Letter to the FCC

Dear Chairman Julius Genachowski,

Lately, my roommates and I have been watching television in the evenings as we take a break from doing homework. Since we don’t have a DVR to record the shows and then watch them later, we must sit through the commercials if we want to watch shows. This is a bit of a change for me, because at home, we record all the shows we want to watch and never watch them live. We were able to fast forward through commercials and finish shows a lot faster and not have to sit through them. Now, I must admit, I have enjoyed watching certain commercials. Some of them are quite entertaining and even make me laugh. Unfortunately though, I have realized that some commercials are rather offensive.

I know that TV shows have ratings, and I appreciate that. However, commercials don’t. I don’t know if a commercial is inappropriate until after I’ve already seen it. I don’t expect commercials to have ratings, because there are already so many problems with TV ratings as it is. However, I believe that offensive commercials should simply be kept off the air, especially ones that make women into object.

One particularly offensive commercial I saw lately was advertising a pair of Reebok Easy Tone shoes. This commercial consists of a woman telling how wearing this pair of shoes toned her legs, hamstrings and glutes really well. This in itself would be a fine commercial. Unfortunately though, the camera kept focusing on her backside instead of on her face. In another Easy Tone commercial, a pair of breasts is “talking” to each other about how jealous they are of the attention the woman’s backside is getting, and then the camera then goes to show her backside. The whole commercial goes without once showing the face of the woman. These and other commercials objectify women. There are plenty of examples of this in magazines. This is offensive enough, but I was shocked when it was so blatantly displayed in advertising on television.

With many girls developing eating disorders, advertising such as this shouldn’t be allowed on the air. It further objectifies women and makes women feel worse about themselves and their bodies. I think that the FCC should be more careful about what commercials are allowed on the air. These examples are hurting women and girls, as well as society in general.

Sincerely,
Colette