How does it justify to have a woman in men’s shaving cream advertisement or in video games? How is it possible that if you use a certain deodorant, you smell so attractive that women get drawn to you? Be it vests, bikes or fruit juices, you will find a woman being used to sell any random product. Some feature skimpy clad woman or some show a woman who is successful cos of the shampoo she uses or the cream she applies. Watching the TV commercials these days, I get two messages:
- If you choose the right product, your reward is a beautiful woman or
- Only a woman who has got no dark circles and has a flawless fair skin is successful
My worries are two – one we objectify women every single day either on TV or on social media and two, the definition of beauty is becoming superficial. Gone are the days when “beauty lies in the eyes of beholder” used to be the message. The message today is “what looks good is good”. Appearance has taken over virtues today and it bothers me. I feel that day is not far off when people will lay so much importance on physical appearance that starving will become normal. Imagine the impression we are creating on the minds of little girls when we gift them barbies and they think being Barbie is normal. Their own mothers with some ‘love handles’ doesn’t excite them enough to hide their face with affection. They call it fat!
Think about the craze with fairness and wrinkle-less skin. Women are not sex objects and the obsession to look attain perfect bodies will not lead us anywhere. With media being such a big influence, it should be used more responsibly. Before we talk of culture change, we need to start from home. We need to stop asking women to get in a line to buy something cos it will be done quickly, we need to challenge the conversions when we hear, “Why don’t you try, it’s easy for you cos you are a woman” or “You won’t be asked to work late, you are a woman”. We need to stop treating women as if they are the key to getting things done quick.
This change is easy cos it begins from you. We don’t need a legislation here but what we need is the maturity to understand that “fit inside is beautiful outside”, “healthy mind resides in a healthy body”, and “beauty is only skin deep”
I am blogging from A to Z during April (#419 on the list) and the theme I have chosen is set on women. Some of the posts will be here for you to know and some will be to reflect and accept. Share your thoughts and let me know how things are going. There is always a room for improvement.
happiness and food 
Beauty is internal and radiates externally. When you accept it, believe it, and know it, you are it! Beautiful – inside out. Love your post happinessandfood!
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Beauty is only skin deep.It is very much being maligned today by depicting beauties as a show off. piece. Well written.post.
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I loved the quote you chose to start with, Parul. 🙂 I have always been annoyed with the obsession with ‘fairness’. I was never extremely dark, but not ‘fair’ by Indian standards. Would you believe it if I told you my aunt told me that I should drink milk instead of tea to get fairer. 😛 The obsession and the crazy methods are just plain stupid. However this was a decade back. I am sure things must be slightly better now.
*Shantala @ ShanayaTales*
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You have said some very important points here! Great post, parul!
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Things are changing Parul, subtly and slowly but they are. Actually this reminds me of a conversation I had with my daughter regarding this, which I need to blog about.
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Agree, completely. I especially hate the fact that women are used no less than an eye candy. Aren’t men confident enough to use their own merits and flaunt them? And why do women succumb to this kind of objectifying? Some actually enjoy it.
Strong post Parul. Interestingly, I’ve written a story with somewhat the same topic in mind for letter P. Do check it tomorrow 🙂
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All women need to read books like Naomi Wolf’s THE BEAUTY MYTH and need to understand the concept of MALE GAZE- how all popular media sees things only through a male point of view, whether its a slim model selling a bike or a perfect housewife catering to all demands without any sense of self.
Read my #atozchallenge post for today here http://poojasharmarao.blogspot.in/2015/04/open-letter-to-papa-in-memory-of-my.html
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You’re spot on as usual Parul. Women have been used as objects to promote products for years. Even completely irrelevant products! It’s about time we see a change…
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So true Parul. Women are treated as objects to promote products. These ads, especially the deo ones, disgust me to no end! Love the quotes you have used in the last paragraph. Yes, fit inside is beautiful outside 🙂 Great post once again 🙂
Only Time Will Tell
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The objectification of women in advertisements is truly sad! Wonder when we will realize that such ads make us sink deeper in the world of regressiveness.It is the internal beauty that matters.
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Bang on, Girl! Loved reading this and can totally relate to it☺
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I missed this years A to Z challenge. Really like your theme.
Stay blessed, Cheers
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Great post, as usual. The issue is pretty grave.
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Parul, did you notice another trend of campaigns, where women are not objectified, but clearly states male dominance. Eg: “Papa ko khush karo” – marketing campaign. It obviously states that males are still the bread-winners of the family, and children/wife need to gratify their ego to get extra bits of luxury! Why? Don’t we all think that gone are those days where ads show that the male member still needs to be worshipped. I feel these kinda ads are another way of objectification, but done in a reverse way. The bottomline is still the same!
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True beauty comes from within. It’s so unfortunate that we live in an era when looks matter more than anything else.
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Advertising has been riding piggyback on women for a long time now. Men have also jumped onto the bandwagon with Mardon wali cream and hair gels. But it irks me no end when I see a scantily clad woman eating a cookie, she is always thin and attractive. This mindset needs to change quick.
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I have real problems with objectification and different treatment for different genders. It gets under my skin.
Good luck with the A to Z Challenge!
A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy
http://pensuasion.blogspot.com/
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Yeah. The fitness thing is tricky too though, right? I live in an *extremely* fit place and I think here the message is that you’re not beautiful unless you are running marathons or going for two week hiking trips. Rather than focusing on specific things I wish people would just love and support one another. Let everyone be who they are and move on…
~AJ Lauer
an A-Z Cohost
@ayjaylauer on Twitter
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That fitness is an obsession. Yes, we need to be fit but not at the expense of family time. Not at the expense of judging people by the same yardstick.Thanks for stopping by!
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Excellent post. Objectifying women is disgusting. In the States (and much of the West), women are still objectified but now men and children are as well. The words “hot” and/or “sexy” are used to describe people and things. It’s as if we’ve all become objects for each other. Not an improvement.
Drusilla Barron
http://lovedasif.com
http://glamofgod.com
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What a great call out – hot, sexy are those typical words. Sad! Thank you for stopping by my blog!
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Objectification is sadly so ingrained in out minds..
Boy with the blue and Girl with the Pink…
We need more of non-conformists to fight objectification.
Enjoyed reading your post.
Do stop by…
http://blog.shinekapoor.com/
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Great call out – the pinks and the blues irritate me. I love pink and I totally love blue. Being a Sagittarian, I can’t keep my hands off blue! Thank you for stopping by!
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I’m glad you wrote about such an important topic that is so prevalent in the media today, whether TV, magazines, and the like. It’s such a shame that women are objectified so that their true inner beauty or essence isn’t explored or identified. ❤ It seems that young and younger girls noawadays are become obsessed with being or becoming too fat. This can fuel eating addictions such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia or both! 🙂 Beauty is indeed only skin deep! 🙂 ❤
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Oh yes. Totally agree..Have you heard about the Barbie Syndrome? That’s an issue with young girls and it’s sad!
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Yes about the physical appearance though I just googled it and I didn’t know about the emulation of lifestyle as well. That is bizarre AND sad!
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Found myself nodding through your whole post, yet again today dear Parul. Agree 100% – and wrote about similar issues on my O- for ordinary. The beauty lies within, and we need to give our kids (daughters) the confidence to know that, and fight the objectification – which I think for a great deal is BIG business of beautyproducts. Hate it. Loved your post:-)
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Thank you Eli..Yes, I did read your post today and found that our messages were similar. There is beauty in being ordinary.
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my mil always wanted a fair daughter in law with a long hair and my husband chose me; I am neither fair, nor do I have long hair… I used to get sick listening to her understanding of beauty, I did not have any issues with my husband and I too believe beauty is the eye of the beholder… The advertisements on beauty is misleading the younger generation, who suffer from low self concept and define beauty with how fair they are, how slim, how tall. the list gets endless… sometimes I wonder where this is leading our younger generation..
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Angela – Thank you for sharing! Yes, all the matrimonial advertisements and TVCs are about fair woman. The list is truly endless. I think we should help the younger generation get away from all this focus on physical beauty and instead help them understand value of an individual.
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Absolutely agree on the kind of ads being made to showcase products with skimpy models and flawless skin. That isn’t the truth. Same goes with female actors. Why the obsession to only have skimpy ladies who are forever dieting? We need to stop this misconception and acknowledge beauty the way it is. Thanks for sharing 🙂
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True that!
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