The Covert Display of Sexism in Our Advertisements

Have you ever taken a close look at the advertisements on the television? It is commendable how they manage to appeal to you more often than not. How they know which cord to strike exactly to make you emotional and feel connected. 

So the other day, I was listening to some ad jingle, and thanks to Google's autoplay, found myself listening to the most emotional or heart-touching ads on Indian television. Well, having listened to about a dozen such ads, I felt a little offended. I realized that most ads are highly sexist and subconsciously promote the gender stereotypes of society. But this sexism is wrapped in so well in emotions and grand gestures that we all don't seem to notice it at first.

Throughout history, advertisements have been marred by overt and explicit sexism, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and objectifying women. However, as society has become more attuned to such overt sexist displays, advertisers have adapted by transitioning from overt sexism to covert sexism. While earlier advertisements were blatantly sexist,, advertisements today tend to be more subtle. 

You have to hand it to the genius of people who make our advertisements. They have a remarkable ability to tap into the emotional fabric of society and craft narratives that resonate with viewers. It is within these emotionally charged narratives that gender stereotypes and biases are seamlessly woven. Whether it's reinforcing traditional roles, objectifying women, or perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards.

 

This is a significant issue in the advertising industry. With one advertisement, they cancel out all the efforts and struggles that we as women face every single day. These ads are not overtly sexist but you can notice sexism hidden subtly in the background. And with our younger generations growing in front of the plasma screen, you can't blame them when they start to internalize this behavior. They have after all grown up seeing this. Our ads reinforce the gender discrimination that exists in our day-to-day lives. The discrimination we fight against every day.

There are many examples that I could give you but the worst of them all is "Men will be men" as if this was a good enough excuse to look the other way when men do something they aren't supposed to be doing. And the way this tagline is used, with such pride and pomp, makes me want to question the judgment of the entire industry. This can be seen in ads from almost all types of industries, be it insurance industries or groceries. When it comes to healthy oil or instant noodles or those pesky stains, it is always the mother or a female character to be found in the vicinity. If we were to go by such advertisements, the burden of running the house is still firmly sitting on the woman's shoulder. 

One recent advertisement featured a "smart" washing machine, where you just need to press a button suggesting that even men can do laundry now, perpetuating the stereotype that household chores are primarily a woman's responsibility. It's not just the portrayal of women in these ads that is problematic; it's also the clear distinction in target audiences for certain products. For instance, the insurance industry's consistent focus on men as the decision-makers implies that women may not be considered equal partners in financial decisions.

It is not just the portrayal of women in our ads that is problematic for society. It is also, who these ads are targeted to. There is a very clear distinction when it comes to the target audience for certain products. If you take the insurance industry, for example, they are always speaking to the man of the house, as if the women maybe aren't good enough for their policies or are they still living in the past, and have failed to acknowledge the women workforce in the industry. 

These covert forms of sexism is harder to identify at first glance, yet they continue to limit and pigeonhole individuals based on their gender and undoing everything women have worked to achieve.