Condom Ads Final Presentation Response

The way this group presented how Condom Advertisements display society's perception of sex was very unique. They used Prezi and incorporated images and YouTube videos about condoms. We all see these condom ads on TV and in the media, but it was interesting to see how much they really relate to this class. The group used their images to show how the ads displayed the societal view of heteronormativity, white privilege, and desire/sexuality. In all of the ads that showed couples, a woman and man were always present. There was only one Durex ad that hinted at homosexuality. It displayed three dogs, made out of condoms, having sex. Two of the dogs were blue, representing males, and the third dog was pink, representing a female. Not only does this still suggest that a female must be present for this type of interaction to be normal, but it also hints at specific gender roles that society has deemed as normal. White privilege was discussed by showing that most of the advertisements used white models. Race and class were discussed briefly in this section as well. Because white male and female models were used almost exclusively, it seemed that the target audience for most of the condom ads was middle to upper class, white males and females. Sexuality and desire were also talked about in the presentation by discussing the certain messages the ads were articulating. In some of the ads, scare tactics were used to suggest that "one must wear a condom, or else." In one example, the ad displayed "I love her(pes)" to show that you could get herpes if you don't wear a condom. Although these ads are an effective way to teach people about condom use, it seems that instead of talking about sexual pleasure, they are emphasizing the negative effects sex can have. The only thing that was a little confusing was how they incorporated the class readings. The readings were only discussed briefly and I think they could have put a little more emphasis on the readings. Overall, the presentation was unique and really focused on some of the key class concepts we have talked about.