Who Says?

I had to write an opinion paper for my communications class and I thought it was funny that I let something bother me so much so I am sharing it here.

I have been thinking all semester about what I would want to write my opinion paper, and I thought that it would be hard to think of something. I mean, I have a lot of opinions, but I am pretty easy going and find it easier to go with the flow. I have never had to defend my opinion in a harsh manner. That is why my topic becomes more than just an issue concerning communication.  What I will talk about now is something that I feel strongly enough to write about. So here it is……

            Advertisements are literally everywhere. We see them on billboards, on the radio, the annoying little pop ups that come on when we go online, I even now get texts to my personal phone with advertisements; you just can’t escape them.  I have seen a particular ad a lot lately while watching my beloved television shows on my all time favorite hulu.com and it has really struck a cord with me.  It is an ad for birth control, but not just any birth control, one that makes it so women only have a menstrual cycle four times a year as opposed to the twelve which the female body is designed to have. I am all for taking baby stopping pills, I take mine everyday at 7:30 in the morning. What I am not all for is when the women in the ad who are portrayed as cool and hip say “WHO SAYS? Who says you have to have 12 periods out of the year?” My response, in my head of course but once I also voiced it to my husband because it bothered me so much was, “Heavenly Father says! That’s who!”

The arrogance and attitude in which these women act bother me so much because there is many a person out there who buys something because an ad told them to.  The cool factor and fear factor that advertisers use just to make a dollar are unnerving. The communication they choose to use, rather than state facts or provide life changing services, is a communication style to scare people into using a particular product.  Yes modern technology and conveniences rock and I use a lot of them in my day to day life. Most of them I try to evaluate for myself because it is going to affect me and my body. I am not going to just put something into my body because a cool lady in a commercial told me to, or because pharmaceutical companies have doctors pushing the latest and greatest drug. I am a grown woman and can think for myself.

Another scare tactic that absolutely infuriates me is the push recently for the HPV shot. I went to the doctor and the first thing she asked me was if I had received that shot. I had not and will not because I am not going to inject something in my body just because someone else says to. I know there are those out there who have a different opinion than I do and I respect that they do. I welcome it in fact. What works for me will not work for everyone, and vice versa. My point is, and I apologize if it was not made clear, is that people should not use fear and manipulative tactics to make money off another person. We should all have each others best interest at heart and do the best that we can with what we have. My goal was not to make anyone else change their mindset to how I think. It was mostly aimed at getting my thoughts towards advertising, particularly ads directed towards my body, out there. I needed to vent and get it off my mind. So thank you kindly for giving me an opportunity to get it out there.