The Gender Glass The opening shot reveals a man in a blue collared shirt sitting at a table in a nightclub. He has a beer in one hand. There is a wipe to black and the sound of a woman’ s voice filters through the noise background noise until it is the only sound. This time as the scene changes a tight shot of a woman is shown ranting to what we assume is her bored disinterested boyfriend. The camera pulls back and we see that the woman is complaining not to the boyfriend but a bottle of Coors Lite. Another wipe to black and the tag line appears in red text with the deep voice of a man saying, “ Here's to the This kind of trivialization of women in alcohol advertising is nothing new. It used to be that boys consumed more alcohol than girls. But adolescent girls are catching up to teenage boys – and fast. Recent studies have found that girls in high school, especially those in lower grades, now drink almost as much as high school boys. In Ontario, close to seven out of ten students in Grades 7-12 have tried alcohol over the past year, with close to one in three having participated in binge drinking. Why is it that the percentage of girls who begin to drink before they’ ve graduated is increasing so rapidly? Part of the answer Alcohol advertising has much to say about relationships between men and women. In the world of booze, women are sexual prizes that can be won by drinking the right beverage; or they are the ball and chain that men and their buddies escape from through alcohol. Happy couples do exist, but only in a fantasy world of yachts, beaches and exotic locations. Casual sex in a party setting is presented as the norm, with taglines such as "names optional." Author Jean Kilbourne notes that sex in the media is often condemned "from a puritanical perspective – there's too much of it, it's too blatant, it will encourage kids to be promiscuous, etc." But, she concludes that sex in the media "has far more to do with trivializing sex than with promoting it. The problem is not that it is sinful but that it is synthetic and cynical. We are offered a pseudo-sexuality that makes it far more difficult to discover our own unique and authentic sexuality." There is no shortage of ads that use sex to promote beer and liquor. In countless ads, girls and boys alike are bombarded by messages that build and reinforce positive associations between drinking and sex appeal, as well as independence, rebellion, maturity, fun, success about drinking, these highly engaging ads also deliver messages about gender roles. Because most alcohol ads are primarily targeted at young males, women in them are generally portrayed within the limiting stereotypes of "sexpot," "man- eater," and "party girl." The ideal "beer babe" is highly sexualized and impossibly attractive. She, or even sometimes a specific body part, is sold to consumers along with the beverage. Being a babe, she's non-threatening, sexually available and subservient. Girls in alcohol ads are permitted to be rebellious, as long as they do so in a cute and flirty manner. They are allowed to be naughty, but not bad. When do these commercials go to far with their image advertising? Many young girls cite feelings of inferiority as one of the reasons for their drinking. In a world in which buxom female archetypes are the ideal, standard and norm there is little wonder that many girls feel that they come up short. It is not just females who are affected by this oversimplification of the human condition but males as well. According to these commercials we are all pigeon holed in a category that dictates how we should behave and act. The only means of transformation provided is alcohol and not just any type but a certain brand. One is either a “ Molson Man” or a member of the “ Captain Morgan Club” everyone who drinks is fascinating and attractive, those who do not partake are boring and ugly. This is the world that advertisers are trying to sell to our youth and it appears to Word count: 706 D. McKenzie. "Under the Influence? The Impact of Alcohol Advertising on Youth," 2000. Association to Reduce Alcohol Promotion in Ontario. http:// www.apolnet.ca/resources/pubs/rpt_AdImpactYouth.pdf Jean Kilbourne. Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising, 1999. New York: The Free Press. K. Bucholz, G. Banks, and S. Ryan, "Descriptive Epidemiology of Alcohol Use and Problem Drinking During Adolescence: Data From a School-Based National Sample," Missouri Alcoholism Research Center. Washington University School of Medicine.
The opening shot reveals a man in a blue collared shirt sitting at a table in a
nightclub. He has a beer in one hand. There is a wipe to black and the sound of a
woman’ s voice filters through the noise background noise until it is the only sound. This
time as the scene changes a tight shot of a woman is shown ranting to what we assume is
her bored disinterested boyfriend. The camera pulls back and we see that the woman is
complaining not to the boyfriend but a bottle of Coors Lite. Another wipe to black and
the tag line appears in red text with the deep voice of a man saying, “ Here's to the
This kind of trivialization of women in alcohol advertising is nothing new. It used
to be that boys consumed more alcohol than girls. But adolescent girls are catching up to
teenage boys – and fast. Recent studies have found that girls in high school, especially
those in lower grades, now drink almost as much as high school boys. In Ontario, close to
seven out of ten students in Grades 7-12 have tried alcohol over the past year, with close
to one in three having participated in binge drinking. Why is it that the percentage of girls
who begin to drink before they’ ve graduated is increasing so rapidly? Part of the answer
Alcohol advertising has much to say about relationships between men and
women. In the world of booze, women are sexual prizes that can be won by drinking
the right beverage; or they are the ball and chain that men and their buddies escape from
through alcohol. Happy couples do exist, but only in a fantasy world of yachts, beaches
and exotic locations. Casual sex in a party setting is presented as the norm, with taglines
such as "names optional." Author Jean Kilbourne notes that sex in the media is often
condemned "from a puritanical perspective – there's too much of it, it's too blatant, it will
encourage kids to be promiscuous, etc." But, she concludes that sex in the media "has far
more to do with trivializing sex than with promoting it. The problem is not that it is sinful
but that it is synthetic and cynical. We are offered a pseudo-sexuality that makes it far
more difficult to discover our own unique and authentic sexuality."
There is no shortage of ads that use sex to promote beer and liquor. In countless
ads, girls and boys alike are bombarded by messages that build and reinforce positive
associations between drinking and sex appeal, as well as independence, rebellion,
maturity, fun, success about drinking, these highly engaging ads also deliver messages
about gender roles. Because most alcohol ads are primarily targeted at young males,
women in them are generally portrayed within the limiting stereotypes of "sexpot," "man-
eater," and "party girl." The ideal "beer babe" is highly sexualized and impossibly
attractive. She, or even sometimes a specific body part, is sold to consumers along with
the beverage. Being a babe, she's non-threatening, sexually available and subservient.
Girls in alcohol ads are permitted to be rebellious, as long as they do so in a cute and
flirty manner. They are allowed to be naughty, but not bad.
When do these commercials go to far with their image advertising? Many young
girls cite feelings of inferiority as one of the reasons for their drinking. In a world in
which buxom female archetypes are the ideal, standard and norm there is little wonder
that many girls feel that they come up short. It is not just females who are affected by
this oversimplification of the human condition but males as well. According to these
commercials we are all pigeon holed in a category that dictates how we should behave
and act. The only means of transformation provided is alcohol and not just any type but a
certain brand. One is either a “ Molson Man” or a member of the “ Captain Morgan Club”
everyone who drinks is fascinating and attractive, those who do not partake are boring
and ugly. This is the world that advertisers are trying to sell to our youth and it appears to
Word count: 706
D. McKenzie. "Under the Influence? The Impact of Alcohol Advertising
on Youth," 2000. Association to Reduce Alcohol Promotion in Ontario. http://
www.apolnet.ca/resources/pubs/rpt_AdImpactYouth.pdf
Jean Kilbourne. Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the
Addictive Power of Advertising, 1999. New York: The Free Press.
K. Bucholz, G. Banks, and S. Ryan, "Descriptive Epidemiology of Alcohol
Use and Problem Drinking During Adolescence: Data From a School-Based National
Sample," Missouri Alcoholism Research Center. Washington University School of
Medicine.