I've passed by this ad for the past few weeks, and at first I thought that there wasn't anything wrong with it, or that I was seeing something negative that really wasn't there. However, after seeing it again the other day, I realized its heavy sexual innuendo content.
Its interesting to me that redheads have always been used as a sultry image, intending to sexually interest viewers. I wonder where this idea of redheads being sex symbols int he media came from. Do any of you guys know?
I'm guessing it comes from the exploitation of what many consider to be 'exotic' figures. While the standard of beauty is regarded as white, thin, and blonde, women with red hair that are portrait as sex symbols have the same qualifications in addition to a 'unusual/ exotic' factor: their hair color.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found particularly interesting in this ad is the comment below "We can FIX that." Is women's sexuality being portrait as a negative factor? Is the fact that she "feels hot in bed," in other words, sensual and confident about her sexuality something that needs to be FIXED?
Again, we observe the double standards that we put women thorough over and over again. While a woman that simply enjoys sex is a slut, man in the same situation are seeing as studs.
It makes sense that a woman with red hair is seen as "exotic," I hadn't really thought of it as that identification, only that redheads were seen as the other.
ReplyDeleteAs for fixing, you are entirely right. The "hot in bed" text color matches the woman's hair, directly linking her to being hot in bed, which translates as sensuality and sexuality. Fixing, therefore, most likely means that her expression of sexuality has to be stopped. I think maybe her face is covered to create this ambiguity for all women to relate to her, red hair or not, and to subconsciously 'learn the lesson' that they need to bed fixed.
This reminds me of this billboard I saw which was selling air conditioners and it said " you wife's hot. get an ac" and while this is funny I just thought why is there always a reference to physical beauty or sexuality when a woman is referenced in anything! Since we see it so much we get used to it and ignore it. This ad isn't so bad but if you allow the small things to pass then advertisers get bold and offensive!
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