Sexism in Advertising--The BAD

This ad not only turns men into muscle building objects and leads them to think that by drinking Muscle Milk, they will be able to get more girls, but it also turns women into nothing but “tail.” This ad also perpetuates the idea that men need to be bulky and muscular to be able to get a piece of “tail.”

This ad unnecessarily uses sex appeal and objectifies women in order to sell a product that has no connection to sex or the female body. It literally turns women into pieces of meat.

What does clothing have to do with dead women? Nothing. This ad trivializes violence against women in order to sell clothing. Portraying lifeless, abused women in this manner perpetuates rape culture by associating violence with sex appeal.




This ad not only portrays Asian women as exotic, but by showing her bound to a shoe, it also deems her to be powerless and defenseless. Giving sex appeal to women that have been dehumanized in this way contributes to a rape culture that supports, and even promotes, forms of sexual violence against women.

By portraying women as interchangeable, surreal objects, MeltinPot reduces them to inhuman figures that exist solely to be utilized and discarded. This promotes a culture in which sexual violence and misogyny are considered acceptable, since women are seen as “others.” By removing the heads of the women and replacing them with the heads of pigs, the advertisement denies the women their status as human beings by associating them with animals and stripping them of their individualism. The ads depict women as just another commodity in a culture concerned only with materialism.

This advertisement depicts a woman who appears to be the victim of a violent crime as inferred by body language, facial expression, and smashed light bulbs. She has a terrified expression on her face and is clutching the comforter seemingly in preparation for an impending blow. In addition, she is portrayed holding a doll in her left hand, thereby infantilizing her and making her further powerless in the eyes of the viewer. Using depictions of violence against women to sell products is not only nonsensical, it is degrading to women. Furthermore, giving sex appeal to women that have been dehumanized contributes to a rape culture that supports, and even promotes, forms of sexual violence against women.

Not all of women's problems can be solved with a diamond ring as this advertisement suggests. This ad severely minimizes the issues that women face in today’s society--issues that sometimes seem insurmountable and should be managed with the help of a professional.

The focus of this particular advertisement does not seem to be the clothes, which are hardly visible underneath the model, but an implication of rape. The overly sexualized and powerless woman in the advertisement contributes to cultures that view women's bodies as objects for sexual pleasure, rather than as human beings.