The Fast and the Sexist: Audi Crashes With Ad

     Last summer, Audi released an ad in China for their cars. The point seemed to be that the fine details of their cars would be accepted by any particular person, but they sadly missed the mark by comparing a human woman with a car. This advert is an amazingly obvious example of the prevalence of objectification in the media, and how it can so easily spill into our daily lives, and even precious moments. The ad displays the classic archetype of the over analytical mother-in-law, and how much of a nuisance she can be. It also portrays a very old-fashioned idea of marriage as ownership by the husband in order to continue a controlling patriarchal dominance. What is most shocking of all though, is how this reflects real life, or actually how real life reflects the media.

     Our entire identity is based off of what we consume, and the all powerful ruler of what we absorb is the media. Advertisements have so much influence on what we like, dislike, or believe in because of their importance in our consumerism. When it comes to marketing cars, usually the appeal is for men because it's a stereotype that all men just want to buy speedy red cars. This ad is angled at showing everything men value in life, from their mother's opinions, to their wife, and their car. By comparing a woman to the car of his dreams, they immediately shut down her power and package her as a commodity. To further embellish this idea of the wife as something to be controlled/ owned, the mother inspects her image to make sure it is up to some sort of standard. This emphasis on the importance of looks for a female only ads to the self conscious nature of women in society today, as they feel an increasing pressure to fit beauty standards in order to attract a man who will provide. Body shaming is a disease that affects us all, and the antidote is not further objectification, but rather body positive messages and letting go of this need to be 'perfect.' The stereotypes presented in this advertisement affect everyone, and this message is perpetuated by the media only to increase their wealth. If corporations put social justice on the top of the agenda, our whole world view would be completely different. Maybe humans can just be so, and women and men can provide for themselves and each other in an equal relationship. Maybe catcalling wouldn't be something I'd have to endure, and the shadows of body shame wouldn't haunt every woman. When you try to dis-empower over half of the population, you lose a majority of strong leaders who would bring change to a broken world. The media has to change in order for society to, and that's a battle that we will fight for a long time to come.