Derrick Brooks, et al. "Who is gazing at whom? A look at how sex is used in magazine advertisements." Journal of Gender Studies 17.3 (2008): 201-209. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Oct. 2011.
In this article "Who is gazing at whom? A look at how sex is used in magazine advertisements" by the Journal of gender studies, the researchers observed how often sex was used in advertisement overall. What they found was that more often than not sex was used in order to capture the male audience. This strenghtens Bordo's argument where she points out that while Playboy is very prominent, Playgirl and Viva which are the same but aimed at women, aren't as popular. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that it is because women are uninterested, rather it is because society is just becoming accustomed to this new age where men's bodies are portrayed as sex symbols. The journal of gender studies also includes that "both male and female audiences see advertising characters posed in an alluring manner or wearing provocative clothing" this goes back to Bordo's section on Rocks and Leaners in which she states that usually the lean in photos and the angle of the camera is very provocative and give an aura of masculinity in men. Where before, gazing at men might have been something of a "homosexual" connotation, today it is slowly becoming as normal as gazing at women. All in all, although some parts of this article contradict Bordo's opinion, other aspects of it do strenghten her views. Society is becoming such that male beauty is being appreciated or seen much more than in the past, with commercials like those for hanes underwear and old spice, less is being left to our imagination and more is being portrayed.
Claudia,
ReplyDeleteI like how you admit that some of the article contradicts Bordo's argument. But, as you point out, this can actually help situate Bordo's argument. It is especially helpful that you got such a recent source!