effects on girls outlook of self image. Mainly because they see their movie idols, music ideals and almost all women in advertising having a specific body type. As stated in the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, “In the United States, as many as 10 in 100 young women suffer from an eating disorder.”aacap As a result, the pressures from media lead young girls to make body altering changes to look more like the what they see as acceptable. The ability to scrutinize and be skeptical of what popular culture is emitting in the form of selfhood is a hard idea to grasp. However, research shows that the brains of teens are continuing to mature and that decision making and reasoning are not fully developed. aacap This demonstrates that some teenagers lack the ability to restrain their fantasies of looking like their heros. This leads to the question of whether their role models are to blame for their self consciousness.  

For example, Britney Spears was a popular singer when I was a young teenager who was infamous for wearing small shirts and short skirts. A question was asked to a group of young girls on a popular girls website about if they thought Britney Spears was a good role model. Nicole, age 10, said “Yes and no. She's a good singer and a good dancer, and I'm pretty sure she's a good person, too. On the other hand, she should realize that there are a lot of young girls who want to copy her by wearing what she wears. I have even seen five- and six-year-olds wearing short skirts and clothes that are really tight with their bellies hanging out. I also think you shouldn't be judged on what you wear, but the reality is that people do judge you on that. So maybe Britney shouldn't dress in such sexy outfits.” discovery girls

Nicole understands that girls want to be like their idols even if that means crossing inappropriate  barriers. Nicole also said that Britney Spears shouldn’t dress in sexy outfits but this would hinder the whole act Britney plays for. It is the parents of teens and younger girls who should guide their children and give them skills of good decision making. For many girls who fall victim of buying into the fads of popular culture, their outcome of self identity is often distorted.   The truth of the matter is that your sense of self  is your greatest asset. The constant barrage of images on TV and print can diminish self image unknowingly.

In hindsight, there is a positive aspect of the way women use their sexual appeal. In a Pepsi commercial, Britney Spears, Beyonce, and Pink use their sexuality to show their powerfulness and strength. They are depicted as gladiators at the Roman Colosseum, wearing metal bras and short metal skirts. One of the gladiators sees the king drink a Pepsi through the cage she is being held in. A sudden realization of inequality overcomes her when the king starts to drink the Pepsi.  As the gladiators come out to the arena, they throw their weapons down and use their talents of singing to entertain the crowd. The king feels powerless because the women are not doing what he wants them to do which is fight. This demonstrates the switch of power from the man to the women which is not often the case in cultural context. It shows that women can be powerful by being sexy and still maintain a positive image. It is very liberating to use seductive power but young women are getting the wrong idea because they will try to emulate the looks and acts of their idols at times when they are not appropriate. It is not effective or desirable to censor sexual power in women but when is it appropriate to draw the line? This is a very murky question because we don't want to condemn women's sexuality. In advertisements and pop culture there are many instances of misogyny but we can only censor when violence is clearly being used in the images. Public protest will have to dissuade advertisers against using misogynistic images.

Not only do women and girls have to guard against negative imagery, many of the advertisements give subtle and not so subtle messages of how girls are supposed to act. A photo in an essay by kilbourne called "Two ways a women can get hurt" shows a woman getting caressed by a man with one big word on top of the photo, "No"(579). It is hard to tell if the woman is laughing or screaming which portrays the woman as powerless and passive(Kilbourne). Another advertisement in Kilbourne's essay is one of a young woman advertising perfume. The bottom of the ad states, "Fetish # 16: Apply generously to your neck so he can smell the scent as you shake your head 'no'"(581). Both girls and women are receiving messages from advertisements that justify the act of being submissive against male dominance. The ad makes it okay for men to take advantage of women even if women are saying "no". Women are being taught to act a certain way that inhibits their ability to stand up for themselves against unacceptable behavior. Specifically, young women who are still maturing and figuring their lives out are being taught through advertising that it is acceptable to be passive and seductive. Since censoring advertisements is not a realistic option, educating young people of the hazards of advertisements seems like the only defense. 

The hardest part of not succumbing to medias ideal looks and behaviors is the ability to understand the motives behind marketing. From an excerpt from Common Culture: Reading and Writing about American Popular Culture, “an advertisement communicates by making use of a specially selected image (of a Supine female, say, or a curly-haired child, or a celebrity) which is designed to stimulate ‘subrational impulses and desires.’" cyberpat Marketing uses subliminal messages to capture the consumers attention even if the consumer doesn’t think he or she is being influenced.  Supposedly, people are not supposed to act like or look like what they see in advertisements. They are supposed to keep their thoughts to themselves and not act out their subconscious. Marketing uses this type of appeal because it is very effective for their sales. Unfortunately, people don’t understand the true intentions of marketing which hurts society as a whole.

In conclusion, the constant exposure of media undoubtedly plays a huge role in shaping the lives of maturing teenagers. The pressure that media exerts is a difficult force to fight against. It is so pervasive in our lives.  Advertisers for tobacco aren’t allowed to target teens, unfortunately,   perfume marketers and other advertisers who depict women in ways that contribute to health problems like anorexia and violence will not be legislated against in the same way. It is more about recognizing that media and popular culture can be dangerous to oneself just like smoking can be dangerous. There are many music videos were women use their sexuality outrageously and powerfully like Lady Gaga and Beyonce. They are trying to sell their music creativity using their sexuality unlike the perfume marketers mentioned above who represent women as powerless. It must be understood that popular culture and the media are trying to sell their product, service, or entertainment to consumers. Teenagers need to imbibe popular culture at their own risk.

Sincerely,

Jacob Imsland

Bibliography

Fowles, Jib. "Advertising's Fifteen Basic Appeals." Jfowles.html. N.p.,  1998. Web. 18 Nov.  2012. <http://www.cyberpat.com/shirlsite/education/essay2/jfowles.html>.

 This article by Jib Fowles will be useful for my research paper because it has a detailed list of the top 15 appeals used in advertising. Jib wrote about how the marketers appeal to peoples "subrational impulses and desires" which I can use to support my claim. This article would target people interested in knowing what advertisers do to attract consumers. It does a good job explaining the different types of appeals used in advertising and explains that too many appeals might harm the effect of advertising. This article will be good to use in my paper to cover general information about advertising. 

Kilbourne, Jean. "'Two Ways a Women Can Get Hurt'"; Advertising and Violence"Rereading America. 8th ed.  Boston: Bedford/St.           Martin's, 2010. 575-601. Print.

"Teenagers With Eating Disorders." American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. N.p., May 2008. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. < http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Teenagers+with +Eating+Disorders§ion=Facts+for+Families>.