Reader's Response #2

            The article, “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt: Advertising and Violence” by Joan Kilbourne, lays out some very direct beliefs and evidence about the views of women in advertising and in everyday life.  In the article Kilbourne begins by promptly paralleling the images of women in advertising to that of those in pornography.  She believes that pornography and advertising are similar in which there are certain characteristics that women portray in both of these two fields. For example Kilbourne states, “The poses and postures of advertising are often borrowed from pornography, as are many of the themes…” (576) By comparing the way women pose and emit feeling through advertisements and in pornography, Kilbourne is able to criticize the negative image that is given towards women. Because pornography is so mainstream and highly viewed, women have turned themselves into what the media wants women to be.

             The media is sex driven and thus is the general population due to the constant feeding of false ideas from the media. The media is given too much power from the companies that desire to put out advertisements for their products. Company owners see that pornography has become quite mainstream and they use this to their advantage by trying to sell their products by adding in little everyday similarities into their ads to draw peoples’ attention. This is where the faults come in. Due to pornography being more about disconnection and distance rather than connection and closeness advertisers relay that same message. Kilbourne states, “The main goal, as in pornography, is usually power over another, either by physical dominance or preferred status of men or what is seen as the exploitative power of female beauty and sexuality.” (575) This is exactly what advertising is continuing to do by drawing out these desires from the consumers and in turn succeeding in persuading them to buy the corporation’s products. Kilbourne analyzes a number of different advertisements and draws the connections that she sees directly or indirectly from pornography.

            Women are being victimized and objectified over the sake of desire. The continuous portrayal of these characteristics lessens women from what they truly are and should be, which is equal to men in every way. Women are scrutinized due to the fact that men are ‘supposed’ to be the ones in control and the ones in power. Men are more powerful and capable and thus women should obey or be submissive towards men. These are the views that make pornography and advertising what it has been and has become today. The media should not be controlling the way people act, look, and be around everyone everyday. Kilbourne believes that women shouldn’t be subjected to this kind of ‘mockery’ and should be viewed as equals.