Why I Want a Wife - Assignment Example

?Question Answer The matter of women in general and wives in particular, as a separate of people today, really depends fundamentally upon two prime factors: culture and region. Women are not a separate class of people in the West. In the West, a vast majority of families have dual working partners in marriage. Both the husband and the wife go to work to earn enough to raise their children and have a high standard of living. It is not difficult to find families in the West where women go to work and the husbands stay at home to babysit the children and do other domestic chores such as cooking and washing. On the other hand, wives in many families in the East stay at home to take care of the children, and do cooking, washing, cleaning and such other works. In more conservative Eastern families, women can be thought of as a separate class of people, though with the passage of time, Eastern families are also adopting Western values, and lesser families see women as a separate class of people today than they did in the past. Question 2: Answer This image of wives is very old fashioned, although men still want their wives to be like that as this provides men with freedom, a way to fulfill all their manly desires, and an upper hand over the wives. I find such an image of wives quite unreasonable as the husband is clearly subjugating her rights. For example, he might not want to have a strictly monogamous relationship but expects the wife to be faithful and honest to him. Also, the man may replace the wife any time he wants. This is like treating wife as a slave, which is very unreasonable. In addition to that, the man does not want to take any pains to earn the money himself. Instead, he makes the wife do everything and then expects that she would take care of the home as well. This is very unfair. Question 3: Answer Men are known for having ego. This ego inculcates such an attitude in the man in which he starts thinking of himself so much superior to the wife that her status as a human being with sentiments and emotions is challenged. Syfers has depicted this typical attitude of men to some extent. Syfers has described a certain class of men who do not want to do anything but use the wife for everything. Not many men want to do nothing and want their wives to earn for them as well as take care of everything in the home. The attitude of men depicted by Syfers cannot be generalized for a vast majority of men. Question 4: Answer I agree that the society has well-defined roles for husbands and wives according to which, the husband is supposed to work and provide for the family financially whereas the wife is expected to be honest, faithful, obedient, and submissive to the husband and should thus stay at home and take care of the household. However, the society does not like such men who want to do nothing but live upon the money earned by their wives and still make the wives do everything that stay-at-home wives are expected to do. 1st Part “Lady Gaga bares it all in the new ad for her upcoming perfume Fame!” (Heard, 2012). Recently, a perfume named “Lady Gaga Fame” was advertised by “Stardust Visions, Beverly Hills, CA, USA” (Ads of the World, 2012). I am offended by the nudity in the ad. The model has posed full nude for the ad, with many little men climbing and crawling all over her body. Not only are the men crawling over her body but they also hide her very private parts with their own bodies. One man can be seen sucking on the nipple of her breast, which is why the audience cannot see the nipple. Likewise, another man is sucking on the other nipple. Two men are covering the genitals of the model. This is extreme of nudity and just too much to bear in an ad. This concerns me because this is not only generating negative messages about the gender in general and women in particular in the society, but is also too explicit a material to exhibit in something as public as an ad. This ad is one reason why women are stereotyped as objects of sex in the society. This ad is derogatory to the level that the fundamental status of women as human beings is being challenged, as men are crawling all over the body of the model like little insects. This also concerns me because I am also a parent, and I have to explain such things to my kids when they see such ads. Nobody with a good conscience can watch such ads with family. I cannot walk in a street with my mother, sister, or daughter and see this picture of Lady Gaga on the billboard. Such images challenge not only our religious values but also our values as human beings. In addition to that, I am concerned because I not only consider the women as human beings, but also give them a lot of respect. Even from the religious perspective, women are supposed to be dressed modestly and protect their integrity by covering themselves up. As a civilized citizen of this society, it is my duty and responsibility to raise my voice against every evil that is affecting the society in a negative way, and this ad happens to be one such evil. Although I would have thought on similar lines as I do now after taking this class if I ever watched this ad before taking this class, yet taking this class has not only inculcated more critical analytical and evaluative skills in me, but also incorporated the confidence I require to stand up against things I dislike on solid grounds. 2nd part To, The Senator, ABC Company. Dear Sir, With due respect, I want to state that I find your Lade Gaga Fame ad very sexually explicit and offensive. This is not the way to sell a perfume. We are taking pains to restrict the access of our children to sexually explicit material, and there they have you making it easily accessible to them. I do not find any connection between the images used in the ad and the name of the fragrance that is being advertised either. Lady Gaga is a singer, not a prostitute. Naming the perfume as “Lady Gaga Fame” and making such an ad projects the image in the mind of somebody who does not know her that she has made fame through prostitution. I cannot understand how the image shows the fame of Lady Gaga. I can understand that advertising agencies use explicit sexual imagery as a tool to attract the attention of the audience because sex sells, but many research works have concluded that a vast majority of people, “if they make the effort to think about it more carefully, respond negatively to advertising in which the sexual image has little relevance to the advertised product and generally consider overly gratuitous use of sexual imagery in advertising unethical” (Hawes & Grazioplene, 2010). By showing this ad, your company is promoting sexism. This is not just nudity. It is much more than that. Rather than showing this image, you should make an ad showing Lady Gaga singing as singing is what she is famous for, not nude modeling. You may show her in a weird dress as Lady Gaga is known for wearing weird and untraditional dresses. Showing such a Lady Gaga in the perfume ad is more genuine and natural than what the ad currently shows. I look forward to seeing a prompt change in the ad from you. Yours sincerely, XYZ. References Ads of the World. (2012). Coty Beauty: Lady Gaga Fame. Retrieved from http://adsoftheworld.com/media/outdoor/coty_beauty_lady_gaga_fame. Hawes, D. R., & Grazioplene, R. (2010, Jan. 15). Care for some sexy toilet paper? – Sex in advertising. Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolved-primate/201001/care-some-sexy-toilet-paper-sex-in-advertising. Heard, H. U. (2012). Lady Gaga gets naked for “Fame” perfume ad. Retrieved from http://www.opposingviews.com/i/entertainment/lady-gaga-gets-naked-fame-perfume-ad. Read More