Casual argument: definition and examples

¶ … Youth and the Media: The Harmful Relationship

Imagine Christina Aguilera scantily dressed in a nurse's uniform, as a schoolgirl, or clad in leather and wielding handcuffs. No, this is not a scene from a male fantasy. Instead, it is a series of advertisements, not for Christina's newest album or some sort of provocative product, but for shoes, gym shoes. According to the pop culture blog, Air Massive, the advertisements were part of a Fall 2004 campaign called "Naughty and Nice," that featured Aguilera in a series of poses that "illustrate fetishistic male sex fantasies" (Kid). Through an exploration of this advertisement's negative portrayal of women, in addition to its inappropriateness as advocate for the product it is trying to sell, one can easily see how modern advertisements teach harmful lessons to today's youth.

Although feminists have been attempting to convince the world that women are not only just as capable as men of fulfilling a variety of roles, but also that they are not sex objects for men's pleasure, these advertisements clearly portray women in a negative manner. The use of Aguilera in these images solidifies a stereotype that has long played a role in the male sexual fantasy -- the tall, skinny, blond. Although advocacy groups have long attempted to debunk this particular image as the one of all men's desire and the only acceptable for women who want to believe themselves to be beautiful and sexy. The continued use of this stereotype to suggest sexiness, desirability, and beauty has many serious social and political connotations. First of all, the use of the stereotype sends messages to girls and young women with different colored skins and hair, in addition to different body types, that they are not beautiful. According to the Media Awareness Network, women are pressured by images of the "perfect body" in the media for economic reasons, among others ("Beauty and Body Image"). Women who think that they are ugly are more likely to buy beauty products, thus the images of skinny, young, and blonde women circulate through the media, while the majority of the population is "naturally larger and more mature than any of the models" ("Beauty and Body Image"). In fact, the Media Awareness Network suggests that some models have even fainted during their shoots because they have not had enough food ("Beauty and Body Image"). Thus, images like those of Christina Aguilera above not only make women believe they are not beautiful by promoting a certain type of body type as the symbol of sexiness and beauty, but also they may actually cause irresponsible health and financial behavior by encouraging women to diet to the point that they faint, like some models, or spend countless dollars on beauty products.

In addition to the stereotypes advocated by the Christina Aguilera tennis shoe ad, and the politically incorrect and often dangerous consequences they may have, these images also establish women as a primarily sexual being. This and other attempts to use sex to sell bring incorrect ideas to today's youth. In fact, it suggests to youth that women are only useful for their sexual appeal. Christiana's advertisements are not alone in this campaign. The Media Awareness Network suggests that "women -- and their body parts -- sell everything from food to cars" ("Beauty and Body Image"). The extent of women's sexual roles in the media strengthens the image that many young men have of women, that they are simply objects to be enjoyed for their sexual pleasure. Additionally, this portrayal of women can be used to teach young girls that they should be promiscuous, dress in a provocative manner, and value themselves only by their sexual lives. The continued use of images like those of Christina can teach young girls that they should always try to appeal to a man's sexual side when they want to be recognized, in stead of relying on their talents, intellect, etc. According to Paddock, "The American Psychological Association (APA suggests that the proliferation of sexual images of girls and young women in the media is harming their self-image and development." The APA found that these images often arrest healthy development in a variety of areas, including self-esteem, which can cause a woman to display anxiety and shame. The article specifically mentions Christina's advertisements as examples of a negative portrayal of women (Paddock). Thus, the images portray women incorrectly in two ways. First of all, they portray women in a style of beauty that is not common, encouraging these women to believe that the advertised type of beauty is the only type of beauty. In response, some young girls are liable to have low self-esteem, in addition to spending a great amount of money on beauty products that they don't need. In short, the advertisements suggest that only one type of beauty is acceptable when this is far from the truth. Second of all, they portray women as valuable only for their sexuality, a portrayal that encourages girls to feel anxiety and shame, suffering from low self-esteem at what they believe is their only value of self-worth. These two portrayals are extraordinary harmful for girls and young women, as previously suggested.