Let’s Reverse The Gender Roles In Ads Which Objectify Women & See The Effect…

Yes! Thank you Buzzfeed for creating such a thought-provoking video which provides a sharp social commentary on the state of media. We love the funny lists and compilations the pop-culture site regularly provides, but this one takes the cake.

Ever watched an overtly sexualized commercial and got annoyed at the ridiculous display of sexism for NO APPARENT REASON? Why on earth do all Carls Jr. ads have to feature a half-naked woman consuming a burger? What has that got to do with anything? If you are left scratching your head for an answer, you are not alone.

This video compilation shows a series of commercials which featured men and women in stereotypical roles, and decided to reverse those gender roles to see the effect.

We see a Doritos commercial where a doting girlfriend uses her sexuality to get the attention of her football-obsessed boyfriend. There is a Godaddy commercial, and of course the aforementioned Carls Jr. video which also show the roles reversed, and the result is quite startling.

What you are left thinking after watching the video below is how utterly ridiculous it is to see a man in various states of objectification, yet why does no one care when it is a woman? Worse still, why is it even ACCEPTABLE to have a women objectified in a commercial to sell a product? Doesn’t that equate a woman to an object, a thing, a product which possesses no power, but instead is acted upon by the buyer (men)?

In her TED Talk about sexual objectification, Caroline Heldman breaks down why girls being taught that being a “sex object” is ok is in fact very dangerous.

Caroline says that from an early age, girls are taught to place value only on their physical appearance and how to change it to be better. Boys are taught to use their bodies as tools to master their environment. “Imagine a world where girls are taught from an early age to view their bodies as tools to master their environment,” she says.

Media, we can do better. Why teach young girls that being sexy and objectified is something to desire? Why not represent women as the diverse, intelligent, loving, kind, funny and strong beings that we are?

Bravo Buzzfeed for creating this video, let’s hope it will influence all those in creative control of what goes into an avertisement, to really think about the portrayal of gender roles in their message. Why does a product have to sold at the detriment of a woman’s dignity and right to be respected? We are not objects, we are human beings who deserve to have value and worth placed upon us. Get the message!