Draft 3

What is an ad with a half-naked woman spread out on a bed trying to sell; a videogame of course. This advertisement was printed in the April 2006 issue of PC Gamer. It is advertising a videogame called Hitman. In today’s world, people are preoccupied with sex, and advertising companies are latching onto this by using beautiful women in very well planned out intricate settings to sell their products. The fact that the advertisement companies have to stoop so low to catch the eyes of buyers is quite appalling, but it is reality.
This advertisement is very eye-catching. If a reader is flipping through a magazine filled with many articles and ads for different products, he or she would be more prone to stop and look at an ad of this sort. It is obvious to see that this advertisement is suppose to attract the attention of teenage and young adult males. Erica Scharrer states in her article about video games that only twelve percent of guys consider themselves non videogame players (Scharrer …). The advertising company could have used bloody gory pictures from the actual video game to try and catch the attention of the readers, but when it comes down to it the beautiful woman is more eye catching. With her being spread out on gold sheets, this will capture the attention of many guys. If the reader takes an extra second to stop and look at an ad, then the advertisers did their job.
Once the eye has been caught, the person looking at the ad will more than likely take the time to figure out what product is being sold. After this, the reader might think about this product and if the product looks good to them, he or she will consider buying it. In other words, if an ad can capture the attention of a buyer than there is a more likely chance that he or she will buy the product than if the ad is boring and doesn’t stand out.
The main eye catching object in this advertisement is obviously the scantily dressed woman used to lure males in. Scharrer notes that “females are largely shown in a way that is consistent with male fantasies—that is, as highly attractive and highly sexualized…females wore tight-fitting clothing, showed cleavage or otherwise had their breasts emphasized, and were very commonly voluptuous and thin (Scharrer…). The beautiful woman in this ad proves Scharrrer’s findings by being dressed only in lingerie, high heels, and some gold jewelry. The fact that she is wearing lingerie gives this ad sex appeal. It is used to make readers stop and look at the advertisement. The double standard in society about women being sexier than men was obviously thought about in this ad. A hot young male with a wash board stomach does not give the same kind of sex appeal the woman does. Although if it was a male lying there half naked on the sheets, one would not necessarily assume that there was some sort of sexual relations involved in the murder. Guys are not seen as sex objects, and that is why the advertisement companies use females to sell the products.
The satin gold bed sheets also throw a little attractive flair into the advertisement. The shiny gold sheets attract the human eye. It brings ones focus to the girl in the middle of the page. If one looks very closely at this ad, he or she would notice the pool of blood surrounding the woman’s head. It is hard to notice this blood, because it blends in with the woman’s hair and clothes. Along with the blood there is also a bullet hole in the woman’s head. The blood and bullet hole are not meant to be the very first things seen in the advertisement. The advertiser obviously did not what this to be a bloody, gruesome ad even though the video game he is advertising is one in which murder is the objective. The advertisers were going for the “sex sells” approach. They could have very easily had pictures that represented more of the game, such as guns, guts, and mass killings. Instead they choose to use a beautiful woman to sell the product.
The words “Beautifully Executed” are written at the top of the advertisement. These words are the theme of the advertisement. The word beautiful is in reference to the beautiful woman lying on the bed who was murdered for an unknown reason. I do not think that the phrase “Beautifully Executed” is how the game really is. Video games are usually not beautiful. They are bloody and gruesome. Here again, the advertisement company was not going for the true reality of the videogame. They were trying to rely on only the sex appeal of this ad to sell the game.
The fact that the woman in this photograph is only in lingerie and she is spread out on satin gold sheets makes it seems like she has been raped and then shot. The woman is positioned on the bed in such a way that makes one assume that she was raped. Why else would she be scantily dressed and lying in a provocative pose on some satin gold sheets? No one really knows what happed for sure, but logical reasoning tells the reader that there was probably some prostitution or rape involved in this murder. Videogames often use prostitutes in the game to allow for the fact that today’s society is obsessed with sex. If women are not sex objects in the game then they are just easy shooting targets, or both as in this case. Studies show that:
The ways in which female characters were depicted were consistent with the fantasies of the main target audience for video games, adolescent males. In fantasy-based games, female characters tended to be secondary or peripheral to the action. In ‘street-fighting’ games, females were portrayed as antagonists whom the protagonist must dispense with to continue play. In ‘urban violence’ games, females were dangerous and violent (as well as being subject to violence) but also conformed to adolescent sexual fantasy standards in terms of their clothing and appearance. (Scharrer..)
Videogames in which killing and fighting are the main objectives are usually made for young guys. The fact that this advertisement is meant to catch the attention of young guys is rather appalling. The ad executives know that guys are obviously attracted to beautiful woman and they use that to their advantage. By placing this advertisement with a beautiful woman in a magazine, it is more likely to be noticed. Magazines are full of articles and many different ads. Advertising companies know that they need to make an ad that will stand out and make someone stop and look at the ad. The advertisement agencies know that sex sells and purposefully use half-dressed women in the ads to sell products to guys. In today’s society, it is easy to see how sex sells. Scantily dressed men and women are selling all sorts of products everywhere a person looks. It is sad to know that it takes half-naked people to catch people’s attention. The fact that it is widely known that today’s society is preoccupied with sex is very disturbing.

Works Cited
Scharrer, Erica. “Virtual Violence: Gender and Aggression in Video Game Advertisements.” Mass Communication & Society 7.4 (2004): 393-412. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., Vermillion, SD. 11 March 2008. .

Scantily dressed woman

What is an ad with a half-naked woman spread out on a bed trying to sell; a videogame of course. This advertisement was printed in the April 2006 issue of PC Gamer. It is advertising a videogame called Hitman. In today’s world, people are preoccupied with sex, and advertising companies are latching onto this by using beautiful women in very well planned out intricate settings to sell their products. The fact that the advertisement companies have to stoop so low to catch the eyes of buyers is quite appalling, but it is reality.
This advertisement is very eye-catching. If a reader is flipping through a magazine filled with many articles and ads for different products, he or she would be more prone to stop and look at an ad of this sort. It is obvious to see that this advertisement is suppose to attract the attention of teenage and young adult males. The advertising company could have used bloody gory pictures from the actual video game to try and catch the attention of the readers, but when it comes down to it the beautiful woman is more eye catching. With her being spread out on gold sheets, this will capture the attention of many guys.
The main object in this advertisement is obviously the scantily dressed woman used to lure males in. This beautiful woman is dressed only in lingerie, high heels, and some gold jewelry. If one looks closely at the woman, he or she will also notice the bullet hole in her head, although it is not noticeable at first. The fact that she is wearing lingerie gives this ad sex appeal. It is used to make readers stop and look at the advertisement.
The satin gold bed sheets also throw a little attractive flair into the advertisement. The shiny gold sheets attract the human eye. It brings ones focus to the girl in the middle of the page. If one looks very closely at this ad, he or she would notice the pool of blood surrounding the woman’s head. It is hard to notice this blood, because it blends in with the woman’s hair and clothes. The advertiser obviously did not what this to be a bloody, gruesome ad even though the video game he is advertising is one in which murder is the objective.
The words “Beautifully Executed” are written at the top of the advertisement. These words are the theme of the advertisement. The word beautiful is in reference to the woman. The woman is beautiful, and she was killed or executed. I do not think that the phrase “Beautifully Executed” is how the game really is. Video games are usually not beautiful. They are bloody and gruesome.
The fact that the woman in this photograph is only in lingerie and she is spread out on satin gold sheets makes it seems like she has been raped and then shot. The woman is positioned on the bed in such a way that makes one assume that she was raped. Why else would she be scantily dressed and lying in a provocative pose on some satin gold sheets? No one really knows what happed for sure, but logical reasoning tells the reader that there was probably some prostitution or rape involved in this murder.
Videogames in which killing and fighting are the main objectives are usually made for young guys. The fact that this advertisement is meant to catch the attention of young guys is rather appalling. The ad executives know that guys are obviously attracted to beautiful woman and they use that to their advantage. By placing this advertisement with a beautiful woman in a magazine, it is more likely to be noticed. Magazines are full of articles and many different ads. Advertising companies know that they need to make an ad that will stand out and make someone stop and look at the ad. The advertisement agencies know that sex sells and purposefully use half-dressed women in the ads to sell products to guys. In today’s society, it is easy to see how sex sells. Scantily dressed men and women are selling all sorts of products everywhere a person looks. It is sad to know that it takes half-naked people to catch people’s attention. The fact that it is widely known that today’s society is preoccupied with sex is very disturbing.

Suggestive Ads

Incase you didn't notice, this is an advertisement for a video game called Hitman. You can tell by the small print on the bottom of the page once you get past looking at the woman on the page. The woman is the main feature of this ad. She is "dead" in a suggestive sexy pose. She is scantily dressed in her short lowcut dress and red high heals. She is lying on a shiny eye catching fabric which one can assume as a bed. So, basically at first glance one imagines that this lady has been shot probably after sleeping with someone. I find this ad disturbing due to the fact that this is a videogame ad so it is directed towards teenagers and young boys. Young boys may find this ad sexually appealing to them. I guess the ad executives did a good job with this ad, because young boys will probably take extra time to look at the ad and think about the game. If a young boy is flipping through a magazine full of ads of all sorts, he would be more prone to stop and actually look at one with a good looking lady on it. I find it sad that the world today is preoccupied with sex. The only thing that can get people's attention these days is sexual ads with half naked people in them. Everywhere you look you will see this. It doesn't matter if it is an ad for shampoo, cologne, food, shoes, clothes, or as in this case video games. So, I must say that I really wasn't surprised on the sexuality of this ad, but I do find it disturbing that I am not surprised. It is rather sad that people have just become accustomed to this. Sometimes it is hard to figure out what an advertisement is actually trying to sell.

Essay 2-Draft 3

Ashley Treatment

Why should parents have the right to make a completely life altering decision for their child? The topic of growth attenuation is being argued ethically between parents and doctors. Growth attenuation is a new procedure used to stop the growth of a child. It has only been used once and the parents of this child are being confronted with many ethical questions. The parents and doctors have many reasons to support the decision they made for their daughter, but the negative outcomes outweigh the positive reasons they provide. People argue that this procedure is best for the child, but they have no idea how it will affect the child later in life.

Growth attenuation is a new procedure used on disabled children. In this procedure, the growth of a child is stopped. The child would then be that size for the rest of his or her life. Also, a hysterectomy is performed on a girl along with the removal of her breast buds. This procedure has only been used once so far. It was used on a severely disabled and mentally impaired young girl named Ashley. Matthew Liao, Julian Savulescu, and Mark Sheehan note in their article that Ashley is a nine year old from Seattle, Washington. She was born with a condition called static encephalopathy. This condition is a sever brain impairment that leaves Ashley unable to walk, talk, eat, sit up, or roll over (Liao, Savulescu, & Sheehan 16). Ashley’s parents are faced with a whirl wind of ethical questions about the procedure they used on their girl.

A big controversy about this procedure was the performance of a hysterectomy and removal of breast buds. According to an article by Sarah Shannon and Terasa Savage, Shannon says there are reasons why these procedures were necessary. One reason for the hysterectomy is because the body is exposed to high estrogen levels which speed up the puberty process. Another reason for the hysterectomy is that it will stop menstruation which can cause skin breakdown and discomfort later in life. The last reason for the hysterectomy is it will abolish the need for pap smears as the girl grows. The breast buds were removed at the same time as the hysterectomy. This was done, because Ashley’s family has a history of large breasts, and large breasts could be potentially painful later in life. Savage argues against Shannon’s assumptions by saying that the risks of a hysterectomy outweigh the potential for cramps and other non threatening conditions. No one knows if she will have pain with her cramps, but if she did they could be treated with hormones like other women are. If all the pain and problems cannot be controlled then later in life a hysterectomy could be performed. Until one knows what the situation is like nothing should be done. Removing the breast because large breasts run in the family is not a good reason. The size of her breasts cannot be pre-determined. She could have had small to normal size breasts which would not be painful (Shannon & Savage 2). The performance of a hysterectomy and removing the breast buds on such a small girl is an ethical debate. Something could have gone wrong during these procedures that could have had a serious impact on Ashley, but along with these procedures the parents of Ashley also face many ethical issues on whether or not stopping the growth of Ashley was the right thing to do or not. The parents of Ashley have reasons why they choose to stop their daughter’s growth.

Ashley’s parents say the reason that they used growth attenuation on their precious daughter was, because it will make caring for her easier in the years to come. According to the article by Bersani, et al., the parents of Ashley used growth attenuation to “minimize the likelihood of a future out-of-home placement by maximizing the future comfort of this child and ensuring a manageable care-giving burden for parents who wanted very much to maintain their daughter in their loving environment (Bersani et al. 351).” Ashley’s parents argue that they will be able to provide Ashley with the best care if she remains small and fragile. They say that they will be able to reposition her more often to prevent bed sores and other infections that come from being bed ridden. It is true that infections do arise from being bed ridden, but as good parents there should be nothing stopping them from giving her the best care she needs. It may require a little more effort, but Ashley’s parents said they would do anything for their daughter (Shannon & Savage 2). Doing some things such as transporting her will be easier, because she will be light and easy to lift. Although with the right training, it is easy to move people of any size. There are many things that were not taken into consideration about Ashley’s life when she is older.

Ashley will have many struggles in life that could have possibly been easier if she was able to grow and develop properly. When Ashley becomes older, she is going to be hard to handle, because she will be frail. It will become hard to lift her without hurting her small frail body. Other things such as having her sit up, bathe, or even eat at a table will be harder with Ashley being so small. If could have been easier for Ashley to do some little things such as just sit up if she could have developed normally. Her developed bones and muscles could have helped her be able to sit up and do other things with little assistance. Ashley will also have to deal with the emotional hardships that come with being a child sized adult. She will never be treated her own age. This could be very hard to deal with emotionally.

Growth attenuation is suppose to make it possible for disabled children to live at home with their families instead of in a group home with adult strangers. Growth attenuation has been used on a girl named Ashley, whose parents claim that because of this procedure they will be able to keep their daughter at home with them. They say that she will be easier to care for since she is so small. Critics of this procedure say that it is unethical to make this kind of life-altering decision for a child. The risks of this procedure are still unknown, and it is not right to stop the growth of a child without even knowing if there could be negative health outcomes later in life. One can only hope that parents of disabled children seriously think about all of the negative possibilities that their child could face before they decide to go through with such a dramatic life altering procedure.


Works Cited
Shannon, Savage, and Teresa Savage. “The Ashley Treatment: Two Viewpoints.” Pediatric Nursing 33.2 (2007) 175-8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., SD. 13 February 2008 .

Liao, S. Matthew, Julian Savulescu, and Mark Sheehan. “The Ashley Treatment: Best Interests, Convenience, and Parental Decision-Making.” Hastings Center Report 37.2 (2007): 16-20. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., SD. 13 February 2008 .

Bersani, Hank, et al. “Unjustifiable Non-Therapy: Response to the Issue of Growth Attenuation for Young People on the basis of Disability.” American Association on Intellectual and developmental Disabilities 45.5 (2007): 351-353. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., SD. 13 February 2008 .

Essay 2-Draft 2

Why should parents have the right to make a completely life altering decision for their child? The topic of growth attenuation is being argued ethically between parents and doctors. Growth attenuation is a new procedure used to stop the growth of a child. It has only been used once and the parents of this child are being confronted with many ethical questions. The parents and doctors have many reasons to support the decision they made for their daughter, but the negative outcomes outweigh the positive reasons they provide. People argue that this procedure is best for the child, but they have no idea how it will affect the child later in life.

Growth attenuation is a new procedure used on disabled children. In this procedure, the growth of a child is stopped. The child would then be that size for the rest of his or her life. Also, a hysterectomy is performed on a girl along with the removal of her breast buds. This procedure has only been used once so far. It was used on a severely disabled and mentally impaired young girl named Ashley. Matthew Liao, Julian Savulescu, and Mark Sheehan note in their article that Ashley is a nine year old from Seattle, Washington. She was born with a condition called static encephalopathy. This condition is a sever brain impairment that leaves Ashley unable to walk, talk, eat, sit up, or roll over (Liao, Savulescu, & Sheehan 16). Ashley’s parents are faced with a whirl wind of ethical questions about the procedure they used on their girl.

A big controversy about this procedure was the performance of a hysterectomy and removal of breast buds. According to an article by Sarah Shannon and Terasa Savage, Shannon says there are reasons why these procedures were necessary. One reason for the hysterectomy is because the body is exposed to high estrogen levels which speed up the puberty process. Another reason for the hysterectomy is that it will stop menstruation which can cause skin breakdown and discomfort later in life. The last reason for the hysterectomy is it will abolish the need for pap smears as the girl grows. The breast buds were removed at the same time as the hysterectomy. This was done, because Ashley’s family has a history of large breasts, and large breasts could be potentially painful later in life. Savage argues against Shannon’s assumptions by saying that the risks of a hysterectomy outweigh the potential for cramps and other non threatening conditions. No one knows if she will have pain with her cramps, but if she did they could be treated with hormones like other women are. If all the pain and problems cannot be controlled then later in life a hysterectomy could be performed. Until one knows what the situation is like nothing should be done. Removing the breast because large breasts run in the family is not a good reason. The size of her breasts cannot be pre-determined. She could have had small to normal size breasts which would not be painful (Shannon & Savage 2). The parents of Ashley also have reasons why they choose to stop their daughter’s growth.

Ashley’s parents say the reason that they used growth attenuation on their precious daughter was, because it will make caring for her easier in the years to come. According to the article by Bersani, et al., the parents of Ashley used growth attenuation to “minimize the likelihood of a future out-of-home placement by maximizing the future comfort of this child and ensuring a manageable care-giving burden for parents who wanted very much to maintain their daughter in their loving environment (Bersani et al. 351).” They argue that they will be able to provide Ashley with the best care if she remains small and fragile. This is true to an extent. Doing some things such as transporting her will be easier, because she will be light and easy to lift. There are many things that were not taken into consideration about Ashley’s life when she is older.

Ashley will have many struggles in life that could have possibly been easier if she was able to grow and develop properly. When Ashley becomes older, she is going to be hard to handle, because she will be frail. It will become hard to lift her without hurting her frail body. Other things such as having her sit up, bathe, or even eat at a table will be harder with Ashley being so small. If could have been easier for Ashley to do some little things such as just sit up if she could have developed normally. Her developed bones and muscles could have helped her be able to sit up and do other things with little assistance. Ashley will also have to deal with the emotional hardships that come with being a child sized adult. She will never be treated her own age. This could be very hard to deal with emotionally.

Essay 2-Draft 1

Why should parents have the right to make a completely life altering decision for their child? The topic of growth attenuation is being argued ethically between parents and doctors. Disabled people have been struggling to have the same rights as other people for a long time, and a new procedure is threatening to take away their rights. Growth attenuation is a procedure used to stop the growth of a child and there are more negative outcomes than benefits.

Disabled people often get treated unfairly for no reason. The rights of these people have come a long ways in the last few decades. In the early times, disabled people were not counted as real people. They were treated like they did not matter, because they were different from the normal. The use of the new procedure, Growth Attenuation, is taking away a simple right everyone should have. This right is the right to grow and develop how a person was meant to. Perfectly healthy people get to develop as they were meant to. Healthy disabled people should also have this right.

Growth attenuation is a new procedure used on disabled children. In this procedure, the growth of a child is stopped around the age of 9. The child would then be that age for the rest of his or her life. Also, hormones are injected into the child, so he or she doesn’t fully develop into a man or woman. This procedure has only been used once so far. It was used on a severely disabled young girl named Ashley. Now Ashley’s parents are facing a whirl wind of ethical questions. They are wondering if they made the right decision for their daughter.

Ashley’s parents say the reason that they used growth attenuation on their precious daughter was, because it will make caring for her easier in the years to come. They argue that they will be able to provide Ashley with the best care if she remains small and fragile. This is true to an extent. Doing some things such as transporting her will be easier, because she will be light and easy to lift. There are many things that were not taken into consideration about Ashley’s life when she is older.

Ashley will have many struggles in life that could have possibly been easier if she was able to grow and develop properly. When Ashley becomes older, she is going to be hard to handle, because she will be frail. It will become hard to lift her without hurting her frail body. Other things such as having her sit up, bathe, or even eat at a table will be harder with Ashley being so small. If could have been easier for Ashley to do some little things such as just sit up if she could have developed normally. Her developed bones and muscles could have helped her be able to sit up and do other things with little assistance. Ashley will also have to deal with the emotional hardships that come with being a child sized adult. She will never be treated her own age. This could be very hard to deal with emotionally.

How is class?

CLASS….

I think class is going well. I enjoy writing about the topic I chose. This is good since I have to write about it for the whole semester. I also find using this blogger thing kind of interesting. I have never had a class that required a blogger. I think it is a good way to use technology and not waste as much paper. I never liked printing every little thing out. It felt like a huge waste.
I also find class pretty entertaining. It is hard to make an English class fun, but I think you are doing it. Kudos to PHIL!!!
As far as the peer review workshop went, I thought it was pretty good. I have never done peer review like that before. I usually just had to read 1 or 2 papers and comment on them and so on. I think having your paper read to you is good, because you pick up on a lot of grammar errors that you wouldn’t notice if you read it. I also liked getting comments on my paper from a group of people. I also think it helps to hear other people’s papers, because they may help you think of something that you forgot to include in your paper or how to word something. It is always good to learn from your mistakes as well as others. The only thing I didn’t like about the workshop was that we had to bring ten copies of my paper, but I now know that I can just single space it to try and use less paper. I also realize that my group was bigger because I was not suppose to be in it, but thank you for letting me switch.
That is really all I have for comments on the class. I think it is going good so far. It is way better than what my roommate told me about her English class last semester. I am glad I have a good teacher who can make English semi fun.