In "Hunger as Ideology," by Susan Bordo, advertisements for food are shown to market their products towards women by preying on their vulnerabilities and insecurities in terms of gender roles, appearance, and eating habits. Bordo begins by showing an advertisement for Virginia Slims. It shows a beautiful, carefree woman with the caption, "Decisions are easy: When I get to a fork in the road I eat." Here Bordo claims that Virginia Slims is "Psyching out the female Consumer" with unrealistic images in the attempt to sell their product. In this case we see someone who is physically flawless, yet is not the least bit obsessed with dieting and her eating habits. In effect the advertisement is telling women that it's alright to eat as they please but they must look perfect as well.
             Bordo also describes how advertisements can use biased and outdated gender roles to market their products. These ads end up "stabilizing" or reinforcing antiquated views of the role that women play in society. Many of the messages contained in these advertisements are nearly subliminal in that the viewer on a subconscious level with just a casual glance can perceive them. Bordo even suggests that these advertisements, which "stabilize", not only reinforce but also may perpetuate the biased themes that are presented. In the "Men Eat and Woman Prepare" section of Bordo's essay examples are given of advertisements which stabilize the role of women as the food preparers who are meant to provide and serve food to a male whose role is to consume it. Bordo shows an advertisement for Log Cabin Syrup with a man serving his son pancakes. The caption tells us that the man is using Log Cabin Syrup because he is sharing a "special moment" with his son. The fact that this is a "special moment" suggests that this is not the man's usual role. If a woman had been featured ...