Psychology of Childhood and Adolescence in an Urban Context

It is very scary that this doctor says he might be able to do this within the next couple of years. I absolutely agree with what Arthur Caplan says in the second part of the video.

Imagine creating your perfect baby, kind of like children create their perfect teddy bears in Build-A-Bear. Imagine picking its gender, eye color, hair color, height, weight, intelligence level etc. This baby would be created just for you! This might sound impossible, but in fact it isn’t. Up until about ten years ago, it was just a mere thought most people had in mind. Well today, it is actually possible to do most of these things. The sex of our babies is determined by the father’s sperm. If he gives an X chromosome, then the child is female; if he gives a Y chromosome, then the child is male. Our genetics influence the traits and the genetic disorders that are passed down to our children. If designer babies were only made to avoid a deadly genetic disorder, than it would be more or less acceptable. However, choosing the gender of your baby just because you want a girl instead of a boy should not be happening. Creating little robots goes against human nature and survival of our species. If people got to choose everything they want in their child, I am positive that some of the things we need for survival would disappear. Although I don’t agree with this concept, it seems that it will be happening in the near future.

This process also costs a lot of money. Not everybody can afford it, which I believe is a good thing. Doing this to get rid of diseases is one thing, but still people are wondering if it is ethical. However, what if a couple created this “perfect” baby, but something went wrong and the baby isn’t as beautiful or as smart as they expected. Will this affect how they will take care of the baby and how they will act towards it? This idea is raising a lot of questions and I believe it is unethical. Humans survived for thousands of years without technology interfering or “helping” and I definitely think that we can keep going without it. Why would somebody want to artificially inseminate themselves with the use of IV if they are capable of getting pregnant on their own? Does sex not seem pleasing to people anymore? Once again, why bring in technology when you can have sex and not only be pleased but also created something and give life to something without needles and everything else needed for IV?

Throughout the Jean Kilbourne “Killing Us Softly” videos, it is argued that media advertising is no longer about the product or service, but rather they are subliminal messages that try to generalize and define the concepts of gender and gender roles within society.  Masculinity is defined through violence and superiority while femininity is usually portrayed as sexy and promiscuous.  There has been recent research in which they prove that the portrayal of sex in advertising sells products and makes money, but how does that reflect upon our youth and adolescence and their exposure to the media on a daily basis?

Youth and adolescence are exposed to the media either through the most common of propaganda receivers, the television, or the internet, for multiple hours within a week.  A child comes home from school to sit in front of the television until dinner time, or a teen comes home to finish a research project online or to chat with their friends on facebook.  Throughout this time spent indulging in these media sources, people don’t realize that these messages are being imprinted into their brains; not through exposure, but through repeated exposure.  With the media forcing these concepts of gender and gender roles upon not only the youth/adolescence, but adults as well, society will see the development of destructive behaviors and disorders in earlier stages of development.  This can explain the staggering emergence of eating disorders at earlier ages and might also explain the high percentages of teenage pregnancies with the media’s promiscuous view of women, including teenage girls.

While Kilbourne gave emphasis of affects that this generalization has on females, we can’t put aside the depiction of sleek, muscular men that are the drive for men to hit the gym, drink wei protein shakes, and even drives some to the use of dangerous supplements and steroids.

Kilbourne conveys solid points in her argument against the depiction of gender and gender roles in media advertising.  With this generalization, Kilbourne states that we are prematurely ending childhood and I don’t believe she could be any more right.  With society becoming so used to the idea of “sex sells,” we will slowly diminish to a society without a bother or care.

This was the commercial I spoke about in the post about sexual advertising. I think these commercials are ridiculous. They completely took condom commercials and just replaces the object they intend to sell and we make it okay for our children to watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPZuBNH6d00

Kilbourne argues that media advertisement influences our society greatly, today more than ever. However, the worst part about this is that it influences our younger generations the most. She brings up many examples of advertisements that show “perfect” women: skinny, pretty, big boobs and she even makes a joke that these women don’t have pores. These are the type of woman our children grow up watching and wanting to become. However, they don’t understand that most of these women are photoshopped and probably don’t look like this. Even if some of them do, there are about 10 of them and millions of us normal people. Kilbourne says that our society has become used to the idea that “sex sells” and we made it okay for all of these obnoxious, half-naked ads to be up.

I absolutely agree with her. Our society is based on looks. Because of all of these advertisements, we lead our kids to believe that there is a certain way we need to look. This is worse for girls. Because of some of the shows we have on TV, such as the one where the girls had to compete and win plastic surgeries to become “the perfect brides”, the younger girls think it is okay and normal to get plastic surgeries. Kilbourne says that woman spend so much time, energy and money to achieve these looks and then feel like failures if they don’t look like the girls on the advertisements. This is not okay. This is one of the reasons one in every five women has an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia. Even worse, Kilbourne states that it is actually nearly four in every five have an eating disorder that is not otherwise specified. Kilbourne also states that in our society, sex sells everything and that is the reason we have the highest rate in teen pregnancy. More and more of the younger girls are becoming hypersexual and getting pregnant because all they see on TV is sex. I completely agree because look at even the most recent commercial for Dentyne Ice- they make a play on selling condoms where the woman asks “do you have something” (usually asked about condoms) but they’re talking about gum, and it always leads to them making out. I remember growing up and not being allowed to watch scenes like that in movies because it was inappropriate but now it’s on daytime TV.

Although she mostly focused on women, I do believe younger boys are also growing up in a very superficial world. More guys are going to the gym, staying fit, getting perfect haircuts, tanning and getting their nails done. Because of shows such as “The Jersey Shore”, boys are also getting pressured into “perfection”.

Kilbourne’s argument is absolutely correct. She proves that our society absolutely forces gender identity on our children. These advertisements show that a “real man” is strong, good looking, tough etc and that a “perfect woman” is skinny, beautiful, tall, has curves and boobs. How many people actually look like these advertisements in the real world?

I just wanted to share this small clip to show how the little boy is being tricked into walking instead of taking the car with reverse psychology.

Throughout the past few decades, advertisements have evolved from attracting individuals to specific products to defining the role of gender in society. Ads associate masculinity with violence and superiority and femininity with innocence and passiveness. They portray men as perpetrators of violence and women as vulnerable sex objects. Research has proven that sex in advertising sells products.

In Jean Kilbourne’s “Killing Us Softly” videos, Kilbourne argues that advertisements have been used not only to sell products, but also to generalize how men and women are depicted in society. I agree with Kilbourne’s argument that ads are placing gender roles on men and women to follow that lead to destructive behaviors. As Kilbourne had said, advertisements portray women with non-existent body types; there are 3 billion women who don’t look like supermodels and only 8 who do. Because women are concerned about how they look, many women try to imitate the ideal female beauty shown in ads, which is absurd and ridiculous. Girls who become obsessed with thinness begin to cut down in size by eating less and even starving themselves. This destructive behavior leads to the development of eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia. Teenage girls are also hyper sexualized by the explicit context of ads, which can explain why the United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy. As Kilbourne further stated, the problem isn’t sex; it’s the trivialization of sex and the culture’s pornographic altitude toward sex.

Kilbourne’s argument can relate to ideas from the social learning theory about gender and gender identity development, as well as children and the media. The social learning theory focuses on modeling, the process in which children observe and imitate individuals of the same sex as themselves. When children are exposed to advertisements that portray individuals of their respective sex, they attempt to imitate the actions of those individuals. By doing so, children develop gender roles that are not authentic or freely chosen. This ideology supports Kilbourne’s argument that advertisements place gender roles on children to follow. Besides acquiring gender-role identity by imitating others of the same sex, children also rely on the gender stereotypes communicated in their cultures through television and other media to understand their gender role.

Although advertisements are used to sell products, they can also have adverse effects on the development of gender roles in society. Kilbourne concludes her argument by stating that not only must ads be changed, but also society’s attitudes toward men and women.

Kilbourne argues and shows how the media and advertising influences our society today, especially the young generations. She brings up how it is having a huge effect on the younger girls today and is indirectly bringing their sexuality closer and making their childhood end earlier. Kilbourne is trying to help us open our eyes and see what is really in front of us. The society has become so use to the idea of “sex sells” and do not care about what is being posted on billboards and posters and don’t even care about commercials and shows on television.

I do agree with Kilbourne because I can honestly say that growing up I did not notice it much and I guess since I am the oldest, they tried to keep me away from anything provocative. I remember there was a time a certain song was popular and my mother wouldn’t let me listen to it because it was too sexual. But after listening to Kilbourne I see how things have changed so much. My parents have divorced since then but I see how my mother has acted with my sister. I used to have to cover my eyes if a movie was on TV with a sex scene or if a woman’s breasts were exposed but my sister who is 14 doesn’t. she gets to listen to whatever she wants, wear anything she wants and I have even heard my mother makes comments to my sister that she needs to stay fit and thin.

It is incredible how the understanding and concept of women has changed so much. Everything is put on their looks now and if you want to succeed in life beauty trumps intelligence, in some situations. Granted there are many intelligent women who hold positions of great power today but now girls that are growing up in this day and age have different priorities. Most girls now watch shows like 16 and Pregnant or Teen Mom on MTV and studies have shown that teen pregnancy has increased since these shows have aired.

I know Kilbourne put an emphasis on advertisements having mainly an affect on girls and women but I do disagree. Now more then ever men are wanting to keep up their physical appearances. Going to the gym, eating better, taking weight loss pills and some even using steroids because the bigger your muscles are the better. Also even with the tax on tanning, people still go tanning, both men and women. Thanks to the “guidos” and “guidettes” introduced to the nation by the reality show Jersey Shore, the tan “gorilla juice head” guy image is at an all time high, and the “tan guidette” girl persona is taking over.

Advertising has been around since the first products were invented. Its main purpose is to create a need and want for a product even if it is not there. Advertising is what keeps our economy and country going. Without marketers and advertising agencies to stir up a need and want for products, people would not be putting money into our economy. Killbourne’s views are very radical and would only work in a perfect world where child development was the only concern.

The top advertisers get paid for their creativity and their ads that generate the most buzz. In this example Killbourne is putting a microscope on just one technique that almost every advertiser uses. Sex can sell almost any products. From cars, perfume, makeup, lingerie, and even burgers. This is a known fact and advertisers have been capitalizing on the beauty of women for years. Killbournes argument that women are just used for their beauty is just a one-sided feminine view.

Yes advertisements may cause less attractive women and even younger women to try to enhance themselves through surgery and other types of unnatural methods. This cannot be blamed solely on the advertisers. Women just being around their peers may find themselves inferior in beauty. I cannot blame advertisers for wanting the most naturally beautiful women to promote their products. It is simple commonsense to promote your products with the best that is out there. Women who go out to extreme lengths to change themselves have deeper issues that just the advertisements that they see on billboards.

Killbournes view of advertising cause young girls to grow up faster may have some validity. Children in general always want to mimic what they see on television and on billboards. This is just their nature, and it so happens that advertisers are using sex to sell their products and paint an image of beauty with their products. No matter what type of advertising that marketers use, children will always mimic it. So Killbournes point to change advertising is a little discredited because no one has the power or knowledge to decide what is the perfect image.

These days we do not pay attention as closely as we should to the messages that media and advertisement put out to their audience. Kilbourne’s argument highlights this clearly for us. We are surrounded daily by sexual advertisement that has nothing to do with the product trying to be sold and we do not even realize it. Sex is used secretly in almost every form of advertisement there is out there. I agree with Kilbourne in the sense that sex through advertisement can de destructive. It can be harmful to women, but also to children. The younger generations are the ones being surrounded by all the lust and sex the media is putting out there. Our children are being exposed and accustomed to things that are too harmful to their childhoods and innocence.

The media, as Kilbourne also argued, puts out an image of what we should look like as women. It tells us how we should act, what we should dress like, what our body figures should be, and defines our perspective of what “beautiful” is. The media can impact a woman’s perspective of herself and could even drive her to be unhealthy. There are girls and women everywhere that become anorexic or bulimic because they feel that they are not thin or pretty enough for today’s society. They do not have a true sense of identity or have good self-esteem they constantly try to change themselves in order to keep up with the image the media puts out for them.

The points Kilbourne makes about femininity and masculinity is similar to what our texts portrays about gender and gender development. The media paints women to be dainty and motherly. Men are seen to be very tough and aggressive. These are the role models and example children look up to while growing up. The way they act goes accordingly to how it is drawn out for them. Little girls are to be very sensitive and delicate when they are young, yet sexy when they grow up. Men are told to be superior to woman from the beginning, and this is what children grow into believing and being.