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From: Janet Wixson
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: KILLING US SOFTLY and STAGE ROLES AND TIGHT BUNS (documentaries)
Message-ID: <2782472C.21585@ics.uci.edu>
Date: 2 Jan 91 20:48:44 GMT
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[This is a message that appeared on a professional women's mailing
list.  I have asked and received permission to repost it to
soc.feminism for discussion.  The author already gets entirely too
much email, so I have omitted her email address from this article; all
discussion can take place on the net.  I found it most interesting,
hope the rest of you do also.  Happy New Year!  --CLT]

    As promised, this message is a report on the documentaries:
KILLING US SOFTLY and STAGE ROLES AND TIGHT BUNS. After a great deal
of searching, I located both documentaries at the Univ. of Ten at
Knoxville.  These were previously mentioned on the network in the
context of an information resource pertaining to the influence of
advertising in shaping our perceptions of our roles and capabilities
as women.  KILLING US SOFTLY is directed toward the influence of
advertising in shaping women's view of themselves and STAGE ROLES AND
TIGHT BUNS is directed toward the influence of advertising in shaping
men's view of themselves: We see an average of 500 Ads per day.  By
the time we are 60, we will have seen 50 million ads.  Ads are
everywhere and absolutely inescapable-- T.V., billboards, radios,
magazines, newspapers, etc.  Children between 2-5 watch an average of
30 hours of T.V. a week.  Advertisements sell far more than
products--they sell values, goals , concepts and shape our attitudes.
Advertising is a 40 billion dollar per year industry.

    A tremendous number of ads feature women as beautiful, flawless,
creatures.  Being beautiful is a result of what we buy and what we put
on.  It is achieved artificial and whatever we have must be changed.
If we want to be loved and desireable we must reach for this ideal.
The ideal is Barbie (the doll) who doesn't even have any pores. Ads
even tell us that we should aleniate women to get the attention of men
(You'll look so good "they" will hate you).  Ads depict women in
powerless roles (notice body language of women in ads) who are
clinging to men (we are nothing without the attention from men).  Ads
often feature the little girl look--be both innocent and sexy at the
same time.  The message they are giving us is "Don't grow up" Often
women are shown in ads depicting violence from men (She may be black
and blue but you know she loves it)--frequently, little girls (five
years old) are shown as sex objects. (Much concern that this is
contributing toward sexual abuse of children and violence toward women
--which we like of course).

  There is another group of ads which are directed toward the moron
housewife who is pathologically obsessed with cleanliness.  Women in
these ads are not as beautiful as in the other ads instilling guilt in
it.  The message is if you can't be beautiful then feed your man and
scrub the bathroom until it is squeeky clean--after all, we must
attract and hold on to a man at all any any costs because we ourselves
are nothing -- our only power comes from our sexuality.

   The male sex role stereotype is depicted by a cowboy or "The
Marlboro Man".  Men are almost always shown in an ad alone.  If other
men are in the ad, the two are shown in an adversarial row (arms
folded and backs against each other).  Even men in tuxedos assume the
stance (cigarette as a pistol) tough expression of a cowboy.  The body
language etc of these attitudes communicate that a real man is
independent (always alone and doesn't need anybody), unapproachable,
strong, full of power, and without emotion.  The successful man is
hardworking, commited, ascribes to a position of status depicted by
luxurious living and beautiful women as an adornment.  Real men are
prepared to fight, value authority, wins at all cost, and is willing
to kill to prove his manhood.  They are taught from the beginning that
they are inherently superior to girls, have power over them, and that
women are pretty accessories.  Their attitude toward women is
intimidation and women are weak and passive.

  We are beginning to see some improvements in advertising depicting
the stereotype of men.  Men are starting to be shown in loving
parental roles and with other men laughing and having a good time.
However, these advertisements mainly appear in women's magazines and
not in men's magazines.

  To get more information about KILLING US SOFTLY write to:

Cambridge Documentary Films
Box 385
Cambridge, Ma 02139

  For more information about STAGE ROLES AND TIGHT BUNS write to:

O.A.S.I.S.
15 Willoughby Street
Boston, Ma 02135

  Both of these documentaries were excellent.  As for myself, I
suppose at one level I knew all of this stuff but didn't really pay
any attention to advertisements.  At least I thought so--at a
subconscious level I think all of us pay a lot of attention to these
advertisements and it is quite damaging and powerful.  I am starting
to pay more conscious attention now.  On the way into work this
morning I was listening to a radio station (same one I always listen
to) and there was an ad for Bell South Mobility phones which I have
heard many times before but didn't focus on.  It was about some idiot
housewife who stopped in the middle of the freeway to continue her
gossip session with Marge because if she went any further she would
drive out of the calling zone. (please note that I am not classifying
housewives as idiots--the advertisement did even though they didn't
use that word).  I seem to observe that we have made much more
progress in not stereotyping blacks in advertising in negative roles
(we probably don't show them in positive roles either--also forgive me
any blacks out there if I am wrong because I haven't paid attention to
this but will start doing so).  For example, in the recent apalling Ad
for Wordperfect in Pc Magazine where it showed four women in roller
skates (obviously message takers) that you should replace with e-mail.
Wouldthey consider showing four black men with garbage cans if they
were advertising a garbage compactor as a technological replacement (I
think this would jump out at all of us as apalling).  Enough for
now--tomorrow I am going to watch Saturday morning cartoons for the
first time in 23 years so I can see what kind of ads we are showing to
our children.

--Janet Wixson