Catherine's feedback on Alysse's: The Impact of Sexual Images on Women's View of Themselves through the Gendered Marketing of Victoria's Secret Lingerie

Excelled:

One area that I think you excelled in was the way you described an image-based culture. From talking about Victoria Secret models as selling sex you were able to show how our culture is obsessed with an idea that this lingerie will make them feel erotic and sexy. A quote that would have also worked well is from the same article talking about how we only have the pleasure of the image and are not left satisfied with the goods.

The second area that I thought you did very well with was your choice of quotes from the Jean Killbourne article. I felt that the quote described perfectly what you were trying to convey from your collage. This idea that to be pretty you must be skinny is represented by the fact that all of the Victoria Secrets advertisements show these skinny “perfect” models. These models are generally what young girls aspire to look like.

Improvement:

One area that I think could use some improvement is the quote from Jhally. In that paragraph you talk about eroticism and selling sex but I think the quote could have been more specific. Also, you could have used a different quote from Jhally talking about how women are not satisfied with the product sometimes after they receive it because they are given the impression that they will be sexy like the advertisements.

The next area that I feel you could have expanded on is your paragraph from Jhally. The examples and evidence that you use to back up the quote goes better with talking about how today we are extremely image based. It is true that these ads are selling the idea of eroticism but I don’t really feel that the women are left feeling unhappy because the lingerie does not make them feel erotic. I feel that they are unhappy because they do not look like the models pictured.

Overall I really enjoyed reading your piece and how you analyzed the Victoria Secret product line. I really liked how you stuck to one brand compared to various forms of lingerie!