Objectifying Women's Bodies Is No Longer an Option for Brands

According to Ipsos, nine out of ten girls compare themselves to images in the media, so it is vital that brands and marketers take responsibility to represent women in a modern and positive manner. However, one of the most sensitive areas in the world of advertising is still the portrayal of women, especially in more traditionalist countries.

The depiction of women as sex symbols, objects of desire, and as behaving subserviently has presented a great concern to feminist activists over time. Not only does it paint an unrealistic picture in the minds of the audience but it also encourages women to be like it, leading to lower self-dignity, body dissatisfaction, and restricted self-development.

Her most gratifying role in this Universe

In Romania, there were several campaigns over time that promoted a narrow, limited, often offensive image of women, encouraging sexism and objectification. They presented the classic role of the happy housewife, needy and fragile, obsessed with cleaning products as if her most gratifying role in this Universe were removing stains from different kinds of fabric. Or they portrayed women in their roles and relationships with their proverbial unfocused attention and clumsiness. These women have mainly advisory roles, not being able to make important decisions, and are only qualified to carry men's files from place to place while looking attractive, having a good body posture and a cheeky smile.

Other outdated stereotypes have also been featured in local ads over the years, like women's opinion of other women on how they should live their lives and accept their role as a wife and a mother. Or how they should dress (like a woman, like a lady, like a mother), how physical aging is considered taboo. (God forbid that someone finds out your real age!) Or how women should be slick and hyper-vigilant in the eternal competition of “Seven highly effective tricks to conquer a man’s heart”. How it is not lady-like for women to drink beer, so they should only consume fine drinks specially designed for them, like liqueurs and various colorful and expensive cocktails. Other ads just made it very difficult for women to love their bodies or feel compassion, acceptance, and ultimately love for themselves. There is a societal body shaming that is so ingrained in the collective mind that for the individual, it can feel like the truth, even nowadays.

Bringing topics out of the shadow 

In addition to some offensive jokes in the public sphere or the perpetuation of clichés in advertising, in our country, there are still gruesome cases of unthinkable abuse against women.

A relevant example is the subject of one of the latest pro-bono social initiatives at our agency, where we collaborated with the Network to Prevent and Tackle Violence against Women (VIF) to raise awareness about virginity testing. It is an abusive practice still performed on young girls in Romania to determine their “chastity” called the “two-finger examination”, upon parental request, particularly that of their fathers.

We still have many areas where we can work through education campaigns on topics such as domestic violence or sexual abuse.

Sent back to the Middle Ages

As things have changed at an accelerated pace, currently we can see some progress. For instance, there are massive debates in society about any sexist joke, and any bias or slippage of this nature is harshly sanctioned in the public space, thus removing it from normalcy and sending it back to the Middle Ages where it belongs. Men and women started to drink beer together in ads. Cringeworthy mansplaining is outdated for any new script. And objectifying a women's body is no longer an option for brands with any common sense.

A recent example that shook the country is the story of a tech influencer who, in an interview, was objectifying and body shaming women. The entire web society, made up not only of women but also of men, and not just everyday people but also other influencers, assembled around women's rights and penalized these words and the subsequent behavior. That is partly because more people are aware of the phenomenon, and more organizations, predominantly feminist ones, constantly issue warnings.

We need more courage! 

In conclusion, the new advertisements in Romania include the need for gender equality, although the vast majority still expresses that ideal in relatively cautious and conservative terms. Therefore, an infusion of an extra dose of courage is much needed. The fear that the more conservative public raises an eyebrow should be eliminated – just like the fear to stir emotions, open debates or invite criticism.

More and more “jump on the bandwagon” and create ads that are taking outdated thoughts from the past, flip them completely to show how women are just as strong as men, pushing it to achieve a positive representation. They empower women and allow everyone to recognize themselves in the models on the posters.

We should do it so the girls of tomorrow would no longer remember that there was a period in the history of advertising when women were portrayed as smiling and decorative bodies in bathing suits, giggling with complicity at the camera – a strong man happily drinking beer in the background.