きれいな物

This is an ongoing battle for most women. Now, I am anything BUT a womens rights activist--Quite the opposite, really--But the matter is, the women that are depicted in most ads, in magazine and television, are beautiful, glowing, with perfect skin, slender bodies, and features that most "normal" women would kill for. If jewelry is being advertised, they zoom into the product, and how it sticks out against their skin. If they model clothes, they are showing the product as worn on their bodies. They can sell anything like this--Heck, they can sell vacuum cleaners if a beautiful woman is pushing one. I find it irritating, and slightly degrading. Many women can't help but compare themselves to the women in these ads. Now, as far as I go, I do have self-esteem, and always have--Yet, if I catch sight of a Victorias Secret ad, I feel it slipping away. If the advertising companies used more 'average' women, I would be more prone to buying what they are selling, or at least paying more attention. They are attracting men, maybe, but as for women, we need more than a busty woman selling something to really grasp us. I tend to read a lot of Japanese magazines, and while they still have the typical ad, with a beautiful woman, I see much less of these than in the American magazine counterparts. I'm sure aesthetic beauty does differ, at least slightly, from culture to culture--Though, in todays world, in countries that share mostly similar cultures, such as ourselves, Europe, and developed Asia, slender women are the standard in Advertising. In Japanese magazines, I see many more handsome men, or even children selling products--Something that I wish we would focus on, instead of women. The Dove Ad campaign is one of my favorites, and one I wish I'd see more often. The majority of women in this country aren't runway models, but we'd love to feel like we are. That is how this ad makes us feel.

-Carley Watson