Commoditization Of Women…. Contributing Towards Crime Against Women
Rapes are one of the most disgusting acts that a man can do against a woman. Often we read articles on rapes and theories offered by the think tanks behind such crimes. No doubt the mental set up of the rapist is the main driving force behind it but to me another important factor that implicitly contributes to such situations is commoditization of women through media.
In today’s consumer driven market, the media has
become a highly influential part of our society and its cultural framework. The
consumer culture created by the media is undoubtedly phenomenally effective.
The commoditisation of women is the worst tools employed by them to promote their products.
.
By commoditisation I mean presenting an individual as
an enticing product to be purchased and used. There are several examples where a woman has been used as an object to sell products. Her sensuality is used
to make the advertisement attractive and compelling.
In one of the ads I see a leading actress is
shaking her waist and flaunting her belly dance skills while endorsing a coffee
brand. She shakes and swirls to make a coffee shake. I don’t know if her
movements actually make the product attractive but she definitely succeeds to
grab the eyeballs of the viewers. I wonder if such movements are indeed required
to promote a product like coffee.
Every day we are bombarded with ads that bolster the perceptions like women must always be appealing and accessible. Be it a fairness cream, a hair product or any other cosmetic product, the ad overtly conveys the message that women should look beautiful and their final goal should be to grab the attention of a man.This is not all, in some other ads like that of soft drinks and many more the female counterpart is presented like a trophy that is easily accessible if you use a particular product.
If not overtly, covertly our media is definitely
creating an image where women are objects of pleasure. I know there will be
many who would disagree with me but the fact is that if we look at the root
cause of crimes against women including human trafficking, commoditisation of
women plays a major role.
I totally agree with you. We need to change d mind set of our society n shud start it wid ourselves. If women wil stop doing such ads then no one cud force them. But as everyone says "paisa kuch bhi karwa skta hai", women degrade themselves thru such performances.
ReplyDeleteWomen sadly and majorly in our society and culture are predestined to land in either of the two horrifyingly polarized roles ....either the doormat of your husband or family ( as seen throughout saas bahu serials) or as a plaything in the hands of men ( as mentioned in your article, the numerous ads from deos to body lotions). We women are the better half of our own species and sadly no one wants to realise it. As far as the contributing factor towards rape goes, women fully covered have also been raped. Its also the weak laws of our country that give these !@#$% of a man to touch us. For the women relaying and performing such acts, we don't know their story or how they got there. Atleast these ads can be filtered and made to air during late hours when your kid is studying or sleeping and certainly not in between cricket matches. I don't get it why when the entire family is jamaofied to watch an interesting match should such an ad be aired. 11 to 12 yr old kids love watching cricket and they get to see the midriff button of a voluptuous woman's blouse pop into a mans face as she takes a whiff of his DEO as an added bonus....Grrrr!!!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree
ReplyDelete