Verified Document

Pop Culture, Gender And Sexuality Term Paper

Women's Issues I have been aware of this Marc Jacobs perfume ad for "Lola" for perhaps six months or so, but I was made aware of it again in mid-November when I read that it had been banned in the U.K. I am not surprised that it was and I wish that it were banned in the United States too. One of my major problems with this ad is that it features Dakota Fanning, a teenager, in a very sexually provocative position. Fanning is wearing a short dress that appears quite childlike in style with its polka-dots and light pink color. Between her legs is an oversized bottle of perfume, precariously positioned in a rather sexual manner.

While Fanning is actually 17-years-old, the way in which the ad makes her look is much younger than that age, in my opinion. Fanning appears to be more like 12 or 13-years of age and I think that the advertisement does this on purpose. It is disturbing because it makes it seem like 12 and 13-year-old girls are sexual and knowledgeable about sex.

Another interesting point to make about this advertisement is the name of the perfume "Oh, Lola." Could this perhaps be a play on Nabokov's famed book "Lolita" -- a story about an older man who becomes obsessed with a 14-year-old girl? This isn't the only association we can make to a famous artist. The red flower on top of the bottle can be seen as representative of the female genitalia. Georgia O'Keefe was a painter who famously painted flowers as representations...

There is no doubt that the flower on top of this bottle and with it positioned between Fanning's leg was meant to insinuate something sexual.
The ad itself isn't over-the-top sexy in that there isn't any skin showing except for the skin on her leg and her arms. That is not the problem with this ad. In fact, I think that if it were over-the-top obviously sexy, the ad wouldn't have been banned in the U.K. The problem is in its supposed innocence. The pink colors, the polka dots, the pale and almost makeup free Fanning gazing into the camera. The ad is showing a wide-eyed, what appears to be a very young girl in a sexualized manner and this says something about how we think that it is okay to sexualize young girls in our culture. Not only this, but there is something in Fanning's eyes that looks much older than the dress she is wearing or the childlike position that she is in. It is silently saying, "I am old enough to know certain things," yet the look is juxtaposed by other elements in the ad that make her appear to be so young.

This ad is a prime piece of sexual propaganda, which keeps women in a place of vulnerability in our culture. It is propaganda that says that it is okay for men to lust after young girls and that young girls may even like it. The flower may be symbolizing that young girls are even prepared sexually for whatever sexual advances men make. A man may look at this…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Pop Culture Gender and Sexuality
Words: 993 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Pop Culture Artifact: Bacardi's Ugly Friend Ad Campaign Alcohol ads are noted for their misogyny, from simple objectification to actively implying violence toward women. However, these ads are generally targeted at male audiences, designed to engage the male gaze. The Bacardi Breezers "Ugly Friend" ad campaign targeted women, specifically women's insecurities about their physical appearance, using stereotypes of behavior to sell product. Published on the web in 2009, the ad campaign

Gender Porn Gender, Sexuality, Violence
Words: 661 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

If not inherently in the acts of sexuality themselves, often in the exhibited sense of entitlement and dominance, male sexuality is prone toward the undermining of femininity in favor of the satisfaction of male desire. In a great many of its incarnations, Jensen argues, pornography facilitates this orientation. Jensen asserts that as a consequence of the "patriarchal system in which we live, a key site of men's oppression of

Pop Culture in Dangerous Attitude and Trend
Words: 1792 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Pop Culture The most important development in a child is his individual identity. While children are shaping their attitude and identities, most of the times they tend to imitate their ideals and personalities for inspiration. The youth relates to a specific individual or a personality as their role model due to a certain quality or skill that they posses. It is not necessary that the child should look / dress or

American Pop Culture Maxim Magazine
Words: 1759 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

The very fact that the magazine openly admires men like Ray Liotta, who show depth beyond the typical alpha male and women like Christina Aguilera, who has chosen to use her sexuality rather than being used by her sexuality, demonstrates that the magazine does not even seriously believe that anyone should become the ideal male. On the contrary, the magazines use of stereotype-heavy advertising and writing suggests that the

Gender Identity Defined the Purpose
Words: 3232 Length: 9 Document Type: Thesis

Even strong women are feminized in the media and in advertising. Burton Nelson notes, "In a Sears commercial, Olympic basketball players apply lipstick, paint their toenails, rock babies, lounge in bed, and pose and dance in their underwear" (Nelson Burton 442). These are all very feminine characteristics, and women feel they must be feminine not only to fit in society but also to catch a man, and that is

Sexuality and Self-Image: Women in
Words: 2557 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Surprisingly, BDD, which is often a precursor to or comorbid symptom of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, is nearly as common among young men as women. This indicates that the onslaught and idolization of media images of "gorgeous" men in America is also having a negative effect on boys' sexual self-images. (da Costa, Nelson, Rudes, & Guterman, 2007) Narrowing the focus down to American women and their

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now