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#137444 - 01/12/08 05:08 PM A critic's view on Women's Medical advertisements.
dancer9 Offline


Registered: 04/16/07
Posts: 2411
Loc: Arizona
Princess Lenora was asking me to post my son's letter to all surgeons upon learning about my illness. Instead, and for now, I thought I'd post this by my son.
This is a paper he wrote for his "Women and Gender Studies," minor, he is a History Major. He wrote this in his Sophmore year and he is now a Jr.: ( He is working for us, he goes to Carleton College

Dominic
11/02/2006


Analysis of Drug Advertisement Directed Towards Health Care Consumers

For this medical advertisement analysis, I have chosen an ad printed in the popular magazine Redbook, which is read predominantly by women. Advil, a popular and easily accessible pain reliever, is promoted in the ad by Wyeth Consumer Healthcare.
The focus of the advertisement is one woman accomplishing a number of tasks, all of which are associated with different social roles. In two images, she is painting a ceiling, presumably of her own house, and taking care of her child. These images firmly place her in the domestic sphere as both a housekeeper and a mother, thereby buttressing women’s traditional roles in the home. Her position as a mother is particularly important to the impact of the advertisement because it supports the cultural injunction of women to act as biological and cultural reproducers, and it also implies that much of the work the represented woman is doing in the images is for the benefit of her child. Notice that the child appears to be male, emphasizing that women are the caretakers of men. Taken together, these connotations of care and reproduction of men in the maternal image of the represented woman categorically force women into a subservient position to men.
Another image of this woman shows her working late at the office. By including this picture, the advertisement recognizes the reality that women constitute an increasingly influential presence in the workforce. Such an image, along with those of domestic roles, seemingly allows the freedom for women to be meaningful actors in both the private and public spheres. However, by not picturing a partner to assist her in these tasks, the ad implies that the represented woman must be responsible for all facets of private and public life. Such a variety of difficult responsibilities, which are portrayed as being normal and healthy, could be a source of ill-health for women. In particular, men are only featured as objects of women’s care and not as partners or co-actors. Thus in the advertisement women and men are not portrayed as equal beings in public and private life.
The final image shows the woman working out at a gym. While this image appeals to the popular notion of exercise as a component of good health, it is also yet another source of bodily stress for a woman who is already working late at the office, maintaining her home, and taking care of her child. In fact, nowhere is the woman shown resting or relaxing, two activities that may often be as necessary for good health as exercise. Also, an implication of this image is that women must maintain their attractiveness while acting competently in the private and public spheres. Along with certain paradigmatically feminine details such as the woman’s pink head cloth, pink blouse, and pink-striped gym pants and high heels, this image positions women as objects of others’ gazes. Even her fashionably tanned skin renders the woman into a visual object to be admired. In addition, these conventionally feminine touches position the represented woman firmly at the feminine end of the gender binary so as not to confront readers’ notions of appropriate gender presentation. By including the public agent, the domestic caretaker, and the conventionally feminine visual object, these images unite all the major social roles that women have been expected to take throughout history in an attempt to represent the “everyday woman.” However, the images, both individually and as a group, ultimately reinforce traditional notions of femininity and raise health concerns in women’s lives. It will be shown that these concerns are purposely raised in order to sell Advil to women consumers. (1)
Advil is a pain reliever that is manufactured for both men and women, but this advertisement specifically addresses women as consumers of Advil. Women are targeted because the advertisers understand that women’s lives as they are structured in today’s society are stressful and potentially causative of physical pain. Note that the caption states, “I used to take different pain relievers for different pains. But Advil works on all my pains, wherever I hurt, so I’m ready for anything. I‘m all Advil.” The message of the represented woman and the caption, which can be read as her voice, is that women should ingest medication rather than attempt to change the oppressive structure of their lives. Clearly, this tactic is originating from a profit-driven standpoint, and it is even more disturbing because it encourages women to approach their health from a biomedical rather than a psychosocial perspective. Thus the represented woman’s answer to physical pain caused by a variety of activities is to ingest medication and thereby to support a male-dominated and profit-driven pharmaceutical industry rather than to employ her own knowledge of her health and living practices. Women are represented as objects of the pharmaceutical industry, not as agents of change in their own lives. (2)
Specific tactics of the ad emphasize the necessity of Advil and deploy the represented woman as both a sympathetic character and a dehumanized object. Most noticeable is the large text background “I’m All Advil,” which diminishes the visual importance of the woman and highlights that Advil is the catch-all solution to her health problems. In fact, because of the immensity of the text background, the woman just acts as a testing ground for all the uses of Advil. The small captions by each image of activity further universalize Advil as a pain reliever. Additional tactics both dehumanize and personalize the pictured woman. Most of the text is in her voice, lending credibility to the ad’s recommendation to ingest Advil, but her gaze is never depicted. In every image, she is turned away from viewers, and consequently we only perceive her as a moving object. In appearing as both an object and a sympathetic character, the woman can be regarded as a credible testimonial for the effectiveness of Advil without voicing the complex health consequences of her living practices. (4)
Overall, the message of the ad is that with Advil, a person can maintain health, which consists of the pictured activities. However this picture of health is contextualized by the woman’s represented identities. Through the images of her, the standard of health is shown to be owned by able young white professionals of middle to upper class status. The pictured woman obviously has extra funds for home improvement, gym membership, and appropriate clothing for a variety of situations, and although she may be ethnically ambiguous due to her skin and hair color, her style of dress and facial features are easily processed as white. This picture of health disenfranchises a number of groups, such as the elderly and the disabled, that can achieve a different kind of health. In addition, it neglects to address the health problems, a number of which cause physical pain, of disadvantaged groups such as people of color and economically disadvantaged people. The advertisement assumes that all groups will be able to afford privileges like home improvement and gym membership, ignoring pain problems that may arise from disadvantages and other stress factors such as occupational hazard. Sexuality is presented ambiguously in the ad because only one person is pictured, but it can be reasonably argued on the basis of her child and the “wife” roles she fills that this woman is heterosexual. Representing a heterosexual orientation further reinforces, along with other represented identities such as white, middle class, etc, the paradigmatic image of woman, and by only depicting this image, health care advertising hides the health realities of other groups and fails to contextualize the notion of health. (5,6)
From a number of perspectives, I am disturbed by this kind of advertising. Most significantly, as a committed and active feminist, I am angered to see another advertisement that appropriates the language of feminism to sell questionable products to women. I have encouraged a number of people to view women as agents in their own lives, outside of the roles of caretaker, mother, and domestic worker, and so it is frustrating for me that this ad combines all of these traditional roles with newer ones without considering the inevitable implications. Greater flexibility in the possibilities for women’s lives should not mean ever-increasing expectations. In addition, from the perspective of someone who was raised by a woman, I am disappointed that no partner is pictured to help fulfill responsibilities like child caretaking, housekeeping, etc. Especially given the plight of single mothers in the US, it is unfortunate that the woman pictured must accomplish all of these tasks in the name of happiness and health. Finally, I would also mention that on a larger scale advertising for pain relievers, aspirins, etc. that normalize over-activity only contribute to the ill health of the workforce and support the profits of the pharmaceutical industry. Perhaps changes in lifestyle expectations and an understanding of diverse life experiences are necessary, especially since disadvantaged groups are only beginning to attain some measure of health.
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#137446 - 01/13/08 12:39 AM Re: A critic's view on Women's Medical advertisements. [Re: ]
dancer9 Offline


Registered: 04/16/07
Posts: 2411
Loc: Arizona
Thanks, Anne, I'm proud of my son. He was only 19 when he wrote that! He wrote a few of those that were really spot on!
dancer
_________________________
http://www.annalisanews.com/

"Question your privilege"

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#137447 - 01/13/08 07:16 AM Re: A critic's view on Women's Medical advertiseme [Re: dancer9]
meredithbead Offline
The Divine Ms M

Registered: 07/07/03
Posts: 4894
Loc: Orange County, California
I too enjoyed this and found it very well-thought out.
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#137448 - 01/13/08 08:39 AM Re: A critic's view on Women's Medical advertiseme [Re: meredithbead]
Edelweiss Offline
Member

Registered: 06/05/06
Posts: 4136
Loc: American living in Europe
Dancer I'm impressed that a 19 year old claims himself as an active feminist. Was that your influence? Wow.

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#137449 - 01/13/08 06:35 PM Re: A critic's view on Women's Medical advertiseme [Re: Edelweiss]
dancer9 Offline


Registered: 04/16/07
Posts: 2411
Loc: Arizona
Again, I'm very proud of him, Hannelore, He chose Women and Gender Studies as his minor on his own. He has a History professor he uses as an advisor.
I know he watched my life as I raised him, mostly by myself or with his step dad for awhile. I didn't know I influenced him until he told me once he went off to college. He is, as I said, a Jr. now and has told me he will go to graduate school after completeing his BA. His major is History.

dancer,
I'll tell him your comments. He will like that. He is 20 now.
_________________________
http://www.annalisanews.com/

"Question your privilege"

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#137450 - 01/13/08 08:56 PM Re: A critic's view on Women's Medical advertiseme [Re: dancer9]
Dotsie Offline
Founder

Registered: 07/09/08
Posts: 23647
Loc: Maryland
This is so cool to read. It's refreshing to know that young men are so tuned in. You SHOULD be proud.

I haven't read any papers lately, but I used to love ot read my kids's papers to see that they had minds of thier owns. Fofr so long we see them as kids, then all of the sudden, they have minds of their own. I just love it.
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#137451 - 01/14/08 12:40 AM Re: A critic's view on Women's Medical advertiseme
chatty lady Offline
Writer

Registered: 02/24/04
Posts: 20267
Loc: Nevada
LIke mother, like son!!! Yep it must be true, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree...The mighty Dancer tree...BRAVO to your son and to you.
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#137452 - 01/14/08 01:04 AM Re: A critic's view on Women's Medical advertiseme [Re: chatty lady]
dancer9 Offline


Registered: 04/16/07
Posts: 2411
Loc: Arizona
Thank you Chatty. If only I could write like him...
He get's better every year. Of course he was writing a paper, but still, he did a good job, I think.
dancer
_________________________
http://www.annalisanews.com/

"Question your privilege"

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#137454 - 01/15/08 08:43 PM Re: A critic's view on Women's Medical advertiseme [Re: ]
Mountain Ash Offline
Member

Registered: 12/30/05
Posts: 3027
dancer
I too so enjoyed reading an academic piece.Clever son.You must appreciate his talent.
Mountain ash

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#137455 - 01/15/08 10:57 PM Re: A critic's view on Women's Medical advertiseme [Re: Mountain Ash]
dancer9 Offline


Registered: 04/16/07
Posts: 2411
Loc: Arizona
Thank you, Mountain Ash!
Recently my son called me. He goes to a high level school. He was excited, he is a Jr. and a professor he is a research assitant for told him that she wanted to talk to him. She told him that she doesn't say it often but she thought he should go to Grad school because she thinks he has much to offer as a scholor! He is very excited and the two of him will be searching out a program for him when he graduates that school. I knew he was a scholor but I'm proud of him because he is doing so well in school. He carries an A average and is already a research assistant. This is the son who was sent to the presidental debate last election to write the student response. He does very well.
dancer
dancer
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http://www.annalisanews.com/

"Question your privilege"

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