In American society there is an extreme imbalance of power between men and women; with men possessing almost all of the power it leaves women with little to none. The small amount of power that women do possess exists solely at the decression of the men who granted them the power to begin with. This inequality between men and women has been the status quo for centuries and unless there is a radical change, this imbalance of power between the sexes will continue for centuries to come. To shift the balance of power so that it is more equal, individuals must be aware of the inequality and where the ideals perpetuating the inequality come from. Advertisements are the primary influences that perpetuates the inequality between men and women by …show more content…

Having women as the focus can blur the viewer's image of the ad. In Figure 2 the ad is for Sky Vodka but the ad sends the underlying message to the viewer that they will be able to get a beautiful woman if they purchase that brand of vodka. This add is a perfect representation of the point Berger made when he said advertisers use sex to sell products in hopes of making the viewer believe that "[t]o be able to buy is the same thing as being sexually desirable [.]" (144). The implied meaning is that when you drink Sky Vodka you become more sexually desirable. The objectification of women in this way has paved the way for advertisers to become bolder with how they depict women in ads. Some ads, like in Figures 3 and 4 taken from a car magazine, blatantly use the women just to ensure that the viewer will look at their advertisement. In Figure 3 the woman shown is holding a car suspension part; but, obviously the woman only appeared in the ad to draw the reader's attention to it. This is quite an effective technique for the advertiser to use because the woman is so out of place it automatically draws the readers gaze to the ad whether the reader is male or female. The manner in which the scantily clad model is displaying the suspension part is very phallic and causes the reader to focus their attention between the models legs where it's centered. There also is a lustful look in the models eyes as she looks out at the viewer. This ad has a very sexual nature used to appeal