University graduate student Michelle Grindstaff presented “Women, Smoking and Advertising: Have We Come a Long Way, Baby?” yesterday to students and faculty members in Hanna Hall.

The presentation, a part of the Women’s Center’s Brown Bag Lunch series, discussed strategies tobacco companies use in their advertisements to entice female consumers.

The pressure to be thin and womens want for gender equality are two of the issues that cigarette advertisements focus on when selling their product to women, Grindstaff said.

The media also plays a large role in creating so-called beauty and gender norms that unrealistically portray women’s bodies in society, she said. For example, the average model is 5-foot-11-inch and 117 pounds, while the average woman is 5-foot-4-inch and 140 pounds. Tobacco companies use the fact that many women are looking for ways to lose weight, by healthy and unhealthy means, as a marketing tool, she said.

“Smoking is one example of the destructive behaviors encouraged in the media to achieve unrealistic standards of beauty for women,” she said.

The other common theme that appears in cigarette ads is that smoking promotes gender equality. It sends that message that if you smoke, you’ll be one of the guys, Grindstaff said.

She also discussed ads that target women by using the phrase “find your voice.” Since it has often been a metaphor for speaking out, it looks like it promotes gender equality, she said.

“You can get throat cancer from smoking. You’re not going to find your voice, you’re going to lose it,” Grindstaff said.

She closed her presentation by presenting different ads from magazines that show the themes discussed. Understanding what the ads are doing is one way to combat it.

“It is important to resist media representations of women’s bodies and challenge advertising that utilizes false notions of gender equality to sell products,” she said.

Amy Schueter, a student at the University, said that the presentation served as starting place for many people who want to talk to others about advertising myths and the dangers of smoking.

“Knowing this information, it will be easier to talk to others about not smoking,” Schueter said. “Also, it’s more meaningful coming from someone you know rather than a commercial or something.”

For more information on this topic, go to www.tobaccofreekids.com. For more information on the Women’s Center and upcoming Brown Bag Lunches go to www.bgsu.edu/offices/women/events.htm