Women and Advertising: “This Is No Shape for a Girl”

In the ad I chose, there is a picture of a pear and under the pear states, “This is no shape for a girl.” When I saw this ad I could not believe my eyes. It definitely brought my mood down, and I felt almost offended by it.
This ad is trying to sell a girdle to women who are insecure about their size. A girdle is used to wear under a dress or suit and it squeezes a woman’s upper stomach, hips, and thighs to make them appear smaller than they really are. When I saw this ad, I immediately thought of this quote from our book, “The more you subtract, the more you add.” (Kirk and Rey, pg. 208) Women think that if they wear this girdle, they will seem more appealing to men, or be able to make other women feel inferior. By portraying this “perfect” image, even if done so with a girdle, women think they will feel more comfortable in their own skin, and the problem is solved.
Another quote I found interesting is as follows, "an ideal of beauty defined as thin, lean, tall, young, white and heterosexual, with flawless skin and well-groomed hair" (Kirk and Rey, pg. 208). This statement goes right along with the ad I chose. This ad “assumes” that all women want to be a tall, skinny, white woman with a flat chest and no ass. This assumption is far from true. For example, I am a white woman and I would be upset if I was flat as a board or skinny as a twig. This ad also contradicts with women of color who definitely would not be satisfied with this “perfect body” that is portrayed.
This ad shows us the standard that women must live up to. The idea that all women want a perfect body, and all men want a girl with a perfect body, is advertised all over television, radio, and magazines. The ad quotes, “This is no shape for a girl” and could also give off a meaning that no man wants a girl who is shaped like a pear. This is a perfect example of gender operating culture in that women have the perfect body, or they will not be in the in-crowd, they won’t be able to find friends, they won’t be able to find a good man, or even feel accepted within their own culture.
No wonder so many women are fighting life-threatening eating disorders, or buying uncomfortable girdles to wear underneath clothing so men will find them attractive. What happens when the girdle comes off? Are you going to wear the girdle everywhere you go? No. Women should feel comfortable in their own skin and embrace the body God has given them. You might be attracted to a certain body type, but you do not fall in love with that person’s body. Being loved and accepted as a human being goes so much deeper than that. There is so much more to life than being skinny, tall, and “perfect.” And spending a lifetime worrying of such things, in my opinion, is a life wasted.

Works Cited:
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa- Rey. Women's Lives Multicultural Perspective. 5th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print.

Proposal

Community Partner Profile:

Community Partner: Animal Safe House of Brevard
Address: Brevard County

Contacts: Leandra Preston- Founder/Media Contact, (407).620.6865
Arielle Schwartz- Program Coordinator/Lead Advocate/Orlando Volunteer Coordinator, (954).401.4901

Community Partner Mission Statement: The goal of Animal Safehouse is to remove this barrier by caring for pets while owners are in transition. Our objective is to form a network of foster families to provide homes for pets of domestic violence survivors until they can be reunited in a safe living environment. We provide all food, supplies, vet care, and other essentials throughout their stay with us. We also help women reunite with their animals post-shelter by assisting with pet deposits and transport.

Political and/or Social Basis for Organization: Currently Animal Safe House has been working on developing a foster network for pets that are owned by abused women who are seeking shelter for themselves. Their website quotes:

“50% of women do not leave abusive situations for fear her pet will be injured or killed. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (www.ncadv.org), there were 113,123 reported cases of domestic violence and 180 domestic-violence related homicides in Florida in 2008. Women and children should not have to leave their pet(s) behind.”

Animal Safe House wants the women who are seeking shelter to not have any excuses not to do so. If the abused women knew they had a safe shelter for their pets, more would seek shelter for themselves, and this is exactly what Animal Safe House is trying to accomplish.

Community Partner Needs: Animal Safe House needs volunteers to help foster the pets. A foster registers online, then gets in contact with either Leandra or Arielle to figure out the details. They also need volunteers to be transporters, which help transport the pets to and from the domestic violence shelters and their homes. Also, Animal Safe House needs event volunteers to gain exposure and donations for the program.

The Proposal
Memorandum
TO: Meredith L. Tweed
FROM: Kari Sheridan
DATE: September 19, 2010
RE: Proposal to Write a Feasibility Report for a Service Learning Project




Needs for Volunteers for Fosters and to Promote Community Awareness
One problem my Student Learning Activity will address is the company’s need for exposure. A program that no one is aware of is not going to be very effective. The more women who know about Animal Safe House, the more the word will spread throughout a community and more women will be able to seek help.

Another need I will be addressing is the need for fosters. Animal Safe House needs people who are willing to take pets home with them and give them the attention they deserve or are used to when they are with their owners. If more people knew about this opportunity, I think there would be more volunteers willing to be fosters.

Plan Proposal
Since Animal Safe House is being built from the ground up, I want to help by spreading the word that there is such a shelter out there to help these women. Like the quote stated previously, fifty percent of women do not leave abusive situations in fear that their animals will not be cared for, and that is too big of a number. By enhancing awareness throughout Brevard and Orlando to women in these situations, I feel that more women will feel comfortable leaving their pets with fosters until their problem is resolved.

Besides promoting Animal Safe House, I will also take part in volunteering as a foster. By fostering a pet, I will not only be spreading the word about their services, but I will be involved in the service as well. I will be able to reassure the owner that her pet will be cared for as well as encourage her to find help for herself. Even though I only have a couple months, I am going to foster as many animals as possible and help as many women as possible at the same time.

After I am done with this project, more people will be aware of Animal Safe House and more women will have the chance to a new start.

Rationale for Women’s Studies
I think that Animal Safe House demonstrates just a small part of women's studies. Animal Safe House helps people help women through such a small gesture, which ends up going a long way. Women who have been abused need to get help, and something so small like worrying about their pet, should not have to stop them.

Action
I have already registered to be a foster on the Animal Safe House of Brevard website and I am awaiting a conformation email from them and to discuss further details. I am also planning on attending events that are being held in Melbourne, on campus at UCF, and downtown Orlando to help fundraise and spread awareness throughout the community. The materials necessary for fostering a pet and participating at the events will be provided for me through Animal Safe House.

Timeline
Please note that just by fostering one pet for one day will complete my fifteen hour minimum for the project, but I am still planning to foster more than one pet, and attend these events.

September 24 & 25
October 2
October 9

Works Cited
Animal Safe House Brevard. http://www.animalsafehousebrevard.org/