Women&Men: Targeted differently by the media

Men are definatley more of a target for the media than women but i think thats just because men are also an easier target for the media men flawk to a magizine with pictures of women its just how men are we are suckers for sex appeal and i dont think that will ever change. And all i have to say about the fashion feminista is that it makes me mad its all based on name brand. If it says coach on it or they say paris hilton with it on tv they will buy it no matter how ugly or expensive it may be. Instaed of finding there self and making there own style they copy others but i guess if that wasnt the case there would be no need for celeberties.

The reason that people are so influenced by ads and magazines is because they are taught that in order to make it in a magazine you have to portray a certain image. Advertising is very powerful, something that can affect many different people. The media targets men and women differently but the same in some areas. Shows like "Fear Factor" are designed to test ones physical and mental strength. Do you ever notice the look of the people that are on the show? They are constantly beautiful, have large boobs, the men are in excellent shape and you always see the same type of people. So why is that? Why can't larger people be invited on the show? These are questions that continue to have no answer. I do not think however that women are anti-feminists because alot of them are trying to make a living. That is a very bold statement and one that I do not agree with. Society is set around a specific set of standards, and if you do not conform to those standards you are not considered great, just average. Our world is obsessed with how we look, act, and feel. Will this ever change? Can we as a society do anything to change this?

The media does advertise differently to men and women. When selling a product that may appeal to more men then women, the media will often times use women as the ploy and advertise using the sex appeal of women. Because seriously, lets face it… sex sells and it’s all around us. For an example – If your glancing through a magazine and you see this ad, yea, maybe it is not going to make you run out and by a pair of Puma sneakers BUT it got your attention didn’t it? Personally I feel this particular ad is degraded to women, only because this girl is on her knees. Had this female just been dressed scandalously, I don’t think it would be AS offensive to women in particular.

I think it has a lot to due with the fact that even though sex is socially accepted as a “talked about” issue today by many people, it is still classified as taboo for a lot. The reason behind loving to hate it and hating to love it is because sex is found to be intriguing by all curious beings. This is why I feel that women that work in the industry that helps create and exploit some of these ads, aren’t anti-feminist at all – they are actually very smart. The market for sex would still go on if all of these women would decide to leave their jobs, but instead they are bringing home a profit from it. I know that it doesn’t seem right, but as I see it, men are also viewed as sex objects when it comes to advertisement….ever see cK, Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie, and my personal favorite Bod cologne ads? I don’t think its all about man/woman issue when it comes to advertisements, I think it boils down to the issue of sex in general. Yes, the women look skinny and beautiful, but the men also look amazingly “sculpted” in advertisements and in the media.

When it comes to advertising to men and women things are very different. And yes i feel that the media targets men and women differently. But i feel they have to to get our attention, because that is what they are trying to get, right? For me a guy i have noticied that just about all magazine advertisements well have a girl in it when it is for men. Now this may not get me to buy the product but it will get me to stop and look and read the advertisement most likely. With women i have noticed it does not always hav ea male in the advertisement but may use key words that grab your attention. So i feel that ads do have to be addressed differently depending upon who they are advertised to if they all were the same I do not think it would work. Considering that men and women are different.

The media definitely targets men and women differently. Ads for men I think try to grab them by offering more power and popularity. While ads for women grab them by offering greater beauty, success, attention and popularity. However, I am not so sure that there is a group of men (or women) up in an office with the sole purpose of making ads to oppress and depress women. I believe they want us to be diet oppressed, but that is so they can get more money. I am really thinking that media targets women in the way they do simply because that is the way our society is. They are only acting in a way in which our society is dictating. If feminism ruled then the media would behave in a different way. They would have to because we as a society would be looking or desiring something else. I think the media would follow the interests of the society. I think the media takes a small bit of interest and blows it up to further spread it and make money off of it. I don't think that the women who work in this industry are antifeminist.... I think they either just want money or don't realize that they are perpetuating those ideas.

I love this idea that you brought up of women who work for the campaigns actually being anti-feminists. I guess this could be seen in two ways: the woman out to do what she needs to make some money or the woman who believes she truly needs these products to be the way she is. Sure this is controversial; we have the masculine female and the girlie girl. I however would choose the masculine female to be the one working for these ads. What do I mean by this? I mean that she’s taking on the males of the company to be in a position of authority and earn the money that she has a right to have but she’s forced to pick between herself and her sisters. She’s not doing this because she feels these are necessary products but she knows that in order to make a difference she needs to earn trust of her superiors and maybe then product ads can be changed. Is she anti-feminist? No I don’t think so. I feel that she is an independent woman capable of taking care of herself and she realizes in order to do that she needs to do what she can to make a living. Once she earns the support of males in her office, maybe then she will be able to make changes.

I think we buy into gimmicks because we like to look at the world through "rose colored glasses." I feel like we see want we want to see. I can honestly say I don't care about celebrity gossip. When I hear it I'm like "Oh, Okay." and that’s about it. I think that people make celebrities superheroes for no reason. Yes, they are people with a great talent, but they are still people! As far as fashion goes, I do keep up with it I'd say. I mean, I only wear what I like and what I think looks good. I can't stand people who wear things because it's "cool." I asked my cousin once why she bought this hideous purse and she replied with" I don’t know, Jessica Simpson had it." That just pissed me off. Of course media target men and women differently because our interest are different (in most cases). If they are appealing to men, they use a thin, big-breasted woman, if they are targeting women they'll use a tall, muscular man. I wouldn't go as far as to say those women who work in that industry are anti-feminists, maybe that's just a job that they happened to get or the only job they can get. I mean they could be anti-feminists, but I don't agree with that.

I concur with julebug below. I was ridiculously embarassed for the girl in the photo, because of her personal lack of respect. I'm sure that Cosmo itself would never allow an ad of such sort to dawn upon its pages of ads ever. This is not some funny picture that the photographer thought would be interesting to post on the internet. Rather it represents the helplessness of a girl who did not know how to set her boundaries.

The media in response to the series of questions above does indeed target men and women differently. Advertisements usually include women with society's standards of thinness, and lights the areas that people focus on the most. The media directs itself toward the materialism and glamour that so many women find themselves drawn to today. You flip through Vogue, you're finding yourself eyeing that new Louis Vuitton bag that Uma Thurman is so elegantly holding in the advertisement. You hover over the way the light reflects off the multi-faceted diamond ring and the Tiffany blue color that scales a page of Vanity Fair. Men however are more targeted through sexuality, since they are generally more in touch with logic and instinct. However in that sense the same ads that are used to target men can target women as well, if not even more.

The women who work in the industry must have a strong idea of what constitutes and drives women of today. They must be able to enter the minds of women ages 18 to 40 and generalize it in the advertisement industry. These women are perhaps either very manipulative and keen, or they are just typically immersed within the world of materialism and cultural acceptance in particular. They are not anti-feminist, but rather concerned about making money as they know how to target that area very well.

When I first saw that picture through the link to drunkuniversity.com, I was irritated. Not at the person for taking the picture or even for posting it on the internet, but for the girl in the picture. I don't think she respected herself enough to get into that situation (unless there was some sort of drug slipped into her drink). Where were her friends? Women need to stick together and protect each other from incidences like this one.

I think that the media targets men, equally, in different ways. For example, Men's Health magazine is basically Cosmo for guys. It's filled with gorgeous, male models with "perfect" bodies as well as advertisements for all sorts of things. I think that the media preys on men's sense of masculinity by showing pictures of buff bodies, body building advertisements, increasing his sexual prowess, etc. It's not entirely one sided...the media just focuses on men differently.

When analyzing magazine ads even aimed to promote the same thing, the approach is handled differently depending on whether the target audience is
male or female. Half the time the ads directed towards females are exploiting them in some way that mocks them,
flaunts them, and tries to sell them some unrealistic ideal of beauty. Ads direted towards men make them seem powerful, and funny, and smart, or sometimes even completely stupid and funny in a way that they are still the hero. Either way, however, I do not think that men respond to advertising and the media that same way that women do. So whatever message is being thrown at both sexes, women still are the ones who end up with low self-esteem, eating disorders, and other sexual, physical and verabl abuse. Why is that? Why do women respond differently to advertising and media violence then men?