Military Commercials

As an avid watcher of sports television, I see an awful lot of the advertisements airing on these channels. However, I really don't feel like they affect or are targeted at me at all. Rather, they pertain primarily to men. Is this sexist? Somewhat - but that's not my issue today.

What I'm concerned with is the type of advertisements being shown on these channels, especially those for the military. When the average teenage male sits down to watch his Hawkeyes or another team of choice, what he doesn't realize is that these advertisers are taking advantage of their situation. Sports are one of the primary socialization agents of males. They encourage aggression, dominance, any many other hyper-masculine traits. Thus, when a military commercial airs during the middle of a football game, the male is already jacked up on testosterone - and now he wants to kick someones @$$ - essentially join the military.

So males, BEWARE!



-Lauren Matovina