Media has tremendous influence over our self-image, buying decisions, and personal growth. There are many ads in magazines, newspapers, on television and the internet that are irresponsible, harmful and damaging to females' health, self-esteem and emotional well-being. They send messages, often targeted towards our teens, demeaning them, making them feel inadequate in the way they look and act.
The Anti-Ad Campaign is a section of Femspace that is devoted to exposing ads that are damaging to females and advocating boycotts of any magazine, newspaper and other media that publish ads that are harmful, damaging, and disrespectful towards women. Though the publications may be exercising their freedom of speech, we, as consumers, can exercise our free will by not buying into the damaging messages they are feeding us, by not allowing them to profit from making us feel inadequate. Most importantly, we need to take action by teaching our youth to love themselves, and to resist others telling them they are not beautiful in any way. We have to do the same for ourselves. There are plenty of ads that zoom in on our imperfections and tell us we can't grow old gracefully and on our own terms. The objective is not to be perfect; it is to be comfortable with who we are. There is much character and beauty in our imperfections. We should celebrate and embrace them.
However, that is easier said than done. When Teen Magazine, one of the most widely read magazine by teenagers, shows a lack of responsibility by running such ads as the "Super Shaper 2000" in the March 2000 issue, the task becomes so much more difficult. Teens are impressionable and often look to others for validation.
The advertiser exploits that idea by suggesting that teenage females will get the validation they are looking for if only they lose the weight. The ad sends a devastating message to developing teens that their bodies aren't perfect, that they will not be perfect without the help of the Super Shaper 2000. Females going through their teenage years are suppose to put on weight. It's a natural and healthy process of growing up. It's not something they have to lose.
The ad invites teens to criticize their bodies instead of embracing them. It is trying to profit from girls' dissatisfaction with their bodies. It shows a teenage girl clad in her bikini (above) and that becomes the focus of the ad. The copy of the ad keeps referring to how great the teens will look in their bikini if they lose the weight by using the Super Shaper 2000 weight loss system.
The Super Shaper 2000 ad, like many other ads of its kind, tries to tell teens that if only they lose the pounds they will be center of attention. They can be too fat but it seems like they can't be skinny enough. Its bold headline says it all: "I lost 20 pounds! When everyone saw me in my bikini, they couldn't keep their eyes off me." Such statements are intended to destroy girls' self-esteem and self-confidence. It teaches them that it's all about others' gaze. They are then defined by others instead of defining themselves on their own terms.
What is the price? It only costs $20, and girls who feel they are over weight or not pretty enough in any way can attain the popularity and the coveted, thinner, prettier, and shapelier bodies.
"Try to imagine how gorgeous you will look. How your whole body can be slimmer, trimmer and cuter than you ever thought possible. Really picture it in your mind. It can happen to you! $15 plus $5 in shipping and handling."
We are know it's a lot more costly than $20. It is at the cost of our self-worth and self-image that we submit to such manipulative and harmful advertising. It can lead to a life-time of eating disorders and warped self-perceptions. Ultimately, it's at the cost of our happiness and health.
Not only is the ad trying to sell the teens on the weight loss system, it is also attempting to collect data about them. In the dotted box, it asks the teens to tell the advertiser about how they want to look like, how many pounds they weigh, how many pounds they want to lose, and what part of the body the teens want to change. This is insidious and despicable advertising. The advertiser can use such information to better manipulate and harm us.
We have to fight back. We have to resist harmful and damaging ads targeted toward females. The Super Shaper 2000 ad demonstrates the media's manipulation of how we should feel about ourselves. We have to be strong and love ourselves for who we are and our bodies for what they are. It is not how others perceive us that is important but rather how we perceive ourselves.
Since Teen Magazine irresponsibly published the Super Shaper 2000 ad, we have to boycott reading and buying it. Pass the word. By publishing the ad, Teen Magazine shows us that it doesn't have teens' best interest in mind. Rather, it's self-interested. All it seems to care about is making money off teens, regardless of the cost. It is trying to cash in on teens' dissatisfaction with their bodies. Teen Magazine is setting up beauty standards that are unrealistic and unhealthy. It is supporting and enabling the discrimination against females based on size and appearance by allowing such ads as Super Shaper 2000 to run.
The war is on. If we all write letters and call up Teen Magazine to complain about their tasteless and damaging ad and not read or buy the magazine until Teen Magazine publishes an apology in their next issue, we would have contributed in our own way to fight against the media's exploitation of our youth and ourselves. If you are parents of teens who subscribe to Teen Magazine, you can protest it by canceling the subscription. By becoming media activists, we can influence the messages the media bombards us and our youth with and the quality of the articles and programming. They will be accountable only if we make them accountable. If we all do our part, our voices will not be dismissed; they will be resounding and influential.
If you come across ofensive ads, please email me at femspace@gmail.com. Please specify the publication, date, and page the ad appears on. United, we have tremendous influence.