Objectify this mixed message

Buy this, watch this, like us ... at any cost. We don't care if we ruin your self-esteem or overall health. Whatever sells! Today, the media and advertising industry has the power to force the American public to believe the ideas and messages that they create are absolutely true. Ads not only sell products, but also values and standards of attractiveness, success, love, and normalcy. \nIt's no surprise they have such influence; in 1999 companies spent $180 billion on advertising, as opposed to $20 million in 1979. According to Dr. Jean Kilbourne's lecture and video series entitled, "Killing Us Softly," the average American views around 3000 ads a day and will spend three years of his or her life watching television commercials.\nShe points out how startling these media messages are, sent out by advertising industries, highlighting the abuses of alcohol and tobacco industries, the cult of thinness and the ways in which women are objectified. If you flip through any popular magazine, you might not realize the statements being made; the industry has elevated these statements to almost the level of indisputable truth. \nOne of these popular methods is the dismemberment of women; that is showing part of the woman, usually her chest or legs. What is that selling? What does this have to do with the actual product? It essentially dehumanizes women, turning them into sheer body parts. Dismemberment often goes hand in hand with objectification ads that turn women into mere objects. Kilbourne and many others argue that the effect of this communication has been the perpetration of violence toward women. Violence, they say, somehow becomes justifiable if women are depicting as mere objects, things. Ever seen that bruised make-up look? It's popular on the runway and in ads for everything and anything. Such tactics convey that woman should be submissive, even controlled by force, and that this is erotic and attractive. Do these marketing techniques add to the high numbers of violence against women? \nThe U.S. Department of Justice reported in 1998 that one in four women will be raped in her lifetime, and that boys and men rape girls and women somewhere in the United States every two minutes. A report from the FBI in 1990 stated 66-80 percent of victims know their offenders, and 30 percent of women murdered in the US were killed by their husbands, ex-husbands, or boyfriends.\nThe media is obviously telling men and women subtly and subliminally through ads that domestic violence is okay, and even deemed acceptable. These messages are being perceived and understood at very young ages. According to The Girls, Women, and Media Project, the average boy or girl spends 6.5 hours a day being exposed to some type of media.\nTherefore, a large portion of what TV, video games and the Internet promote become fact for children, regardless of their validity. This includes those longtime media myths such as "thinness equals beauty" and "drinking and smoking make you cool."\nObviously, the media and ad industry cannot be held accountable for all of our social and cultural ills. But they have more power than just about any other medium out there. This power has to be regulated and checked to ensure integrity, which is more important than selling a product (hopefully).