NO One is Perfect

For as long as I know, this world has chased after perfection. Yet the idea of “perfection,” is simply that…an idea. Since no one is perfect, we like to create in our minds what we think is perfect and then shove it down the throats of everyone else. Especially advertising companies.

There is an ideal image of beauty that has been shown in many advertisements over decades and even when we don’t think we are being affected by what we see, the reality shows us that we are.  What is even crazier is the fact the ideal image never shows consistency. One minute, ads show extremely skinny women modeling top designer clothes with long straight hair and full lips as the project “perfect” image and the next minute, they advertise an object with a women on it that has plump breasts, a very small waistline, a nice size butt and long legs. It goes on and on and so the question is, what is really the perfect image? And while women in the media are often modified by photoshop and recreated into being something they are not, they are still shown as vulnerable.

After watching, “Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women,” it is clear to see the tactics advertising companies have been using over years to portray this “perfect” women. We also see the difference between how men are viewed in the media versus how women are viewed. Men are objectified as stronger and more masculine in ads while women are often objectified as vulnerable, needy and usable.

What’s wrong with this picture? ...Everything.

These are just a few ads that are examples of women being objectified in media.  

The woman is only an object of sexual fulfillment in this ad. Her face is covered by a BMW ad.

In this ad, 5 men are standing over this woman who is pinned down and they look tough and masculine. She is clearly being shown as an object being taken advantage of. 

This ad shows women being consumable and again, objects to be used and violated. 

This ad, the man is standing over a woman which shows the man as dominate and the woman as passive. 

A woman's body is objectified as a bottle of beer in this ad.

So after seeing ads like this over and over again, the media tells women they are objects and they must be "perfect" so that we can continue to be used. It's ridiculous. 

In my own experience, I have always been small but this is a genetic part about me and isn't anything I am striving to be. The media loves to portray the notion, "the skinnier, the better," but that is not always the case. While I'm not anorexic, there has been times where I've tried to gain weight and just couldn't. 

When I joined the Air Force, there was a delay for me to actually start basic training because I was too small. Although I was fit, my measurements wasn't where they needed it to be. Recruiters kept telling me to eat and drink all these weight gain shakes just to get bigger. I did everything and there was still no budge in my weight. It was frustrating. When I was finally able to start basic training, I had to sit at what they called, "the skinny table" at chow time which gave me 10 more extra minutes to eat. I also couldn't perform the exercises when I first started until the medical doctor said it was ok since my military instructor said he was afraid I was going to "break something." While I was getting the "you're too skinny" speech, others were getting the, "you're too big or not fit enough," speech. No matter how small or big the girls in my flight were, we got the impression we were still not fit enough or good enough and this is exactly what advertising agencies are saying. 

So as women, we strive to be that "perfect" woman we see in the ads. We get our make up done, nails done, butt injections, breast implants, weaves, colored contacts and the list goes on. One of my favorite episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is when Will is trapped in the basement with his girlfriend, Kathleen and realizes she isn't who he think she is. She starts taking her nails off, her contacts and her wig and Will is confused about what is actually hers. As comical as this episode is, I think it is very true. 

When we look at these ads, we see women as having all those artificial things but is portrayed as being their natural look. Just like Kathleen in the Fresh Prince episode, we can get our appearance to be different to reflect a natural look although it isn't because we think subconsciously it is what we need to be "perfect." 

As a result to all the nonsense portrayed in ads, I have one thing to say. 

Thanks to all the unrealistic ads out there for your confusing and sad contribution of women but we don't need your help. We're NOT objects and we're NOT perfect but we still are beautiful!