Jean Kilbourne TED talk extract

Summary

This powerful script examines the pervasive influence of advertising on women, revealing how it promotes unrealistic beauty standards and body ideals. It discusses how advertising affects female self-esteem, objectifies women, and leads to harmful behaviors such as eating disorders and depression. The impact is profound, particularly on young girls, who are taught to aspire to unattainable perfection. The script also highlights the normalization of sexual violence and exploitation through media. Despite the harm caused, the speaker expresses hope for change, urging society to challenge these damaging representations and create a healthier world for future generations.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker began collecting advertisements in the late 1960s, focusing on how women are portrayed in advertising.
• 😀 In 1979, the speaker made their first film, 'Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women,' which has been remade three times.
• 😀 Advertising often promotes unattainable beauty ideals, especially the pressure on women to be young, thin, and beautiful.
• 😀 Advertising influences children at a very young age, with even babies recognizing corporate logos by six months.
• 😀 Many people claim not to be affected by advertisements, though they are subconsciously influenced by them.
• 😀 Photoshop exacerbates unrealistic beauty standards, making women appear younger and thinner than is natural, and often distorting images.
• 😀 Women of color are subjected to beauty standards that emphasize features associated with whiteness, such as light skin and straight hair.
• 😀 Ads often make unrealistic promises, such as anti-aging products that supposedly reverse the effects of aging, despite being digitally altered.
• 😀 Advertisements normalize harmful messages about body image, leading to lower self-esteem in young girls and perpetuating the obsession with thinness.
• 😀 The objectification of women in ads contributes to a climate of potential sexual violence and harassment, as women are often portrayed as passive or submissive.
• 😀 The normalization of sexualized behavior in ads has harmful effects on girls, including increased rates of eating disorders, depression, and low self-esteem.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial motivation for studying the image of women in advertising?

The speaker was motivated by the need to understand how women were portrayed in advertising, beginning in the late 1960s. They began collecting ads and noticed a troubling pattern that led to their first film on the topic in 1979, 'Killing Us Softly.'

How does advertising influence children at a young age?

Advertising influences children as young as six months old, with marketers targeting them from this early age. The speaker emphasizes that even though many adults claim not to be influenced by advertising, its impact on children and society is both quick and cumulative.

What role does Photoshop play in creating unrealistic beauty standards in advertising?

Photoshop is used extensively in advertising to manipulate images, often making models appear younger, thinner, or with features that are unattainable in reality. This manipulation creates an idealized image that women and girls feel pressured to live up to, even though these images are artificially constructed.

Why does the speaker mention Cindy Crawford's quote about wishing to look like herself?

Cindy Crawford's quote highlights the irony of beauty standards in advertising, where even supermodels like her express dissatisfaction with their appearance. It underscores the impossibility of attaining these idealized images, especially given the manipulation of photos and the unrealistic expectations they create.

How does the speaker describe the effect of advertising on women of color?

Advertising often portrays beauty in ways that favor white, Caucasian features, with light skin and straight hair. Women of color are often expected to conform to this ideal, and even celebrities like Beyoncé have been subjected to skin lightening in advertisements.

What message does an ad targeting young girls about breast size convey?

The ad, which ran in teen magazines, suggests that girls' breasts are never 'right'—they may be too big, too small, or any number of other things. The ad reinforces the idea that women can never meet society's beauty standards, particularly for young girls, damaging their self-esteem.

What psychological effects does exposure to sexualized advertising have on girls?

Girls exposed to sexualized advertising are more likely to experience eating disorders, depression, and low self-esteem. These images teach them to view themselves as objects of sexual desire, leading to harmful consequences for their mental health and body image.

How does the objectification of women in advertising contribute to violence?

The objectification of women in advertising normalizes dangerous attitudes and creates an environment where women are seen as objects rather than human beings. This dehumanization is often the first step in justifying violence against women, including sexual assault and abuse.

How are men objectified in advertising, and how does it differ from the objectification of women?

Men are also objectified in advertising, particularly through images that exaggerate their physical strength, like bulky muscles. However, the consequences of this objectification are not as severe as for women, as men do not face the same threats of sexual violence and harassment that women do.

What does the speaker suggest is the root cause of the sexualization of children in advertising?

The sexualization of children in advertising stems from the media and popular culture, which portray girls as sexual objects while promoting unattainable beauty standards. At the same time, children receive little or no education about sexuality, leading them to learn these ideas from advertising instead.