week 7
The first picture claims that wives are for cooking; implying that at least part of their purpose is to feed their husbands. This is an overt itemization in which it dehumanizes the concept of a wife to exactly what is being sold here, a household appliance. The appliance, which is implied to be a gift in this case, is being given to a women to help her cook for a man. This reinforces stereotypes that women belong in the kitchen, which his suit enforces the idea that mean belong in the workplace. On top of the idea that this appliance is clearly intended to be used in the kitchen by a women, the add is still directed at men with the “I'm giving my wife...� comment. In summary, this add gives multiple signs saying that women are less then men, and there to serve men.
The second is another obvious example of “exoticness� that we discussed in class. Namely that a non-white individual is portrayed as exotic through symbolisms with rare plants/animals (in this case a leopard as the skin print on her clothing). Granted I'm a little out of touch with product labels, I don't even know what the product of this advertisement is. This add is using a female body simply as a means of attracting attention to the advertisement. Again, this add is dehumanizing; in this case to women of color by relation to animals and this use to simply attract peoples attention via body. The body position also appears to sexual in nature, which doesn't appear to have anything to do with the product (again, I'm not sure what that product actually is, but I doubt it's sexual in nature).