Sultana Aliaj, is a Clinical Psychologist and Teacher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Psychology-Pedagogy, University of Tirana. Her areas of interest and scientific research are related to school violence, creating strategies for positive culture in educational institutions, psychological well-being of children and adolescents, mental health, emotional intelligence and students with special needs. She has a special interest in topics related to gender equality and has made a continuous contribution to informing and raising awareness in society. In the interview given to Citizens Channel, she explains in detail about the psychological factors that lead companies to choose sexualized images and the impact those images have on girls and women.
What psychological factor do you see as the most influential that contributes to the selection of sexualized and perfectionist images (physically curated, ideal weight and harmoniously featured girls) in the main product images?
An ad showing how to make soup, explaining the product in detail, is very boring compared to an ad where beautiful girls with combed hair and red lips cook the product to be sold. The message and content of the advertisement are closely related to each other.
The above question is related to the phenomenon of sexual objectification, which means treating as an object something that is not an object, but is actually a human being. This term refers to the use of women and girls as bodies to be excited for the use and pleasure of others. "Sex sells" is one of the oldest myths of advertising, associated with the reinforcement of stereotypical gender clichés and the promotion of unattainable ideals of beauty, which shine on the pages of magazines or television screens and social media. The main purpose of advertising is to attract the consumer's attention and convince him to buy. To accomplish this goal, advertising must make our brains react. Apparently, ads with sexual content achieve this best.
In our culture, the psychological mechanism driving advertising is consumer illusion and unrealistic motives to achieve a better, happier life. Repeatedly bombarded with images, accompanied by verbal and non-verbal messages, seems to fulfill the purpose of advertising, for the promise of achieving success, happiness or creating romantic relationships.
Advertising constantly sets the standards for our lives. Boys are told from a very young age, directly or indirectly, that the girls they should want are the ones featured in perfume ads, underwear, or fashion magazines. On the other hand, girls, at a very young age, are told that they should look like the models in the advertisements. They must have flawless skin, long legs, beautiful hair and an incredible body. The problem is that this woman does not exist, but is simply the product of long hours of cosmetic submission and days on the photo set. Women and girls in advertisements are not human, but a creation of a perfection-obsessed industry that claims to sell products that will help achieve the advertised ideals.
One of the main functions of advertising is to create a need and then provide a product to fill that need. Men consume certain brands of beer or wine because they associate them with advertisements of perfect women, and women and girls buy certain clothes, foods and cosmetics in a vain attempt to look like them. It actually seems so absurd. And yet, this kind of imagery continues to thrive and function. These ads are used and sell products for the simple reason that we like to dream. We love the dream. We think we can probably look like the models if we buy the right product and eat the right food. Our subconscious tells us that if we buy the beer or choose the right perfume, we can attract the supermodel on the box or we can look like her. What are the chances of this happening?
Why do images of girls and women sell even though they often have nothing to do with the particular service and product?
The media effect is based on the principle that different stimuli influence our consciousness and can influence subsequent perceptions and subsequent behaviors. When people hear, read, or watch something in the media, ideas that have similar meanings are activated for a short time afterward, and then these thoughts can activate other thoughts, feelings, and action tendencies toward purchasing the product. certain. Usually, advertisements for cars, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, provocative clothing, perfumes, beauty products are characterized by high sexual content, if compared to advertisements for financial or medical services.
There are several reasons for choosing this form of marketing. It has been observed that advertisements that use images of girls and women, mainly in forms of sexual objectification, elicit more favorable attitudes from consumers. Also, these ads are associated with strong emotional responses and are more likely to be remembered. Apparently, these findings have encouraged and contributed to the use of girls and women in the field of advertising industry.
How does this contribute to creating an ideal image around physical appearance and how much pressure does it put on girls and women to achieve that image?
Media has a long-term impact on individuals, on how we perceive ourselves and others, and on how we desire to love ourselves and how others love us. Repeated exposure to images of objectification of women and girls tends to distort the world view of individuals, wanting reality to resemble the television world. Also, we tend to learn through modeling, as well as direct or indirect experiences, especially of behaviors that we observe to be rewarding and bring satisfying benefits. In reality, people may begin to adopt behaviors and attitudes like the characters of the unreal world in order to be rewarded.
If you notice, today people can get away with not making a racist comment, but they don't think twice about making comments about girls' weight or being overweight. Girls and women are under pressure to look ideal because the world of television tells you that this is how you will get promoted, have a successful career, get paid more or have a romantic partner who I love you very much.
The influence of television on the desire for an ideal appearance is formidable. Thus, even preschoolers prefer to have friends who have bodies similar to television images and tend to engage in bullying behavior toward children who may be fatter. What is more disturbing is related to the fact that children tend to bully overweight girls more than boys, once again clearly affirming the phenomenon of sexual objectification.
What many women all over the world experience, in the search for this ideal "body", more than anything, is a pure dissatisfaction with their bodies, as they evaluate themselves through the eyes of others.
What are the consequences of this pressure? Is there a link between the ideal image and depression, bulimia or anorexia?
Frances Berg, renowned author of books about eating disorders, begins one of her books with a provocative comment. According to him, the wishes of ambitious young women today are simply to lose weight. Today, girls in modern and developed countries choose to live like hungry people. Today girls choose to be weak, apathetic. The question arises why this choice, when they could choose to be careful, strong and capable women?
This is because the culture of being thin, thin is definitely prevailing. Women and girls constantly worry about whether they are overweight or whether their weight is appropriate. The images of very thin girls that we see in magazines or on TV screens are considered to be the main factors that keep the thin culture alive. This conclusion is supported by a number of studies, which show that the media emphasizes the importance of a beautiful, thin body and encourages dieting among girls. Regarding the question of the connection between the pressure for perfection and depression, bulimia or anorexia, there is certainly a connection between them. Girls who are exposed to ideal images tend to report more psychological problems, have great dissatisfaction with their bodies and engage in various behaviors to resemble models, such as giving up food, drastic diets or surgical interventions.
The continuous exposure of girls with perfect bodies also increases the awareness of their treatment as an object. It is evident that there are more girls who are worried and dissatisfied with their bodies than boys. Focusing too much on physical appearance also contributes to the development of depression or eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
Do these images reinforce gender stereotypes?
The most common types of advertisements in which women appear are those for cleaning products, household appliances or clothing. These ads reinforce the traditional stereotypical role of women as caregivers. Other stereotypical roles that women are portrayed as are beauty or sex roles, mothers or homemakers. Similarly, it is also quite rare for women to be seen in roles outside the home, and even women who are advertised as careers are always associated with the image of the perfect mother and wife, who takes care of the children and cleans the house after work.
The sexual objectification that happens often, as much as it has become normal, is clearly observed in the bodily portrayals of girls and women or their sexualization during interactions with others, also strengthen other gender stereotypes. Perhaps the most dangerous stereotype that is reinforced is the acceptance and legitimacy of violence. Experiences of sexual objectification increase the chances that women and especially young girls perceive themselves as objects and evaluate themselves exclusively for their appearance, ignoring personality, talent, work or career.
Advertisements or images on television and social media promote male dominance over women, dominance over submission, pit the protective man against the naive and perfect woman who waits in silence. The presentation of girls and women as objects is associated with acceptance, increased possibility of violence, as well as decreased empathy and support. A very tangible example are the spots or images that are dedicated to different sports. The main discourse running through the television programs is the strength of real men, while women are present as supporting objects in the race. Their sexualization is typically depicted by the cheerleaders, by the girls' clothing or dances during these competitions. The message being conveyed is that girls are unfit for sports and can only serve for entertainment. Have you noticed men in cheerleading positions during competitions where girls are competing? In this way, the media creates the climate of disrespecting girls and legitimizing their subjugation and use.
Another stereotype that the media reinforces through images is the independence and competence of men versus the dependence and incompetence of women. Whether in TV shows or movies, men have leading roles while girls have supporting roles. Through photos or advertisements, men have the central positions, while girls stand behind them, in most cases mostly naked.
Advertisements increasingly define the authority of men. On the one hand, women are part of commercials cleaning over dirty floors and bathrooms, and their concern only ends when "Mr Clean" appears and shows them how to keep the house clean. A lot of sexism in a few minutes: products aimed only at women are advertised, as only they do housework, and worse still, the voice explaining the product to be sold is a man's voice, reinforcing the stereotypes that men are authorities and women are dependent on men to tell them what to do. On the other hand, in advertisements with the same content, super tricked-up girls are noticed. Have you tried doing housework in heels, tight skirts and professional make-up? As far as I know it doesn't work, but the objectification of girls and women in the media world definately goes beyond any goal of reality.
Do you think that the belief can be created that girls and women do not deserve to be loved and unable to form relationships because they do not feel beautiful enough?
It is important that we begin to reflect on the messages being conveyed and resist those that are harmful and inappropriate. It is important to increase the critical analysis of media communication about how we should look, how we should be and how we should act. There is a fine line between showing self-care, indicative of psychological well-being, and obsessing over self-care. In the second case, girls and women have at the center of their routine precisely the desire to look beautiful, like models, and do not get pleasure from other activities or activities. Their behaviors tend exclusively towards curating their image in detail.
Women and girls, before creating relationships with others, it is important to create a true relationship with themselves. It is important for everyone to understand that the world of television and the real world are two parallel and very different worlds. Girls and women must begin to understand that they are worth much more than barbie dolls, that they are much more than just decorative accessories or ideal mothers and wives preoccupied with housework and sacrificing for raising children. Girls and women need to understand that their values and power go beyond the role they have been forced into for years and years, of the good, listened to and polite girl. Girls and women must use their potential, beyond the superficial. Today, little girls should not be educated with perfection, delicacy, fragility, but with rebellion, courage and breaking taboos. Today, girls and women should know how to be fulfilled by achievements, fulfilling objectives and meaningful goals, instead of being supporters of the achievements of others. The expression behind every successful man is a strong woman should not make sense anymore! Strong women don't stand behind anyone, let alone successful men. Strong women pursue personal successes, engage in self-achievement, and then contribute to society as a whole!
We must all learn to be immune to manipulation. We must learn to be masters of our actions, not imitators of media models. This can start with increasing awareness of all the persistent negative effects that come with images served, with defined standards of beauty.
*Citizens Channel/Antenela Ndrevataj
