Sexist advertisements are everywhere. We’re so accustomed to seeing the objectification of women that we hardly ever question the absurd and degrading images we see.
BuzzFeed’s new video, “If Women’s Roles in Ads Were Played By Men,” swaps the genders in three sexist commercials—for GoDaddy, Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr., and Doritos. BuzzFeed recreates each ad and plays them side by side with the originals.
The GoDaddy spot reverses the Bar Rafaeli/Jesse Heiman setup and features a good-looking guy having to make out with a nerdy girl. Instead of Nina Agdal oiling up her cleavage for Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr., we see an average-looking guy … oiling up his cleavage for Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. And in the Doritos ad, it’s the guy, not his girlfriend, who’s naked in bed and covered in Doritos. “Seeing men like this is ridiculous, so why isn’t it with women?” the video says at the end. Article Source
What kind of effect do these types of sexist ads have on our society as a whole? Kimberley A. Johnson of Liberals Unite sheds some light:
We have become so conditioned to accept images that objectify and demean women, we don’t bat an eye when a woman is lying on a bed covered in Doritos. But put a man in her place and all of a sudden it’s unsettling and not at all sexy.
Ask yourself, why is it considered sexy to watch a woman in a bathing suit take an enormous bite of a hamburger? When we watch a man in a bathing suit do the same, it’s hardly a titillating experience. It is dehumanizing.
Research has illustrated that sexualized women are dehumanized, specifically being seen as more animal-like than non-sexualized women.
This is a subtle form of dehumanization called infrahumanization and it involves seeing a person as lacking uniquely human characteristics such as rationality, culture and refinement. Dehumanization can have damaging consequences, and sexist ads help to promote this.
Interested in learning more? Unsure of which sexist ads we are referring to exactly? Adweek has gathered 10 sexist ads that are guaranteed to make you cringe.
