From Written Assignment #1 - Effective Objectification

From L. Hahne

This advertisement objectifies single, white, middle class, young women in the 70’s. The woman

is described as being wild and in need of being tamed. Mr. Leggs makes women out to be very

shallow by saying we would let a man treat us like a door mat just because he is wearing

attractive looking pants. Being a single, white, young woman this claim is highly offensive to me

because a man’s clothing choices has nothing to do with my feelings toward him. The text implies

that if your woman is wild and hard to control, you need to wear Mr. Leggs slacks, and by doing

so she will let you walk all over her. Women are viewed as prey that needs to be hunted and

taken down, according to this advertisement. It also portrays women as superficial, acting like

we only care about appearances. The quote “It’s nice to have a girl around the house” compares

us to a decoration, and the phrase “doll-to-doll carpeting” implies that men will be able to get

woman after woman to sleep with them, so many that they will have a carpet of women

groveling at their feet begging to be taken advantage of. The way the man has his foot on the

woman’s head symbolizes that she is a prize. Comparable to an animal mounted on the wall of a

huntsman, the tiger-women is likened to a trophy that the man has conquered and wants to

show off. A tiger is a very powerful creature, and a man that has killed a tiger is seen with great

respect because he has defeated something that no ordinary man could subdue. I believe that

this company, as well as many others at the time, was publicizing such objectionable ads to

attempt to put men back in the dominant position of the corporate world. This generation was

the first that a majority of women were in the work force. After the war ended many women

decided they liked working and wanted to make something more out of their lives than being a

stay at home mom. This new found independence for women threatened men’s need for being

the provider for his family so the media started encouraging men to take back their jobs and put

women back into their place at home.