Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence in an Urban Context

             Advertisement is a powerful force that has influence over society and has encapsulated the rigid roles of an exaggerated normality with the sole purpose of drawing attention. Through the eyes of a feminist, I can understand the position Kilbourne is taking regarding the derogatory messages that advertisement portrays about femininity. The media does show images of ideal beauty which young girls strive to reach by spending their time, energy and money. Their failure to achieve this state is inevitable. The perception of woman they have is diluted by a predisposed emphasis on specific gender roles. Some controversial ads are inappropriate; however they are often taken out of proportion. I do agree that certain perceptions of woman in the media can have negative repercussion on the self-esteem of woman; however society wants and needs ideal images to influence their decisions. Advertisement agencies should not be punished for trying to sell their products. If showing sexually explicit images leads to an increase in sale, it would be unreasonable to stop.  

             According to social learning theory, experiences of imitation and reinforcement lead to the development of children’s identity. If children see advertisement where positive effects of people, of the same sex, being young, thin, white beautiful, well groomed etc. then they try model that lifestyle. By building one’s self-efficacy, however, people can overcome obstacles in their lives. Sociocultural theorists believe in the idea that “though others, [people] become themselves.” They would respond to the video that advertisement does have an impact on the identity of individuals, and by portraying negative aspirations of normalcy; it can have a detrimental effect on children’s self-evaluation. Culturalists would view gender role as whatever society accepts as their norm. Specific gender roles are recognized and deviations of that role are usually looked down upon. Advertisements just illustrate and emphasize an already established gender role.

            The development of one’s gender identity is closely related to social interactions and self-evaluations. At a young age, children use categorical identification in order to describe themselves. They describe themselves with basic attributions as well as the things they like. As they ages, they begin to relate their identity with that of others. Assessing themselves more critically, children start to compare themselves with people they know. According to Erikson’s Stage Theory, once an individual reaches adolescence; they are faced with the difficulty of finding their identity. While being surrounded by advertisement all around them, confusion and self-hatred can be consuming. The media portrays a façade of an exaggerated reality and adolescents are forced to compare their own ability and appearance with it. As emphasized by Kilbourne, women are more affect by advertisement because they are often construed in a sexual way. Unless society breaks through the established gender roles, advertisement will not change their tactics.