Men don’t like the idea of girls becoming women. Our fathers want us to be their “little girls” forever, our brothers, younger and older, feel like they have to protect us from the world for forever and our boyfriends and husbands eventually take the place of our fathers and brothers. Imagine growing up in a world where you are constantly growing and maturing, but all of the men around you continue to treat you like you’re still 5 years old. Now imagine that women receive the same treatment from advertising; this should all be easy to imagine since it occurs on a daily.
In advertisements women, in their adult bodies, are often shown in situations or partaking in child-like activities. For example:
This is a perfume ad for Miss Daisy perfume. Nice ad, but the first thing I noticed was the bow in Natalie Portman’s hair. While studying this ad I realized that the bow was probably put in her hair to repeat the design of the perfume bottle, but I still have an issue with the ad. Portman is made to seem sweet and innocent like a young girl and the bow is just the icing on the cake.
Here’s another example:
This ad for Harajuku Lovers perfume is another great example of women being portrayed as little girls in advertisements. The make-up, the hair style the perfume being in a doll shaped bottle all point to this theme of women being seen as little girls. This ad is probably a reflection of the Harajuku culture, but the perfume is sold in the United States as well and a lot of people don’t know about that culture or their style.
These are only two examples, but I could go on for days! We need to show our women in another light and women need to step into that light and stop allowing such images to continue.
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