Closeness Guaranteed

This morning I was watching television when a commercial came on for the Gillette Venus Women’s Razor. Since the product first came out their tag line was always “reveal the goddess in you”. Their new commercials, however, reveal a new line in addition to the old one. The new line encourages you to “embrace the closeness” and it even goes on to say that if you do not get your desired closeness you will get your money back.

To the average viewer this closeness is only referring to shaving and nothing else. Although, the closeness implied in the commercial is referring to more and what is that more? The closeness is referring to the closeness with a man. Use this razor to shave and it will get you closer to the man of your dreams.

This idea may have been lost on me before this semester, but after 8 weeks of women’s studies I know the underlying message. The Gillette Venus commercials are portraying one of the common themes of normalization; that technologies and correction are available. Many things fall into this category besides plastic surgery: wearing makeup, dying your hair, and yes, even using razors to shave. Because of course, what man will ever want you if your legs are not silky smooth? This is the message that commercials such as these portray and it is commercials such as these that lead women and young girls to think that they need to change or alter themselves in some way to seem attractive to a man. Yes, in today’s world it is often frowned upon if women do not shave or wear makeup, but this should not be the case. If a women wants to shave or wear makeup she should do it because she wants to, not because a man wants her to.

Wow, alright so maybe I do have a little feminist in me after all :)