The un-common portrayal of women in the media (Femininity & Advertising)

            This is something that caught my attention as we talked in class about men and the contemporary represantation of masculinity in the media. Masculinity and femininity both have a certain image or idea that is reprresented in the media. People do not realize it but it affects us and the way we perceive ourself and others on everyday basis. Men are often pictured as tall, strong and very mascular without any desire to be emotional or show their inner self. They are supposed to be the cold and not very talkative supporters of the family.
            Women on the other hand are mostly portrayed as very skinny, sexual and object-like. The idealistic beuaty is in fact represented as skinny, long hair and not very professional. These of course are western-society ideals.
            It was because of these that this particular add caught my attention. It was not only because of the model and her looks but also the stroy behind it. This particular model is 60 years old, does not color her hair and says the less make-up the better. This I believe is a big step especially in our society where youth is celebrated and wanted by every women. It is almost as only the young without any skin wrinklers are perceived as beautiful.
          This story is therefore a challenge to the otherwise youth-oriented society. I wonder how many women look at this and wonder if they are in fact supposed to celebrate their age and be proud of what they look like. This add celebrates age and Cindy Joseph, the model is trying to support women to feel comfortable with themselves and their skin.
You can find the add here: http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second-act-cindy-joseph-26992874
Also do you think we can find any parts in this add that reinforce our norms or ideas about femininity and beautiful women? Or is this in fact really a challenge to those adds celebrating and pushing women into thinking that they need to look young in order to look beautiful?

References

Jhally, S. (1990). Image-based culture. In Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.), Gender, Race and Class in Media (199203). Location: Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage.

Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.) (2008) Gender, Race, Class and Media (Third Edition) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage