Sex, Saks, and Self-Esteem : An examination of the effect advertising has on American adolescent girls

Paper Submission

Class: Advertising

Year Published: 2007

Sex, Saks, and Self-Esteem : An examination of the effect advertising has on American adolescent girls

Advertisements to teenagers in mainstream magazines emphasize hyper-sexuality and perpetuate the beauty myth, leading to self-esteem issues and potential health related problems in women. Once viewed as the beacon of hope for American females as a source to establish identity and provide common ground, popular magazines are nothing more than a mere attempt to corrupt the minds of American females. Etched within the pages of magazines like Seventeen, Vogue, and Bazaar, teenage girls are exposed to a distorted perception of social reality, beauty, and gender. The definition of woman for these girls involves being a sexual temptress, with luscious lips, a small frame and 6 inch heels. Girl power is transformed into the ability to bare all and capture the desire of men. Through these advertisements found in these popular magazines, the word “woman” in all its facets is quickly diminished to nothing more than sexual objectification and a personification of lust.

Adolescence is that dreadful time when a young girl escapes the imagination of childhood and embarks on the adventure toward adulthood. She exchanges her Barbie playhouses for Seventeen and CosmoGirl, trades her Mary Janes and polkadot tights for the latest fashions, paints her nails a dark, color of temptation and transforms herself into the image of the idealized woman. “Adolescence is such a period: Young people of 10-22 years are in the midst of a process of restructuring social relationships, of finding their place in society, and of making important choices for their future lives. Where some adolescents arrive at a clear and integrated identity, others end up in a state of identity confusion,” (Beyers and Cok, 2008, p. 147). In search of their own identity, adolescents turn to an amalgam of resources to construct this image. These resources included that of parents, family, school friends, organizational friends, educators, and the media. With an exceptional amount of available resources, adolescents tend to create their identity and image by fusing pieces of influence of each of these resources, and socially comparing themselves to their idols. “As such, identity in adolescence can indeed be conceptualized as the balance between self and others that surround the adolescent (Kroger, 2004),”(Beyers and Cok, 2008, p. 149).  Unfortunately for parents whose ultimate desire is an adolescent of good nature, virtues, and intelligence, the media has an unparalleled ability to influence the mind, body, and actions of these girls, that may not align with the hopes of these parents. Moreover, while adolescence seems to affect only those in middle school and the early years of high school, the effect of the media is also extremely significant among the older high school students where parental control and evaluation of media content is not as strict. “As a result of demographic shifts in postindustrial societies, some individuals in their late teens through the twenties, particularly those who are able to attend college instead of beginning full-time employment, marriage or parenthood roles, have few responsibilities compared to later in the lifespan. This allows for ample time to question values, laws, beliefs, norms, or standards; or to engage in experimentation with possible roles, a process of identity exploration first begun in adolescence (Erikson, 1968),” (Padwilla-Walker, et.al, 2007, p. 452). Therefore, the factor of media exposure in identity creation, affects a large demographic of girls, ranging from pre-middle school to post- high school.

The influence of the media on the identity creation of teenage girls involves very distinct media ranging from the television show and subsequent television commercial, music and advertisements on the radio, books, movies, magazines and advertisements in the magazines, and of course online media and their various advertisements. A primary factor in the influence of perceptions and social reality associated with media is the use of celebrities in advertisements- print, audio, and television- to sell an ideal, image, or brand. Merchandisers and brands use celebrities either to personally sell their product, or by allowing these celebrities to sell their clothing lines in their stores. “From discounters to department stores, retailers are introducing an unprecedented number of exclusive partnerships- and marketing them heavily- to win the attention of wary consumers,” (Zmuda, 2008, p. 10). The use of celebrities’ brands in department stores provides a happy medium for American consumers, especially parents of teenagers and tweenagers whose only aspiration in life is to be like their favorite celebrity. The focus on celebrities, although not a consistently positive influence on teenagers in the process of identity search, is an appeal that advertiser’s heavily rely upon. As stated in Advertising Age, Avril Lavigne has joined Kohl’s with her line, Abbey Dawn; This example was primarily used in television commercials with music moguls, Lenny Kravitz, Plain White T’s and Vanessa Carlton (Zmuda, 2008). Another example of the incorporation of celebrity brands in common department stores is the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen line found at Walmart. For years, parents of teenagers in search of the newest and coolest fashions have been going to Walmart of the latest teen sensation products of sparkly shirts and accessories, leopard print leggings, and Bedazzled blue jeans. This happy medium is only successful when parents and teens have a positive understanding that the parents will simultaneously look out for the best interest of the teen while allowing the teens to present themselves in the likeness of their favorite celebrity. While many wish this equilibrium between fashion and moral responsibility would remain consistent, this is one instance where things are too good to be true. Celebrities extend their likeness to being endorsers of products, featured in the newest advertisements of various brands, and personifying more than great fashion. “Every year millions of dollars are spent on endorsement contracts with high profile celebrities. This practice presumably stems from the intuitive notion that the positive images of celebrities will be passed on to products associated with the celebrities,” (Lee and Thorson, 2008, p. 433). That’s where the problem starts. Celebrity appearance has progressed beyond the walls of Kohl’s and Walmart to the pages of Seventeen, CosmoGirl, Bazaar, and Vogue. Regardless of whether the celebrity actually uses MAX make-up on a regular basis, wears Marc Jacobs’ perfume, or bathes in flowers, to consumers of media they do, and they always look good doing it. “For instance, Kahle and Homer (1985) examined how the physical attractiveness of a celebrity endorser affects consumer attitudes and purchase intentions toward a beauty-related product,” (Lee and Thorson, 2008, p. 434). Magazines have perfected this idea, using celebrities in the advertisements found in popular girl magazines and corrupting the developing minds of these young consumers with images of sex, beauty, and perfection. The images of celebrities in advertisements are fairly consistent in various publications. In girl magazines, such as Seventeen, and fashion magazines, like Bazaar and Vogue, the images of celebrities are very sexual and enticing. Yet, celebrities are not the only beautiful faces of models in advertisements that portray negative ideals and encourage sex. Within a single issue of Seventeen, Bazaar, and Vogue there are innumerable images of celebrities, and ordinary models, portraying images of desire and lust, encouraging personal beautification through make-up, and infecting the minds of its young consumers with a distorted view of reality and beauty. “Sexual imagery appears in magazine articles and advertisements. A recent issue of Cosmopolitan might contain hundreds of half-naked women, stories of sexual mishaps, and even instructions for the ancient art of Kama Sutra,” (Zimmerman and Dahlberg, 2008, p. 71). If that is in Cosmopolitan, one wonders what images are found in an issue of CosmoGirl or Seventeen.

Seventeen

Seventeen magazine is primarily targeted to teenage girls, posing as a forum for teenage girls to discuss boys, beauty, blunders, and of course fashion. While it must be noted that Seventeen is more pure in their attempt to showcase advertisements of power in young girls, and assist with self esteem issues, Seventeen’s advertisements as a whole still provide sexualized images and perpetuate the beauty myth. One of the first advertisements in Seventeen is a Covergirl ad that features the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team, as a tribute to their successes in the Olympics. This ad conveys to young girls that all things are possible, despite their gender, and that they can still ‘look good’ while doing so. Another modest ad, is for Rocawear in which an African American female is completely covered in Rocawear apparel and standing in front of the mirror (Seventeen, 2008). It emphasizes beauty and good fashion, while allowing the girl to still be desireable and keep her clothes on. There are a scatter of anti-acne advertisements throughout the issue, which will not be as heavily critiqued because its placement may merely be to encourage cleanliness within its readers and help them regain the self-esteem potentially lost during puberty. The rest of the ads in the publication aren’t as focused on cleanliness and purity. Towards the middle of the magazine, there is an advertisement for Candie’s that features television star Hayden Panettiere in a sexually suggestive stance, wearing an ultra-mini skirt and a shirt that reveals her cleavage (Seventeen, 2008). Another celebrity advertisement is of Christina Aguilera in a plunging neckline and excessive cleavage, holding a bottle of her new fragrance, Inspire (Seventeen, 2008). Young girls will be inspired by the images of these stars so much that they soon will wish to bare their cleavage, and raise their mini-skirts just a bit shorter. Unfortunately, for parents and prude media consumers, these advertisements are two of the least sexual in Seventeen. The most sexual ad in Seventeen goes to Marc Jacobs, as a model lays in the grass in white lingerie clutching a bottle of Jacobs’ fragrance, Daisy, atop her breasts (Seventeen, 2008). Yet, parents of these fine media consumers are in luck. Seventeen, a primary girls magazine, is of the best influence on girls compared to fashion magazines such as Glamour and Vogue. Therefore, if girls continue to purchase and view Seventeen, the only thing parents will have to worry about are plunging necklines and their daughters laying in the backyard with a bottle of fragrance on their breast. Consumers of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue aren’t that lucky in being able to retain their purification and moral standards.

Bazaar

The November 2008 issue of Bazaar features a majority of sexualized images, sexually suggestive positions, and transfers these images to the readers in an attempt to perpetuate the relentless beauty myth of America. Found in the first few pages of this magazine is an advertisement for Stern, available at Neiman Marcus, in which a model stands with her legs so open and elevated, the reader may receive a prize if they can guess the color of her underwear (Bazaar, 2008). Yes, consumers, looking sexy is that simple. A Blackglama advertisement features a model wearing nothing but peep-toe heels and a fur coat. Celebrity actress and model Charlize Theron is found toward the middle of the magazine in a low-cut dress, and exposing cleavage (Bazaar, 2008). Catherine Zeta-Jones, perhaps still in the mindset of beloved film Chicago, hides naked behind a red door while wearing red gloves to endorse Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Fragrance (Bazaar, 2008, p. 11). The list of celebrities and models baring their bodies for the sake of aesthetic enjoyment and product endorsement, goes on and on. Victoria’s Secret model Gisele Bundchen in a low cut jacket for MAX makeup, Scarlett Johannson for blond hair dye, Naomi Watts laying naked in an icy winter wonderland for Thierry Mugler, and Eva Mendes for Calvin Klein’s “Secret Obsession”, laying down with no clothes on revealing an orgasmic expression (Bazaar, 2008). Bazaar’s target market is not teenage girls yet, a majority of teens in the United States frequent stands with such publications to get the latest influence of fashion, engage in imagination of reality, and capture a better sense of what it means to be a woman.

This is in no way better captured than with a spread titled, “The Magic of Fashion”, that features Harry Potter actress Emma Watson (who plays Hermione- the intelligent friend of Harry’s who helps them prevail and serves as a role model for young girls that intelligence is sexy) baring her legs and wearing 5 inch stilettos. The images found in Bazaar are sexy, elusive, and captivating, screaming to adolescents, young women, and older women: show a little bit of skin, rouse your hair, unbutton that top button, wear those 5 inch heels, and smile with your full lips at the fact that it is sexy when women are exploited.

Vogue

The advertisements in Vogue are comparable to that of Bazaar, including such designers and stores as Gap, Gucci, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Louis Vuitton, and Dior. Yves Saint Laurent decided to bare a little more this year, featuring an ad of an African American model dressed in a loose fitting suit jacket that is just long enough to cover her vagina…because that is all she has on. The aestheticism of this ad convinces teenage readers that the only necessary apparel is a suit jacket and stilettos. Of course, teen readers understand that these images are only necessary to sell the gray suit jacket and black heels, yet they will be brave in their attempts to reconstruct the images found within these printed pages for aesthetic rebellion in their high schools. A Versace ad, found toward the end of the magazine, features two models in bright pink dresses, one a long, flowy number and the other a fur dress. Nothing appears to be overly sexual in this advertisement, just two girls wearing bright dresses, one of whom has her hand strategically placed on the others bosom. All of the women found in these advertisements are exceptionally skinny, with perfect faces and body types, and reveal to the consumers of these magazines that physical perfection is attainable with the right direction and the appropriate amount of money. Capitalism at it’s finest.

Many magazine producers and media corporation fail to recognize is that adolescents that are viewing these products, are causing themselves to be in a mental state of harm as the image of themselves is not congruent with the portrayal of women in these ads. “Young women who perceived that their peers and parents to valued thinness, and that parents made comments about body appearance, had lower body esteem In addition, mediated norms also were related to lower appearance and weight esteem. Specifically, exposure to fashion, celebrity and fitness magazines had a negative effect on young women’s appearance esteem; however, this relationship was mediated by social comparison, suggesting that comparison is the mechanism by which esteem is lowered,” (Krcmar, Giles, and Helme, 2008, p.111). When an adolescent views the images in advertisements and magazines, they are engaging in an act of social comparison whether they are conscious of doing so or not. Internalization of the ideal woman- beautiful in all of her likeness- causes adolescents to feel inadequate and self-conscious, striving to achieve this unattainable goal of perfection. “With its focus on the severely thing body ideal, young women may be faced with a reflected image of themselves that is so thin and yet so idealized, that it may be impossible to obtain,” (Krcmar, Giles, and Helme, 2008, p.113). In search of the goal of perfection, of capturing the beauty myth, adolescent girls are also subjecting themselves to a multitude of health problems. “Whereas body dissatisfaction contributes to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (Garfinkel, 1995), it is also associated with other health-related problems, most notably psychological depression,” (Hinz and Williamson, 1987, p.111).  The presence of body dissatisfaction and subsequent health problems is notable and prevalent in American middle schools, high schools, and colleges.

A study was conducted of incoming female college freshman from a private university in the southeastern United States who were invited to complete a survey during their freshman orientation in August, 2005 (Krcmar, Giles and Helme, 2008). Participating students (N=427) were surveyed during a university-sponsored freshman orientation session and asked questions about age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, participation in healthy and risky behaviors, peer and parent norms, media exposure, and social comparison to media figures (Krcmar, Giles and Helme, 2008). The results of the study support the ideal that media images contribute to a diminished self-esteem in teenage girls. “Specifically, exposure to fashion, celebrity, and fitness magazines had a negative effect on young women’s appearance esteem; however, this relationship was mediated by two processes. One was interpersonal norms. Perceptions of interpersonal norms from both parents and friends mediated the relationship between exposure to thin media images and body satisfaction. This suggests that the social environment, which includes the parents and peers of a young woman, can either reinforce or perhaps negate negative effects of media on body esteem….The social environment, which includes mass media, is also mediated by processes internal to the woman. In other words, her own level of social comparison is another mechanism that can either reinforce or negate effects,” (Krcmar, Giles and Helme, 2008, p. 125). As long as female and fashion magazines continue to print advertisements that encourage sexual objectification of women, American adolescents are going to have a distorted perception of reality and beauty. “Thin is still in for advertising, new research suggests, unless you’re trying to sell cookies or self-esteem,” (Neff,2008, p.4). Unfortunately, the market composed of emaciated body’s of American teenagers, sexual gratification, and low self-worth will be perpetuated in advertisements among various sources of media.

The idea of the perfect woman is attainable, regardless of what magazine and media advertisements state. The perfect woman is one who has a positive and real image of herself, critiques the images the media presents her accordingly, and believes that the beauty myth is nothing more than a superficial notion created to maintain capitalism. “Therefore, it appears that, perhaps through setting up unrealistic norms, exposure to images of thinness in the media can have a deleterious effect on the body image and esteem for at least some young women,” (Krcmar, Giles and Helme, 2008, p. 118). Adolescents in search of a place to spend their parents cash while simultaneously increasing their superficial image and self-worth, need to look a bit further than newsstands covered with fashion magazines. They need to look inside themselves, before the outside even matters.

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