Good Example Of Essay On Gender Differences Of Art Viewing

A billboard advertisement for a company called Voodoo, this ad was selected because it inverts the traditional roles of power between men and women. Intended for women’s gaze, the billboard ad animalizes and objectifies men, empowers women, shocks “conventional” morality, and does all the above under the cloak of anonymity.
Clearly, the Voodoo advertisement’s intended audience is young, career-oriented, ambitious women with a flair for fashion and hipness. Pictured in the ad is a slender, leggy woman wearing tight red leggings (the winter hosiery) and black leather shoe-boots with stiletto heels. She also wears a leopard-print blouse, and pulls a leash in her right, black-gloved hand. At the end of the leash are two crouched, naked men who are presumably being “walked” by the woman.
The billboard’s shocking visual turns conventional gender relations in society upside down. Instead of being designed for men’s gaze, this ad is meant to appeal to a younger woman’s gaze. Like leashed dogs, the two faceless men are both objectified, and animalized. Instead of men calling the shots, it is the slight woman holding the end of the leash who brokers power in this “shocking” inversion of modern gender relations. Instead of one man on a leash, there are two men, which further attests to the modern woman’s claim to power in a male-dominated society. Moreover, it is important to note that there is the ever-present elements of power and submission in the billboard ad, elements that are intended to appeal to female viewers and/or consumers of the chic Voodoo winter hosiery. This ad would especially be appealing to a woman who, desirous of power over men at all costs, uses her sexuality to obtain higher social status. However, the man is simply bestialized in the photo, but the ad might appeal to men who prefer to be treated like dogs by women – perhaps men with fetishes or so-called “mommy issues”.
Unlike conventional advertising, this ad turns power relations between the sexes upside down, as it is the young woman who controls the men. The woman holds the leash, and has a powerful command over the naked brutes she is walking, as if such a walk is an everyday, normal stroll down the street. The intended viewer of this ad, a woman who takes charge in matters of sex and overall gender relations, is also the target market of Voodoo’s clever marketing tactics. In this ad, however, the pack of “dog-men” – on their haunches – are objectified, and even dehumanized, but the woman strides confidently, lending this billboard ad further appeal to women who aspire to powerful positions in society. The ad particularly appeals to women who derive a sense of empowerment from the harnessing of male aggression. In this ad, masculine muscle mass is both harnessed and emasculated in the service of fashionista women, women who may be a bit more cut-throat than what most men would feel comfortable around.
Finally, all of the figures are faceless. Thus, the ad has a universal appeal, as there are no visages that suggest personality or ego. Instead, the intended audience is meant to perceive this image as a generality, instead of as some peculiar incident. This ad has a broad sweep, and is intended to catch the attention and forbidden desire for power of the “everywoman”.
Thus, this billboard image manages to overturn conventional sexist morality by depicting men as dogs. Moreover, its demographic reach is broad, as it captures women, especially younger women, in a wide dragnet of ambition, one that is generally repressed by the male powers-that-be. The ad is a powerful statement about the possibility of radical change in gender relations, and suggests that self-confidence and control go a long way toward keeping men in a submissive, servile role.