Calvin Klein Not Shy About Refining Societal Values When It Comes To Advertising 

The model stares provocatively at the camera, her long blonde hair aligned to cover her perfectly shaped breasts, while her flawlessly carved brows just above her alluring eyes convey a seductive appeal. Her hands are neatly placed in the pockets of her jeans, her Calvin Klein’s.

“You are pretty, don't be nervous” the narrator repeats as the model unbuttons her shirt. Her body shapes the image of self starvation as she steadily removes her clothing. Her ribs plunge outwards; her hipbones sharp and her body sickly thin. She was beautiful. She was a model. 

The above descriptors come from an excerpt in order to portray media's influences on females. Most female adolescents are being constantly attacked by advertisements that tell them being skinny is beautiful. Advertisements are designed to attract attention and through this, fashion campaigns are notorious for the exploitation of both men and women.

Calvin Klein’s recent advertisements have suggested the importance of beauty to the general public. Some argue that Calvin Klein has crossed the line from simply advertising fashionable products to leading society to accept pornographic advertisements that target the attention of the younger generation. Calvin Klein constantly manipulates their company’s image in order to benefit their own success. Due to this, consequences of explicit advertisements are not considered.

The woman is depicted as delicate and helpless as the man
holds on to her breasts 

Advertisements such as Calvin Klein have constructed a reality that determines the gender roles for men and women. They are responsible for the majority of experiences from which we build up personal understandings of the world. Fashion advertisements such as Calvin Klein construct a value for both gender roles. Men are always depicted as robust and desirable, whereas women appear to seem helpless and depend on them.

Recent Klein advertisement campaigns consisted of the portrayal of both women and men in negative aspects. According to Sam Famiano and Mark Nickerson, writers of How do Media Images of Men Affect Our Lives, states that sexual stereotypes in men begin at an early age where boys learn how to be a man through peers and parents. Klein emphasizes the importance of men in women’s daily lives and portrays them as superior. The media has stereotyped men to a visual extent where assumptions are created.

As for women, advertisement campaigns have impacted the health of many adolescents who “look up” to models such as Klein’s - longing for their fabricated bodies. Reports have shown the role media plays in eating disorders have changed drastically over time. According to literacy concepts, media contains ideological values that proclaim values and the ways of life. The majority of women have suffered from severe weight loss, leading to anorexia due to media influences of the “perfect look” and influences of beauty pageants. 

“Advertising is the art of making whole lies out of half truths,” author Edgar A. Shoaff added as he glanced at the exemplary shaped, almost fictional bodies of Klein’s models on the front cover of a magazine nearby.  

“I certainly feel that an adult woman has a right to determine what happens to her life and body,” stated Calvin Klein. In reality, instead of Klein advertising jeans, they use the sex appeal method to attract consumers. Women in specific campaigns for Klein’s jeans appear to have minimum clothing and therefore suggest pornography. Klein distinctly targets adolescents by using sex appeal in many of their advertisements.

As a female growing up in a media world, advertisers such as Klein has influenced shaping our values and altering identities, resulting in large negative outcomes. A major issue in which the media has direct responsibility for is altering the perceptions of women. 

Klein uses sex appeal to attract consumers to
the woman's bare upper body in order to sell
jean products

According to Jean Kilbourne’s novel Killing us Softly, the ideal woman has been depicted as having no scars or blemishes. She must be slim, tall, and have long legs. Above all, she must be young and have no wrinkles. 

How have the values we are presented with by the media changed over time? According to Jean Kilbourne, The media, such as Calvin Klein, has drastically altered our perceptions about the “perfect woman” or man. This has created a fictional image of both genders, and the desire for targeted consumers to achieve their look. According to teens, advertisers have influenced stereotyping, violent, sex, and bas towards certain genders.

Why is it important we address these concerns? The media has impacted society in many negative manners. Studies have shown an increase in numbers of females suffering from anorexia simply because she wanted "the look." This issue is of great importance because it not only depicts pornographic attempts to lure consumers, but also degrades women and depicts them as second best in relationship to the average male. 

Studies have shown Klein’s method of advertising by means of sex appeal and degradation of women in many campaigns has grabbed attention of consumers and increased market sales. As the marketing director of Calvin Klein noted, the controversy of Klein’s advertising techniques took Klein’s coolness factor from 10-60 percent.

Reports show that society has slowly adapted into believing the medi'as deceptions and therefore affected individuals. The image of women has transformed when healthy and conservative was considered beautiful, to present day where women must be the perfect sex icon in order to be labeled as beautiful. In addition, as consumers, we believe the values, images, and concepts that the media persuades us to believe.

What we see is fictional. Photoshop and digital retouching has created an artificial human being which we all desire to become. Do they really exist? Advertisers have created a fictional woman and impacted teenagers by altering their views of beauty. Although this is true, the media is rich in alternatives. We can easily approach the benefits in the following steps:

1. Encourage your own media messages. Speak for your own voice as a woman and represent the entire female population.
2. Do not rely on single sources of media information
3. Develop alternative approaches to stimulate critical thinking on how to de-construct commercial images of women, and restore values 
4. Develop a new idea of "beauty" which truly is beautiful and not artificially made through digital retouching 

Be the change. 

Word Count: 985

Citations: 

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_literacy/key_concept.cfm

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/ethics/calvin_klein_case_study.cfm

http://endora.wide.msu.edu/6.1/response/wost/grp2hj.htm

Beauty...and the Beast of Advertising - Jean Kilbourne 

Growing up female in a Media World - Elizabeth Thoman and Dale Ann Stieber