Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence in an Urban Context

I agree with a lot of what Kilbourne is arguing for and that is an end to objectifying women and men as sex objects in all respects because it contributes to higher teen pregnancies and it blinds children from who they want to be.   Advertising creates such high standards for societies that it crushes the average plain jane.   Also, Kilbourne had mentioned that only about 5% of the world population can genetically fit the ideals of a supermodel.  Many girls need to starve themselves and/or get breast augmentations to fit that ideal.  For example, I used to love watching the Tyra banks show because she would always have talks on her show to empower young women/ men and children.  However, she also has a show for supermodels in which there are rarely any plus size models and many of these supermodels are incredibly thin.  Also, the slogan for her show America’s next top model is “Do you wanna be on top?”  Which part of the expression is hindering at sex and it sells.

A lot of what Kilbourne’s lecture refers to the textbook and our classroom discussions because we can see that women and men are given these ideals and values at the moment of birth.  We are told how we are supposed to act and qualities are attributed to women and what qualities are attributed to men.  As mentioned in class men try to spread themselves out in a meeting and women try to be as small as possible.  This example can be attributed on how advertisers make men and women feel.  In most ads women need to feel as quiet and as insignificant as possible, whereas men need to be heard and seen as tough.  This is because men are supposed to be associated with qualities such as toughness and violence, and if they seem any less than that they are devalued.  Nurturing and sensitivity are associated with women and if they are seen any more than that they are not feminine enough.

Nothing in our biological make up has grouped us with these emotions and personalities, yet it is society that makes everything more complicated.  (Advertising, mass media, peers, school, etc.)  Football Coaches tell their athletes crying is not manly at a very early age in a boy’s life time and it is rarely ever accepted if a girl were to enjoy playing football.

This also creates a huge problem gays and transsexuals, who know at a early age what they want , but they need to suppress these feelings so they won’t be out casted by society.  Society today still is unable to accept these types of people because they cover the line between the ideals of a man and a woman.  I believe that our society needs to draw that line between business and pleasure so that people can be less blind and more accepting.