"Killing Us Softly 4" documents advertising's image of women
What does advertising’s image of women have to do with our ability to craft satisfying and equitable careers?
Well, it’s called “internalized oppression” — the process by which any group will take corrosive social images into their own minds, and be held back by them. (Let’s not even get into what happens when other people believe that women are simply the sum of our sexual parts…)
If we believe, no matter how slightly, that we’re really supposed to be beautiful, decorative (and nowadays, slutty) sex objects, we’re going to find it subtly harder to speak up for ourselves with clarity, impact and ease.
You don’t feel that way about yourself? Congratulations! Still, each day, you’re exposed to 3000+ advertising attempts to make you feel like, at the very most, a consumerist object. Want to see what those messages are telling you? Watch the trailer for Jean Kilbourne’s brilliant documentary (her fourth on this topic in 40 years; and no, things are not getting better!), or watch the whole harrowing film in low rez here. And go to Jean’s site to learn more.
