The Progressive Era from 1910 through 1919 brought along major societal changes, especially for woman. This new woman was drastically different than her Victorian Era counterpart. This woman was allowed to hold a job, which gave her more economic independence, which consequently made her less dependent on her husband (Hill, 2008). Although generally these jobs were exceptionally low paying, females were now able to have a broader social life and be able to form their own identities for themselves. As the views of women changed socially, political changes also began to be made. With the passage of women’s suffrage and laws that improved working conditions for women, females began to be less dependent on males (Imbornoni, 2007). Despite this growing independence for women, there was still a lot of controversy concerning their sexuality. This is illustrated by the first birth control clinic led by Margaret Sanger, which was shut down only ten days after it opened. World War I greatly influenced gender roles and sexuality, because while men were away on the battlefield, women took over for them. During this time feminists began to question the notion of a family and began to start somewhat of a sexual revolution (Tone, 1996). Divorce became more common, premarital sex did not shatter reputations, multiple partners became less rare, and dating was born. Still women could not flaunt their sexuality and be socially accepted, but now they were not forced to blatantly ignore their natural sexual desires.
The problem I’m having with my paper so far is that the first half of my paper is almost completely summary, with very little argument to it. I’m not sure if I should try to add more argument to it, but I don’t really know what my argument would be.
One potential topic for this project would be the paradigm shift concerning the people’s changed views of sexuality. While once a very sexually conservative nation, promiscuity is a lot more common place in modern times. From what we wear, to what we watch, to who we look up to, sex and sex appeal are everywhere. It used to be a serious act that people who were truly in love performed after they had gotten married. Now, it is much more than that. Casual sex is a usual habit, practiced by mainly college kids and young adults. The whole courtship process has been erased, and sex seems to be the start of most relationships rather than the culmination of many years of being in love. Another changed aspect of sex is the financial aspect. Sex is not just an act, it’s a way of making money and selling products. One example of this is pornography, which has become an industry in itself. Another example is how people use sex appeal to sell products. Beautiful models wear clothes and attractive actors show themselves using deodorant in order to make the audience want to buy the products. In the early 20th century, this sort of moral turpitude would be scandalous.
Another idea would be the paradigm shift regarding humans versus synthetic. In the beginning years of our country being established, everything was done by manual labor. There was no machinery in order to make jobs easier. Now, human jobs are being replaced by automated machines at a rapidly growing rate. The reason for this is that inventors are creating machines to make our lives easier and more efficient. However, there are many downsides to this I would like to discuss. I would go into depth about how machinery is affecting the job market, how technology has changed human to human interaction, and on an opinion basis, if our country has come to rely too much on technology and modernization.
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Selling Skinny: A Rhetorical Analysis of Diet Pepsi’s Skinny Can Campaign
In a society where being thin is the latest fashion statement, advertisers have established an important marketing strategy: skinny sells. Many people, most noticeably women, are influenced daily by the media which is where societal ideals of beauty mostly stem from. Every day, people are bombarded with images of stick thin actresses, singers, and models that have become the conceptual image of what is an ideal appearance for women in America. However, these standards are unrealistic. Of course dieting and living a healthy lifestyle can lead a woman to slim down a bit, but she cannot change her genetics. Therefore women with naturally curvy body figures are forced to feel both self-loathing and ashamed about their own appearances. Thus, when advertisement campaigns such as Pepsi’s new skinny can are released, this body image issue is further intensified. They are manipulating woman’s insecurities in order to make a profit, but at what cost? In a country where the rate of eating disorders have continually been on the rise since 1950, advertising “skinny” can not only be unethical, but also lethal (Hudson et al., 2007; Streigel-Moore &Franko, 2003; Wade et al., 2011). After all, studies have confirmed that anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder (Arcelus, Mitchell, Wales, & Nielsen, 2011). So even though this skinny can campaign does not seem like a big deal, its focus on advertising by making women strive for a stereotypical and unhealthy body shape has had a detrimental effect on the female population.
The advertisement is comprised of three main elements: the woman drinking the soda, the can, and the tagline “the new skinny can.” What has caused the most controversy over this ad is the tagline. Some backstory is that PepsiCo Inc. presented this new can at New York’s Fashion Week in 2011, saying that it was made in “celebration of beautiful, confident women,” (Skidmore). This seems to imply that being skinny goes hand in hand with being a “beautiful, confident wom[an]” such as the one pictured. It was not long until it was met with harsh criticism. One such complaint was made by The National Eating Disorders Association that claimed that the campaign was offensive and said the company’s comments are both “thoughtless and irresponsible,” (Skidmore). Jill Beraud, PepsiCo’s chief marketer, claims that this is not was intended and that “Our slim, attractive new can is the perfect complement to today’s most stylish looks,” (Skidmore). Does that mean that today’s most stylish look, is skinny? Why else would it be mentioned that the can is slim along with attractive and stylish? PepsiCo is clearly trying to relate woman’s obsession over thinness and this Pepsi can in order to promote sales.
The woman pictured actually is famous actress Sofia Vergaro, the actress who plays the feisty Latina, Gloria, on the comedy Modern Family. Vergaro generally is not thought of as the stereotypical skinny woman because of her busty and curvy appearance, yet in this ad she seems tiny. Her body is placed at an awkward angle and there are shadows placed strategically, in order to give her the appearance of having small arms. Her face even looks very slim due to the coloring of her makeup, and the large sunhat engulfs her head to make it look even smaller in comparison. This version of Vergaro looks so differently than how she is normally seen, that rumors began to spread that she was digitally slimmed down. Vergaro had to publicly announce “’That is not true at all… It was just a different way of dressing me,” (Abraham). That may be true, but everything about the actress was done in order to make her look like an appealing woman that other woman would envy. She is skinny, but she also has flawless skin and a ski-slope nose. Her big lips are painted bright red, drawing attention to her sucking on the straw. She is looking forward confidently and with empowerment. In essence, she is what American women strive to be. Subconsciously, viewers will associate the perfection of Sofia Vergara with this Diet Pepsi, and subsequently want to buy it.
Blue is the primary color of this ad, embossing the background and Vergara’s whole outfit. While this may seem like a simple color choice, this scheme was not left up to choice. Many people know that blue causes calmness and relaxation in people, but it also is known for quenching appetite. Food researchers have stated that when humans searched for food, they learned to avoid toxic or spoiled objects, which were often blue, black, or purple. Later studies have proven that when food was died blue, people found it to be less appealing,” (Johnson). This is not a coincidence, but yet another subtle way of “selling skinny.” Everything about this ad was planned to make people not want to eat, and instead drink this beverage. The laughable irony is of course, is that soda, will cause weight gain. Many people turn to diet sodas thinking that they will not gain weight, but this does not seem to be the case. Researchers have proven that “It contains artificial sweeteners that, many times, can actually force you to crave more soda. If that occurs, you’re likely to drink more soda and, as a result, take in more calories than you really should,” (Fox). Yet, these sugary soda substitutions are still sold by the million a day. Why? It is because women who are plagued by the constant pressure of meeting society’s aesthetic standards are desperate to believe anything that tells them a way to be skinny. This is illustrated by the purchases of diet pills and use of crash diets, both of which have been proven to be essentially ineffective and sometimes even dangerous. However, America’s continual and growing use of both of these methods of weight loss show our society’s infatuation with how much we weigh.
Pepsi isn’t the first company to use skinniness to sell their product, it’s just one of the more blatant examples. The usage of anorexic-esque models to sell clothing has been an advertising strategy since the 1960’s. As these ads continue to be printed in magazines or commercials appear on the television, the rate of eating disorders continues to dramatically rise. This epidemic will not slow until society begins to stop idolizing skinniness. However, this cannot be a reality until markets cease to “sell skinny.”
Works Cited
Abraham, Tamara. “‘Pepsi Did NOT Slim Me Down’: Curvy Sofia Vergara Defends Controversial Ad for ‘skinny’ New Diet Soda Can.” Dailymail. N.p., 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1365385/Pepsi-did-NOT-slim-Curvy-Sofia-Vergara-defends-controversial-ad-skinny-new-diet-soda-can.html>.
Fox, Maggie. “How Can Diet Sodas Make You Fat? Study May Explain It.” NBC News. N.p., 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nbcnews.com/health/diet-fitness/how-can-diet-sodas-make-you-fat-study-may-explain-n205406>.
Johnson, David. “Color Psychology.” Infoplease. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html>.
Skidmore, Sarah. “Diet Pepsi ‘skinny’ Can Stirs up Big Controversy.” AP Online. N.p., 11 Feb. 2011. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1A1-a1ffbe442cd24e6697d4b3c9432f39e0.html?refid=easy_hf>.
