Kim Fiorenzo
4-20-09
Mr. Lane
Stereotypes in Women’s Beauty Advertisements
In today’s world, people are swarmed daily with advertisements about products. The
advertisements vary greatly from product to product however, they all portray a certain image. These
product advertisements have great impact on people and their views about what they want to be like and
who they want to become.
Every product that advertises usually involves a person or a group of people in their advertisement.
Although all products stereotype a person in some way, a beauty product that greatly stereotypes is
women’s beauty advertisements on perfume. Beauty advertisements give the stereotype of an erotic and
attractive woman. Beauty advertisements use a variety of ways to portray the person in their ads as
“erotic” and being the “perfect person.” The people in the ads are usually tall, thin, pale, good looking and
are typically placed or positioned in a provocative way (WOW). In reality however, only five percent of
women fall into that category (WOW). The models are usually nude or wearing small amounts of clothes
that give that added sex appeal to the observer. The way the models in these ads are positioned and the
way they look in the photographs also have great impact on the stereotype that people will view when
they see these advertisements. The more sexually positioned the models are, the more they all portray a
sexual image and a submissive attitude (MAN).
It is not only women that are portrayed in advertisements in a sexual; it is men and women as a
couple. Many beauty ads portray men and women in sexual position with little clothes on (MAN). These
ads too provide the reader a sexual image and a stereotype of women as sex objects. These types of ads
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create a sexual attitude to their viewers in a way that could that could impact them in some way. For
example, it is a fact that two-thirds of young people turn to the media when they want to learn about sex
(WOW). With sexual images in the media and advertising market, that can create a large problem for
youth becoming too sexually exposed at a young age. The images on beauty products for women are a
problem in the society and have great impact on its viewer in some way.
It has been proven that stereotypes in advertisements such as perfume ads have a major impact on
the viewer of the ad (MAN). Advertisers are the single largest contributor to the persistence of female
degradation and sexual prejudice in our society (WOW). For example, models in ads always have the
perfect body and the best looks. The images the advertisements portray impact people because people
want to look and become just like the model in the ad. It is known that many people are viewing
advertisements and are trying to become more and more like the models. People try to become like them
by dieting, starving themselves, getting surgeries, excessively exercising and spending excessive amounts
of money on products that will make them become that “perfect person” represented in the ads (MAN).
Those strategies alone can cause many problems relating to health, money issues, and even signs of
depression if they do not achieve their goals. Advertisements also try to encourage people to believe that
if they use their product, they will become like the model portrayed in the image. For example, a lotion ad
said, “Seduce your senses, Silken your skin … It’s a sensual experience like never before” (WOW). That
provides the reader with an image that they could imitate the model, dressing and looking just like the
models, if they choose to purchase and use that certain lotion.
Overall, the media’s advertisements play a big role in a person’s life. With millions of ads shown
daily, people are exposed to greater amounts of advertisements than ever before. With these ads
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,however, images and stereotypes develop that are hard to get rid of. The “perfect person” and “erotic”
stereotype portrayed on beauty products is just one example of a stereotype that has been taken to
extremes. People are beginning to change their images and ways of life just to be like someone on those
advertisements. Although media executives claim that women stereotypes in advertisements such as
these will never be avoided, over the next few years there are going to be many changes done in
advertisements that will drastically benefit people and their society.
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Appendix A
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Works Cited
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