Can the Ideal Fairy-tale Wedding be a Fantasy?

The big day you get married is supposed to be one the the greatest days of your life. These days however tying the knot may leave newly-weds wallet's dry. Every couple dreams of having a perfect story book wedding, it has become very expensive to have weddings due to the large up-mark on items the bride and groom are expected to purchase. Items like renting venues, food, flowers, and photos prices are all increased because it is all for the fairy tale wedding atmosphere. In the article "The Rise of the Lavish Wedding" describes that Cinderella is the prototype of romantic fairy-tale heroines, and that Cinderella is the expression of dominant belief in success. Most people tend to have a vision of the perfect storybook wedding, but really it has become so expensive and almost unnecessary. 

 A perfect example of this is in the "Say Yes to the Dress" episode we watched. The first bride aims to seek out perfection in finding the most beautiful princess ball gown of her dreams. But this bride wants feel like a princess to bad that she needs two dresses for her big day! She and her husband have set a $13,000 dollar limit for both of the dresses. Once the woman finally finds the dress of her dreams it is very much over budget..this bride must have two dresses! So the manager decides to cut the bride a deal, she cuts the price of the dress in half from $6,000 - $3,000 dollars. 

That alone is proof that there is such a large kickback for people who sell items or offer services for the wedding industry. These people are thriving off of new couples getting married and making them believe that having a "luxurious and extravagant" fairy-tale wedding is a must. And it is costing these couples many thousands of dollars to have the wedding of their dreams. The article "The Rise of the Lavish Wedding" also emphasizes the importance of the white dress. It is seen to represent sexual purity, and racial superiority, also because it is difficult to keep clean. The second bride in "Say Yes to the Dress" is named Kelly, she defies these norms by fulfilling her dreams of getting married in an all black dress. More specifically this bride seeks a designer dress by Grace Kelly that includes her signature 3/4 sleeve in all black. Through out the episode you can tell the bride is locked on the the "elegance" of this perfect black dress. But ends of pleasing her mother and saying yes to a slimming white one with a similar 3/4 sleeve. The bride aimed to make a fashion statement in all black which is normal for brides, but ended up choosing what made her mother and herself happy.

Examples of Sexual Objectification in Advertisments

The first example of sexual objectification in advertising comes from Axe body spray. According to Caroline Heldman and her 7 steps of identifying sexual objectification, this image suggests that this man's sexual availability is his only defining characteristic. This ad implies that if you use their anti dandruff and dry scalp shampoo, that you will "lose the flakes, and get the girls." This is ridiculous to think about in a real world example, when men apply shampoo while showering they will not instantaneously be swarmed by a group of beautiful women.

The second ad I chose is a billboard for Calvin Klein Jeans. This also applies to Caroline Heldman's 7 steps to identifying sexual objectification, this image presents a sexualized person as a stand-in for an object. The man in this image could simply be modeling the jeans by wearing them normally and have the jeans as the main object. But the woman in the image is pulling his pants down and kissing and or licking his ass. This makes the ad very awkwardly sexual, and has nothing to do with denim or Calvin Klein's jeans.