The Unreal World

Mens Miller Lite

Everyday we see and hear advertisement for many different products, and most often these ads are geared towards a certain gender. Since we see these ads so often we may not even notice how obvious these gender roles are.  Take for example, Miller Lite, a beer company who advertises mainly to men. If you’ve seen the recent Miller Lite commercials, they often involve a couple where the man obviously loves his beer, but his love for the girl is questioned. It seems as though Miller Lite does not consider the fact that women drink beer too and therefore should not be advertised to only men. Along with the commercials, other Miller Lite ads again, are selling the product to men as they mostly feature skinny, nearly naked girls, or themes relating to sports.

Women are seen in many of the Miller Lite ads. These are not just average women either; these women are often skinny, in bikinis, and are sending a sexual message through their body language. In some of the images it isn’t even clear what the product is, as the logo for Miller Lite is smaller in the corner and the main aspect is the woman. Our society has become one such that “sexuality provides a resource that can be used to get attention and communicate instantly” (Jhally 253). Not only do the sexy women attract men but also they are often seen in pairs in a sexual position. This then gives the man the impression, if he buys this beer, maybe he could be with a women like this. It could also give him the idea that these types of women only like men that drink Miller Lite. It is not always the sexual women that are in the ads, but sexual references as well. Many men will find these sexual references amusing and then feel the desire to drink this beer. Women will not necessarily pay attention to these ads, nor will they feel the need to buy this product, which again proves how this product is selling to men.

 Along with women, the majority of men love sports. Thus, what better way to sell a product to men than through the use of sports? As stated by Jackson Katz, “Men’s magazines and mainstream newsweeklies are rife with ads featuring violent male icons, such as uniformed football players…” (356). Though Miller Lite ads do not necessarily use the violent male icons they do use sports in different ways. In one ad, it is a competition between Miller Lite and Bud Light, with Miller Lite winning. This competitiveness is a trait we often see in men, who love to see “their” team win, in this instance showing Miller Lite is the better team. Miller Lite also often has their ads including the sports team of the area on bill boards, so for instance around this are you can often see signs for the Philadelphia Eagles along with Miller Lite. Again, this is a correlation between the man’s favorite team and thus implying Miller Lite should also be his favorite beer. Obviously Miller Lite believes they should be marketing to males, but would their company change if they marketed to females as well?

Works Cited

"Alcohol Ads Aplenty in Teen-Read Magazines." Marin Institute. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.marininstitute.org/Youth/ads_teen_magazines.htm>.

 "Billboard - Miller Lite Win Tickets on Flickr - Photo Sharing!" Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/runway27r/3952352455/>.

"Body Parts I." LTCC Online. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.ltcconline.net/lukas/gender/pages/partsa.htm>.

"Demotivational Posters - The Miller Light Girls - Two Reasons To Drink Miller Lite Beer Kitana Baker, Tanya Ballinger, Beer, Babe, Sexy, Boobs 47514." Demotivational
Posters : Newest Photos Photos 1-20 of 55490 Photos. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.motivatedphotos.com/?id=47514>.

Dines, Gail, and Jean McMahon. Humez. "Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity: From Eminem to Clinique for Men." Gender, Race, and Class in Media: a Text-reader. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage, 2003. Print.

Dines, Gail, and Jean McMahon. Humez. "Image-Based Culture: Advertising & Popular Culture." Gender, Race, and Class in Media: a Text-reader. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage, 2003. Print.

  "The Linguistics of Taste." Web. 19 May 2010. <http://flowtv.org/?p=215>.

"Miller Lite." Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Web. 20 May 2010. <http://www.camy.org/gallery/display.php?GalleryID=1561>.

  Miller Lite Home of the Original Lite Beer. Web. 20 May 2010. <http://millerlite.com/commercials.html>.

  "MONDO BIRRA - Gli Sfondi Con Tema Birrario - Beer Wallpaper - Sfondi Birra." MONDO BIRRA PUNTO ORG- Un Sito Pieno Di Risorse Dedicato Al Mondo Della Birra. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.mondobirra.org/sfondom.htm>.

Femininity and Masculinity in Glee

Everyday we are influenced by the media, whether it is from the radio, television, magazine, newspaper, or the radio, the media affects the way we think and act. We often are influenced without ever having realized it. The television show Glee often explores common problems among our society today, such as teen pregnancy, dealing with weight issues, sexuality, and feminism. In the "Power of Madonna Episode" male dominance in society is recognized and female empowerment is emphasized. This episode explores the fact that males are not always aware of gender inequality, and therefore can sometimes seem insensitive and even degrading towards women. 

Within the first ten minutes of the episode the girls describe that they feel belittle by the boys, and how the boys are not even aware of this. In one scene Tina's boyfriend, Artie, her to change her image because the "goth scene" was only popular two years ago. ("FOX"). Though only a minute of the episode, this scene is important for society to hear, that men are trying to change women to fit the image they want. From this implication, I concluded that if you are not as society tells you, then you should change your image to make others happy. This idea to strive to be beautiful, as described by the media, can be seen not only in this instance of Glee, but almost anywhere you look. 

Tina is an important character because even after hearing this, she does not feel the need to change herself to fit into society. Tina is proud of the way she looks and does not want to change for others. This is a character trait often not shown on television, and not the typical image of a woman that we see. According to Johnson, “to live in a patriarchy [dominance of males in society] is to breathe in misogynist images of women as objectified sexual property valued primarily for their usefulness to men” (96). Therefore in this instance, Glee defies what is expected of the role of women in our society, by not conforming into something other than you. 

Women empowerment is an important aspect of this episode, as is the recognition of the male dominance in our society. When the boys are told that they must sing a Madonna song, many of the boys complain and say they feel uncomfortable with this. I found this response to be implying the fact that males cannot sing songs about or by empowered women. However, the boys realize this is an assignment, and something they must complete. I felt it was important that by the end of the episode the boys are singing Madonna’s song, “What it feels like for a girl”.  Not only did the boys sing this song, but also they discovered something about gender differences. Puck, one of the main boy characters states, “I like being a dude”. This statement is followed by the response of Finn, another male character, who states “that’s cause it’s easy to be a dude” (“FOX”).  The boys singing a Madonna song and acknowledging the fact that there are gender differences in our society is an important statement for the viewer to see. These actions are trying to lessen the gender differences, by making people more aware of how unbalanced our society is. Thus originally the males’ attitudes implied to be a man, you should not sing female songs, but this idea is overcome and shows that there is an opportunity at some point, for all to be equal.

The idea that males should not sing female songs is the same concept that males must be strong and powerful, while females are weak and quiet. These ideas and thoughts that society has is what Newman considers as to “do gender… that means behaving in ways that are considered gender appropriate” (54). In Glee this concept was shown explicitly, yet often we all “do gender” without even realizing it. It is something that is part of our daily life, we see peoples actions and looks, and compare them with that of their gender, to make sure everything corresponds to what we know as normal.

Obviously, there are many definitions as to what is normal, and this often can depend on gender. People may have one expectation for males and another for females on the exact same issue, such as sex. This episode briefly touched on the subject and through this issue, portrayed a very important gender difference. Rachel, the main girl character, is about to have sex for the first time with her boyfriend, Jessie. Jessie tries explaining to Rachel that it is not a big deal, yet her response is “for a girl it is” (“FOX”). For a female, sex is a big deal and if it is something a female does often, she will be seen as a slut. However, more often for a male having a lot of sex is seen as something cool and often make the male more popular and liked by his peers. This again shows how gender inequalities exist in our society and can be used so frequently, that people begin to not even question or recognize the differences. 

The media plays a dominant role in our society, and Glee is just one aspect of our media. This episode truly portrayed the gender differences that are present in our society. Women are not often seen as strong, and conforming to the standards of our society. However this episode showed viewers that women can be independent and do not have to be exactly as society tells us, we should be who we want. Along with the females, the males are now aware of the gender differences and were even able to help overcome some of these gender stereotypes.

Works Cited

"FOX on Demand - Glee." FOX Broadcasting Company. Web. 14 May 2010. .

Johnson, Allan G. "Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them or an Us." The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy. Philadelphia, Pa: Temple UP, 2005.

Newman, David M. "Manufacturing Difference: The Social Construction of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality." Identities and Inequalities: Exploring the Intersections of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006.   

Link-hunt

Glee brings it again with a Feminist Episode

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
http://www.thedailyfemme.com/femme/2010/04/glee-brings-it-again-with-a-feminist-episode/
The Daily Femme
www.thedailyfemme.com

Cultural Analysis of Cosmopolitan
Friday, January 29, 2010
http://english102eden.blogspot.com/2010/01/cultural-analysis-of-cosmopolitan_29.html
Eden
www.english102eden.blogspot.com

Taylor swift and Anti Gay Bullying
May 9, 2010
http://www.bluedevilsunited.com/2010/05/taylor-swift-and-anti-gay-bullying.html
Risen
www.bluedevilsunited.com

Greys Anatomy
May 4, 2010
http://chriswithak.blogspot.com/2010/05/greys-anatomy.html
Kat
chriswithak.blogspot.com

Visuality and Feminism in Lady Gagas Telephone Video
April 16, 2010
http://genderacrossborders.com/2010/04/16/visuality-and-feminism-in-lady-gagas-telephone-video/
Amy Littlefield
genderacrossborders.com 

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