Portrayal of Women in alcohol ads are failing Us

Introduction

The portrayal of women in alcohol ads has been a subject of controversy and debate. Some ads have been criticized for objectifying women, using sexual imagery and innuendos to promote alcohol products, and promoting harmful drinking behaviors.

Research has shown that the depiction of women in alcohol ads can have a negative impact on both men and women, reinforcing gender stereotypes and promoting risky drinking behaviors. Some studies have found that exposure to alcohol ads featuring women can lead to increased alcohol consumption among both men and women.

Alcohol advertisements, in particular, routinely portray women as sexual objects and often link alcohol consumption to sexual success; therefore, exposure to such content may be negatively associated with people’s intentions to intervene in alcohol-facilitated sexual assault situations.

Print ads of alcohol companies

1. Original Red

Objectifies a woman’s body as an object in this ad. A woman's body is used to represent the shape of a bottle in the hands of a man.

2. Three Olives

Objectifies a woman’s body as a drink to be consumed. Presents women as something to have and own and consume. The woman also isn’t covered up very much, exposing her body.

3. Four Loko

This is objectification in its most basic form. Her breasts are conflated with the cans. Also her face isn’t even shown, placing more emphasis on her body. “Now Available Legally” printed across her chest is the worst part!

4. Budweiser

Uses the bathing suits that the three women are wearing in this ad to blend directly with the brands’ label, making the woman connect to and become the object in representation- the beer.

5. Skyy Vodka

This beer ad illustrates the body of a woman as a bottle of beer. This ad perpetuates the idea of women as an object and as something to be “consumed” by men.

Impact

Alcohol ads can influence men and women to sexually coerce partners

An experimental study found that objectification of women in alcohol advertisements prompted some male and female college students to manipulate others for sex.

Young men and women who displayed strong gender stereotype ideas were more likely to engage in sexual coercion, according to the study, which was conducted under the direction of academics at Washington State University. Young men who watched alcohol advertisements with highly objectified female models were more susceptible to this association.

The researchers also discovered that women who aspired to look like the female models in the advertisements were more likely to express plans to persuade another person into having sex without even drinking.

Lead author Stacey Hust, a professor at WSU's Murrow Faculty of Communication, asserted that alcohol commercials have consequences beyond just persuading viewers to drink. There was an intriguing link between wishful identification and compulsion without alcohol for women.

The study evaluated various alcohol advertisements on roughly 1,200 college students and was published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. One group of subjects viewed actual commercials that heavily fetishized women by using models in scant or no clothing. Another group watched advertisements that had been altered to decrease the objectification, such as dressing up a model who had worn a bikini in the original advertisement.

Two advertisements were used in the experiment: a genuine Bacardi ad (left) and one that had the female model's objectification reduced (right).

The participants responded to questions regarding their opinions of the advertisements, their acceptance of gender stereotypes, their expectations regarding sex and alcohol, and their own intents to coerce others into having sex with or without alcohol.

A variety of bad and prohibited activities fall under the category of sexual coercion, including lying to someone, verbally pressuring them, and offering them alcohol in exchange for having sex. For instance, one of the study's questions questioned participants if they would fake liking someone simply to have sex with them or if they would still engage in sexual activity with someone even though they thought it would make their partner feel used.

It's interesting that the researchers discovered that not all individuals' intentions to use sexual coercion were influenced by the alcohol advertisements. Instead, they only had a detrimental effect when the participants held particular views, such a bias against women or a desire to identify as the female role models.

The result supports earlier research that links sexual coercion and other sexually violent behaviours to gender stereotypes that portray men as sexually aggressive and women as submissive.

“Most programs that talk about sexual violence focus on consent or bystander intervention, which is good, but there’s a wealth of studies out there that also show a tie to gender stereotypical beliefs,” said Hust. “If we start prevention programs that debunk gender stereotypes when kids are young, then hopefully over time we can impact these negative behaviors.”

Starting earlier with media literacy education would help too, Hust added, noting that ads for non-alcoholic beverages often use similar appeals and strategies to those used by alcohol ads.

“We don’t have to wait until young people are of drinking age to help them be more critically aware of advertisements,” she said. “If we start in the elementary years, then it’s a natural transition for them to apply those tools to products that are more dangerous.”

Conclusion

In recent years, there has been a growing movement to challenge the way women are portrayed in alcohol advertising and to promote more responsible and gender-sensitive advertising practices. Some companies have responded to these concerns by adopting more inclusive and respectful advertising strategies.

Overall, it is important for advertisers to be mindful of the potential impact of their advertising on consumers, including the ways in which they portray gender roles and promote drinking behaviors.