(Sidenote: I don't have that great of an excuse for not writing in over a month except that I've been beyond swamped with huge group projects in my other classes. I'm sorry I haven't kept up with blogging and I will do better!)

Week 6: Chapters 12 and 8

Chapter 12:
Fashion magazines take the cliche phrase "sex sells" to a whole new level as evident to the advertising within the pages. In this chapter, Debra Merskin discusses how there are pornographic themes in the ads. These ads are available everywhere for anyone to see, which is in a way bringing forms of pornography to the newsstand and into homes. Most of the time, it is never debated unless the scantly clad models happen to being wearing real fur. These images instead of looked at with a close eye are considered art, high fashion and culture. In these ads, models stare out from the ads to the readers and try to convey sexuality just by making eye contact.

I really like Merskin's quote that "Today, through the use of branding, advertising is expected to do more than sell a product....Modern advertising 'thus teaches us to consume, not the product, but its sign. What the product stands for is more important than what it is." To me, most fashion ads have double meaning. Yes, the models are wearing the designer clothes, jewelry, shoes, etc, but their position, gaze, lighting, background are telling a whole different story in the ad. It's not enough just to have a model wear your product, but to have a sexual double meaning to grab the reader's attention from the ad on the next page. The more race-y and controversial the ad is, the more likely the reader is going to remember it. For example, Dolche and Cabana always have very sexualized ads such as the last one I saw where women in chains and corsets with locks were in power and performing violent acts against naked men. The ad fits all the categories: hierarchy (women in power), objectification (naked men and reveling parts on the women), submission (the men for once submitting to the women) and violence (the women violently in control of the men). Sure, that image is extremely pornographic in nature, but I remembered the ad and the designer, right? Then the advertiser and photographer has done his/her job.


Chapter 8:
When the infamous Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake scandal happened, I was with a group of my girlfriends watching the game as it was tradition to mock the guys and have a Girls' Superbowl Party. Anyway, we were watching the halftime show as we had a crush on JT (come on, you expect anything less from juniors in high school? haha). For us, we were shocked, but we figured it was just part of the act as MTV keeps pushing the line further and further with performances. Now, all the commercials and television shows have some sort of sexual content. Even while writing this, I'm watching re-runs of "Full House," and in this episode, Michelle is a Madonna-wannabe to try to get her dad's girlfriend away from her family. Meanwhile, the girls are wearing the 90's style of midrift shirts and Uncle Jesse has back-up dancers shaking what their momma gave them while wearing sequin bras with a mesh shirt.

Most of these shows in Pardun and Forde's study I wasn't even allowed to watch as a kid. It was usually Cartoon Network, Nick, Disney or Fox/ABC Family only. I wasn't allowed to watch "Friends" or "Simpsons" until I was in high school. Plus, my family never had HBO until I was a senior because my parents knew that there were adults-only shows and rated-R movies.
What they mention in the conclusion is not only is sexual content in these shows and commercials, but also body image. In the 90's, shows such as "Family Matters," "Boy Meets World," and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," the girls were thin, but they had tone and looked healthy. Now, in shows on Nick and Disney channel, the girls are super skinny such as "Hannah Montana." Plus, now the stars that kids and pre-teens look up too are giving into what Hollywood holds as standards, and instead of being healthy size 6, they are size 2 or lower. Studies have come out recently about how girls younger and younger are being affected by these images and having body image problems.

I can't believe that I'm saying this, but kids these days are being exposed to much more sexual content than I remember. Even though it was only 10 years ago, I feel that the shows are different in barely talking about consequences, but only showing the good in choices. The only show around that still brings up the issues is "7th Heaven." No matter how much you will hear me talk about how bad the acting is in the show and how silly it is how some problems are solved, at least they've explored a ton of issues that kids and pre-teens never hear about. The show explores the different sides and makes people realize the fact that problems exist and they shouldn't be pushed under the rug or dealt with only when you are personally involved.