Essay on Gender and Power in the United States - 1869 Words

The United States has been a patriarchy since its founding in 1776. This is largely in part due to the values of the Christian church which demonizes the nature of women and claims that they are weak and easily corrupted and have been this way since the Biblical story of Adam and Eve(GENESIS 2:4-3:24). Thus women were rarely trusted with positions of power and were only seen as valuable for bearing children and tending the home. They were sold as property to the highest bidder and accused of being whores or witches if they did not conform to their father’s or husband’s wishes. The United states has certainly made enormous progress in the way that women are treated. The female populace has gone from being considered little better than†¦show more content†¦This ad is multidimensional in the way that it demeans women. The first layer is equating the women with inanimate objects. The women are being scaled down to the size of beer bottles as though they were barbie dolls, meant to be played with and molded by the hands of the viewer. The model lays with her legs spread and her chest pushed out in a hypersexualized submissive pose. She looks up at the viewer with a coy smile. Ads like these are meant to sell to an adult male audience. They are made by men with the intention of making money and the understanding that if you offer a typical American male the idea of sex with a physically attractive woman and equate that to a product, he will buy almost anything. This type of imagery also affects how women feel that they should act. Viewing images of women as sex objects in these submissive poses causes women to feel that they are only valuable if they fit the ideals put in place by the heterosexual male gaze. What about when women are the ones being advertised to? Well American Apparel and many other companies think that female objectifications sells just as well to women as to men. Why is this true? Because women are taught by advertisers that in order to be considered successful and happy we need to fit the ideals of the male gaze. American Apparel’s ads have developed a reputation for showing scantily clad young women in vulnerable and pornographic positions. In an ad entitled â€Å"Bodysuits andShow MoreRelatedPhilippines Annexation and US Masculinity1258 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿In 1898, the United States of America was in the midst of a complete remolding of the nations reputation. Just having recently ended the Civil War among the states in the United States and once again forging war with the Spanish-American War, the United States was after a more masculine image and reputation. Due to the nature of the country at that moment in time, the American government wanted to prove their superiority among other emerging nations and in doing so chose to colonize and annex nationsRead MoreAbnormal Factors Of Foreign Relations856 Words   |  4 Pagesinsteads of gender and race in their studies about foreign relations. Gender and race are stated as atypical factors in this field. Laura McEnaney and Michael Krenn seek the historical evidence to prove their thesis that gender and race are vital in forming foreign relation in the United States. Because gender, race and foreign relation seem not related to each other, choosing the example plays a vital role in illustrating the thesis. Laura McEnaney succeeds in sketching ideas about the gender analysisRead MoreThe Important Issues in the World Today: Race, Class, Gender, and Power678 Words   |  3 PagesThe most important issues in the world today are race, class, gender, and power. 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