For the four assignments that you choose to complete throughout the semester, you will reflect on your takeaway from each. Do not copy and paste your assignments. Think of this space as a brief way to communicate how the assignment engaged you, how it was personally relevant, and reflect on how you learned more about yourself after completion. Each assignment recap will need to contain an illustrative picture. Examples will be provided.
Assignment Four
This assignment entailed finding advertisements in a country of my choice (in this case South Korea) and comparing them to advertisements in America and seeing cultural differences. I found that women and men are advertised pretty similarly in both countries when compared to older American advertisements but different in more current American ads while having large cultural differences. Women in most South Korean ads are wearing a small amount of clothing, standing in sexy positions and are shown with plastic surgery. Men are in suits, standing in front of women as the leaders and are also often sexualized. Both men and women are shown looking youthful, attractive, and out of the viewers league. I have found that often American ads use more attractive models to sell a fantasy of what their product could give you and South Korean ads follow suit.
While I think that yes, women are more sexualized in both cultures, the beauty standards are vastly differing in these countries and cultures when looking at men. The United States and South Korea have extremely different beauty standards for men as men in South Korea tend to look more feminine, soft, and youthful while the US pushes physical strength, burlyness, and sharp features. I think showing these men with makeup and advertising skin care and makeup products while maintaining masculinity for that culture is something that influences South Korean citizens. For this, both men and women in this country are pushed to look this way.