Sexism is still prevalent amongst us as it was in the historical eras where women did not possess much value in the society. The practice has now shifted to media and technology through advertising and films that outline the expectations the world has concerning the females. Jean Kilbourne has been at the forefront of disrobing the tactics that advertisements utilize that continue to shatter the respect and value of womanhood. This essay conceptualizes on the primary ideas that Jean Kilbourne presents in her documentary titled Killing Us Softly.
For years, females have strived to earn their equal and rightful place in the community. It all began with the feminist movement that brought to light the suffering and burdens of the women. Just as things started to look up, the technology introduced a new way of devaluing womanhood through advertising. Jean Kilbourne directs listeners to take a critical look at various depictions of females provided in commercials and billboards to understand how society is slowing killing the women. The advertisements outline the community’s expectations that females should only consider themselves beautiful based on their appearance (Kilbourne, Killing us softly).
Young women start to seek the impossible levels of beauty at an early age only to find out when it is too late that no one is as perfect as the models they see in the commercials. Even the models and celebrities themselves do not look as dashing or slim as they appear on the adverts. The commercials illustrate women as mere goods just as the items they advertise (Kilbourne, Killing us softly). Hence, it is easy to understand why females are always victims of violence and sexual harassment. There is a need to change the perceptions of individuals in the society to start treating others as fellow citizens and not commodities.
Work Cited
Kilbourne, Jean. Killing us softly 3 - Advertising's image of women, 2000. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icJVhSGxaQI>
