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A forum for Blog Community #5 of CSCL 1001 (Introduction to Cultural Studies: Rhetoric, Power, Desire; University of Minnesota, Fall 2011) -- and interested guests.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Victoria's Secret & Body Image - Need I Say More?



If you watch this commercial – what are they selling?  They are selling “sexy bodies,” right?  Not under garments, they are selling a “look.”  And what look is that?  A sexy look.

Docile bodies: People’s ideas about “sexy” and “attractive” are constantly changing based on what the media and other outside forces are telling them to think.  (I mean who really thinks UGG boots are attractive?  The media didn’t convince me of that – I still hate them!)  When you watch this Victoria’s Secret commercial, think about the things they are showing.  How much of the time can you actually see the products they are trying to sell?  Almost never.  They are selling the sexy look.  But when you think about it – who has a fan they can constantly have blowing on them to make their hair blow in the wind?  And who has a fancy sports car they can strut by in stilettos with the wind blowing their outfit around and the car’s cover coming off?  Virtually no one.  Victoria’s Secret is selling this look and making people think this is sexy.  Men watch this and hear the loud music, the lights flashing, the hair blowing, the fancy sports car and all of a sudden this becomes the new “sexy.”  That’s how docile bodies works, mom.

As far as the audience for this commercial, I would say it is aimed at high culture folks, with a dirty secret ;-).  Yes, high culture is normally classical music, theater plays, etc., but the prices of the items they are selling and the things they show in the commercial (sports cars, big fancy homes with marble floor, big four post beds, etc.) show that they are aimed toward people with money.  Like I said, high class folk with a (sexy) secret.  :-)

However, this could also be taken as an effort to show people that if they buy Victoria’s Secret items, they will be sexy enough to have these fancy homes and cars…but that’s a whole nother topic.

1 comment:

  1. I actually completely agree with you! This commercial does NOT highlight the lingerie they are selling; most of the time it is in the shadows! Also, the "What is Sexy" tagline is giving viewers false hopes that buying the Victoria's Secret items will make them as sexy as the models. I agree this ad is targeted at higher cultured population, but also at those who aspire to be in that economic bracket. Great post!

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