Today, anywhere you go, you see
advertisements – advertisements of drinks, food, clothing, and possibly
everything else. However, the advertisements by specific clothing brands in
particular stood out, especially the advertisements by the famous American retailer, Abercrombie and Fitch. If
you have been to the store, its hard to ignore seeing the models on the
shopping bags and posters half-naked. Abercrombie is known for its racy
marketing photography and highly sexualized photography. Not only do they discriminate
against African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans, but they hire
Caucasian males with perfectly proportionate bodies. Nobody can doubt the fact
that Abercrombie and Fitch is sexist and racist.
The picture
below is an advertisement on the Abercrombie shopping bags. The first thing you
will notice is the male model lying down semi-nude. But aren’t clothing brands
supposed to advertise their clothing? Clearly, Abercrombie’s aim is not to sell
their clothes in the advertisements, but their bodies. The male model is being
objectified here. This objectification is very similar to the ways in which
women are objectified as sexual objects. The viewers can’t even recognize what
he is wearing because his clothes are completely opened, so only his bare chest
is shown. His perfect six-pack is also emphasized as it is basically shown in
the middle of the advertisement. The male is smiling and seems as if he is
content, and everyone would probably consider him as “hot” or “handsome”. However,
the sexualization doesn’t stop here. If you look a little closer, his hands are
on a girl’s bottom. This portrays gender stereotyping as the male shows
dominance over the female. In addition to the male model being objectified, the
female model is objected to a higher extent. The female is also lying down, but
in a way that she is face down. Her face is not even shown in the advertisement.
Her faceless appearance objectifies the female as she seems as if she is just
an object to be touched. The female seems vulnerable and submissive, controlled
by the male model. In addition, her pants are low-cut, so that her midriff is
exposed. She is also wearing a tight tanktop which is above her belly-button.
How does any of this sexualization advertise their products? Their brand name
isn’t even clearly advertised, as the brand name is covered by the models.
I’ve looked at more of Abercrombie’s advertisements, hoping
to find an ad with models actually wearing the clothes. However, what I found
was an advertisement showing two girls kissing one guy. You may not notice this
at first, but the advertisement shown below lowers the status of women and
treats them as objects. It emphasizes the fact that women are not treated as
full human beings with equal rights and needs as men. The females are wearing
bras and surround the male model, who is also topless. Both the male and the
females look happy and content, which gives off the notion that women are
satisfied with the way they are treated.
At least these advertisements are on the shopping bags,
which you only get when you purchase something at the store. But, these
hypersexualized advertisements are shown everywhere, especially in the streets
of New York. The photograph below was actually shown on a billboard. From the
photograph, you can clearly tell that the advertisement was quite big in size
as it covers more than half o the building. The advertisement shows an image of
a male model’s crotch. His face is cut off and only his biceps and upper part
of his bottoms are showing. The male model is objectified as only his body
parts are shown. His muscular arms and hands are on his pants, and it almost
seems as if he is going to take off his pants. But what’s funny about this ad
that's supposed to advertise the male’s clothing? The logo of Abercrombie is
shown in initials as “A&F”, which makes it seem as everyone already knows
the brand. Although Abercrombie and Fitch is a popular retailer in the U.S.,
they are clearly not as prestigious as other brands such as Chanel or
Gucci. Abercrombie owns another brand,
Hollister, however, although they offer the same clothes for the same quality,
Abercrombie charges their products for a higher price.
Now think about the millions of adults and teenagers that
see these advertisements everyday. How do these pictures shown in
advertisements compare with what we see when we look at the real women and men
around us? According to Jean Kilborune, it is impossible for anyone living in
today’s society to be unconscious to the condescending nature that many advertisements
have toward men, and especially women. From seeing the Abercrombie
advertisements everyday, no wonder the young adults and teenagers aspire to be
like the Abercrombie models. Because the advertisements have gotten much more
intrusive than ever before, the ideal image of beauty has changed. Today, girls
believe that they need to be skinny to be considered beautiful, and guys
believe that they need to have a six-pack to attract girls. The sexism in the
advertisements increasingly permeates our lives, and we need to be careful and
determine whether the pictures shown in the ads are realistic or not. For the
benefit of our future generations and our children, the alarming trend of
sexualiation in advertisements is one that needs to addressed immediately. And
though it all starts with us, we first need the media to help.
