For All To See and Aim To Be

Most people see gender and sexuality as natural and unquestionable ideas, and most people even accept the gendered hierarchy in our society. What many of us don't realize however or are fail to think about in our daily lives, is that hierarchy exceeds the sexual difference in that strict idea of hierarchy that males are necessarily above females. In fact, race and ethnicity, as well as inherited power, not just sex or gender, can come into play in regards to factors that affect one’s position in society. Hierarchy in regards to sex, race, and power is maintained as long as there is a "dialectical appropriation and suppression of the Other", in which the "Other" can be a woman being suppressed by a man, or a person of color being suppressed by a white person, or a person of a lower social class suppressed by one from a higher class. In our society, the media often perpetrates powerful images of the anti-Other, being it a man, or a white person, or a person of a high social class. “Powerful” not only in the sense that it gets the message across by eliciting strong feelings, but also powerful meaning that it puts an anti-other on a pedestal for all to see and aim to be. Advertisers especially, who are the bloodstream of media, use these power dynamics in their strategies.

Diesel ad with a young female in a sexual position

This ad targets an extremely specific demographic.  First of all, this ad was found in a magazine that only people who are interested in buying Diesel merchandise would pick up and peruse.  Therefore, it is targeted towards the younger generation that is sexually active, or has the potential to be, particularly females.  The use of the female model seduces men, but at the same time, she draws women who want to look, or to the extreme, be like the skinny and sexy model.  The Diesel clothing brand is popular for many things including jeans, and since it’s been around for a while, it can be deduced that Diesel uses this advertisement to broaden its image. Diesel clothing has long been associated with fast-paced, hip, and sexy youth culture. This perpetrates the myth that maturity is not fashionable and that “beauty”, a subjective term associated with youthful looks, follows fashion, a venture that is available for all ages (Wolf, 69). Judging from this advertisement, it is clear that the advertisers of this Deisel do not seek to seem socially responsible.  It is up to the reader’s judgement whether they should buy Diesel jeans and associate the garment with certain ideas.

Despite all the effort to sensualize Diesel jeans and associate the product with thoughts and desires, skinny jeans in particular are actually not what the advertisement may suggest.  The advertisement suggests comfort, free-spirited, sexy feel when wearing diesel jeans.  On the other hand, Dr.Rattue claims that “men who wear tight or ill-fitting trousers or underwear which is restrictive around the groin area could be damaging their health.  Wearing tight-fitting clothing over a prolonged period of time can lead to urinary tract infections leading to over-activity of the bladder- a type of bladder weakness as well as a low sperm count and fungal infections” (Rattue par.3).  Most people feel the discomfort from wearing skinny jeans, but continue to wear it on a daily basis because of the connotations associated with the garment or brand: hip,casual, creative, rebellious, etc. It is important to be aware that because skinny jeans are wrapped so tightly below the abdomen, it serves as a circulatory and reproductive risk;  however, because jeans are “never going away” in the fashion industry, the trend is hard to kill (Marty). Despite this pressure gained from media exposure, individuals are in charge of their own health and should always put health before style.

In the past few years, people have come up with alternatives to mainstream images in order to deconstruct preconceived ideas. One way they deconstruct these images is to greet the issue with humor, and another way is to turn a brand's own image around. Below are videos which feature each example: the first one is by CollegeHumor, which satirizes the way the media sometimes crosses the line when it comes making women looking completely different in the process of making them more “beautiful” on Photoshop, and the other by Barbie, which turns the stigma of Barbie from implicitly communicating objectification of women to young girls, into a stepping stone that explicitly encourages girls to imagine themselves as empowered people through their playing with the dolls. These examples represent only two of the countless ways people are not only being more aware of hidden messages in our media, but also examples of how people react positively to messages that would belittle a person's agency and representation.

Rattue, Grace. "Skinny Jeans Cause Health Problems For Men." Medical News Today. Medical News Today, 14 July 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Twelves, Marty. "Skinny Jeans Can Cause Nerve Damage; Doctors Warn That Tight Jeans Pose Health Risks." Daily News [New York] 23 May 2012: n. page. 24 May 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Wolf, Naomi. "Culture." The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women. New York: W. Morrow, 1991. 58-85. Print.