Many models in brands such as Abercrombie and Fitch, Victoria's Secret etc. are mostly viewed as very beautiful and slim women. When I saw the scenes in the documentary, I immediately thought of what this clothing store advertises, which mostly attracts women. Recently, Abercrombie and Fitch haven't had much success in selling their products. This is the effect of what Jeffries thought. He believes that women that are a size zero jeans are what people should be. Jeffries quotes, "That's why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that." By marketing "good-looking people," he is also advertising that women are only seen as an object. The models that he advertises are very slim and are seen with the "thigh gap" and good looking men surrounding them. He has the value assumption all women and men in the world should be seen like the models that have been advertised for years who are beautiful and skinny.
The brand Victoria's Secret especially advertises women being an object to the world. When shoppers walk into their store, the first thing they would see is the models on the walls or poster boards of models in directly in front of the entrance. By putting these women out there for everyone to see shows that women are the eye of what the ideal women should look like; with their perfect skin flawless figure. An event that really caught my attention that involved the brand Victoria's Secret was the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion show. The thought of women strutting down the catwalk with the beautiful costumes they have on made me realize that everyone that watches the show don't think that these women are being used as tools for men to look at. But in reality, models flaunting themselves to the world can lead to the use of women getting what they want.
These models missrepresent the role of a woman. Women's roles in life are't about branding to being skinny and beautiful. Because of this, it causes women all over the world to be insecure about themselves. This mostly targets the younger generation who are in the ages between their early teens to late 20's. These girls measure themselves with models and think that they are worth nothing compared to them because of what attention they get. These girls give into peer presure and begin to do things that make them want to be thin. Some start hating themselves and get suicidal thoughts and begin self harming. In the real world, we don't need models to show people what they should be. We need role models for people to be themselves.
The thing about stores wanting to attract 'good looking people' is so true. When someone sees a model for a brand and sees that they are super skinny, they want to be just like them. But the model is even photo shopped. It is an unrealistic expectation that women have to look like a toothpick.
ReplyDeleteAll of these ads contain very slim girls who give off that perfect, beautiful look. However, because of this, it has created the value assumption that girls should be as skinny as these models in order for them to be considered beautiful. This then leads to low self-esteem, depression, and eating disorders to arise among girls who are not as skinny as the models they see in the advertisements.
ReplyDeleteThe fact we as a society like to watch these types of shows sickens me. We should be focused on more important matters, such as the news, rather than skinny, perfect models strutting down a runway with barely any clothes on. Sure, news is probably not as interesting, but it'll at least make us more educated. Shows like the Victoria Secret Fashion Show are just corrupting our minds.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to seem like a sexist person but I believe that this trend of dehumanizing woman is inevitable. Woman have always wanted to look beautiful (not as much as they do today than in the past) so I believe that, if marketers used "ugly" woman or even average woman, then woman wouldn't buy their product. Think about it, if there was a picture of a fat woman in Victoria's Secret underwear, you would at least sub-consciously be veered away from it no matter how much you tell yourself that the model doesn't matter, just the product.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. Big brands like Abercrombie & Fitch advertise slim models to show off their product. However, it's a false impression that influences young young girls into believing that happiness equates to having the "perfect" body, which causes teens and young adults to feel insecure about themselves.
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