Preview

Ad Analysis of Lysol: Douching Method for Women in the 1950s

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1472 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ad Analysis of Lysol: Douching Method for Women in the 1950s
Brenna Wilburn
ENG 122
Professor Demack
Visual Argument Analysis Paper
3/4/14

Lysol has been around since 1889 and has been known for its disinfectant purposes for more than fifty years, but in the 1950’s it was used for a completely different purpose. Lysol was used as a douching method for women and this advertisement published in the 1950’s is sponsoring Lysol as a feminine hygiene product. As a visual argumentative piece, Lysol uses several warrants and attributes to prove its point, that Lysol was gentle enough to be used as an internal cleansing product. Lysol was a “Homemade” contraceptive, used in place of the more expensive forms such as condoms or pills. According to Nicole Pasulka in her essay When Women Used Lysol as Birth Control, Lysol contained “cresol, a phenol compound that sometimes caused information burning and death. The Visual Argument in this advertisement makes several claims as to the safety and quality of this product. When evaluating warrants or evidence for arguments, it is necessary to understand all the visual elements in this advertisement that would have appealed to consumers and actually persuaded them to buy Lysol for this purpose. The active ingredient along with other agents in Lysol during this time were proven to be lethal both inside and outside the human body. In this add, the first visual that appeals to the eye is the spider web. The spider web is a metaphor for a wall in between the husband and the wife. Simply translated, her condition or vaginal issues are preventing her and her husband from being together. Today, visuals such as Vagisil are widely advertised on TV and social media. The products of today have been tested, researched and gentle to the female uterus. As the ad introduces the wife stuck in the web, we see the husband ignoring her and reading the paper. The first warrant is made visually by the display of the web and his reaction to her. The ad is speaking visually that she caught



Cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysol http://www.motherjones.com/slideshows/2012/02/when-women-used-lysol-birth-control/lysol-douche-cobweb

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The central idea of the article “Down and Dirty” is regarding the understanding of how men and women perceive cleanliness. According to the article men and women have different advantages and perceptions with different things within the world’s society. The conclusion that women are cleaner than men are. 1.According to a study of researchers examined 450 samples of bacteria taken from offices in New York City, San Francisco, and Tucson. findings were various, but one of them was this: In the workspaces of men, the bacteria count was significantly higher than in those of women. 2.A reported paper titled journal Biology of Sex Differences says that women are superior to men in discriminating among fine distinctions of color, while males are better…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Hey want to smell good and fresh unlike our loser competitors? Well we have the product to freshen up your life once and for all!” Everyday Americans are bombarded with advertisements…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robinson, B.A. "Emergency Contraception ("Morning After Pill")". Promoting religious understanding, tolerance and freedom. http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_emer.htm (1 Aug. 2004).…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Plan B Pill

    • 2024 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Hoffman, Jan. The Morning After Pill: A Well Kept Secret. New York Time [New York, NY]. 10 January 1993: A.12. Print.…

    • 2024 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Howard Hughes Sr. a successful million dollar drill manufacturer, and the owner of The Sharp-Hughes Tool Company, was an absentee father. Hughes Sr. was known as flamboyant, living a gregarious lifestyle (Bouton, 2001). Allene Hughes, a stay-at-home mother, suffered with a debilitating case of germ-phobia. Her obsession with germ’s hindered her ability to raise Hughes Jr. in a ‘normal’ environment. Hughes’s mother would inspect his genitals, mouth, teeth, and feet daily; repeatedly washing his body with Pine Tar Soap. Pine Tar soap is recommended by doctors for scalp and abrasion treatment. Allene convinced herself, the only way to ensure cleanliness was to use the soap abrasively, leaving Hughes with bloody abrasions (Rojas, 2009).…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of mice and men

    • 928 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The “soap” and “the talcum powder” emphasise that the inhabitants lived their lives to stay hygienic, but with a lack of personal possessions showing that the aim…

    • 928 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Elderly Interview

    • 1439 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The client showers at night and seems to have recently bathed. Mrs. L’s morning starts at 0530. She has her coffee, breakfast, and then prepares for work. She has clean clothes, teeth, and fingernails. Her hair is neatly combed and styled. Nothing in her appearance indicates that she has any problems performing her hygienic route regularly.…

    • 1439 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Visual Argument

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Skyy Vodka has consistently been perhaps the most sexually suggestive advertiser of its genre. Its ads typically contain a thin, young, and beautiful woman in tight clothing with some sort of sexual power over her enticed male counterpart. The ads are not shy to appeal to sex and often promote the sexual benefits of drinking Skyy Vodka. While the advertisement for Skyy Vodka titled “The Antagonist” seen in People magazine’s May 7, 2007 issue adheres to the usual standards of Skyy ads, it has an underlying theme of white, male supremacy and the female threat to that power.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Good personal hygiene reduces any risks of skin complaints, unpleasant smells and bacterial or parasitic infection and it is important to encourage the individuals that I support to maintain their hygiene so that those risks are lowered. I also believe that encouraging an individual to take pride in their appearance may help them to build on their confidence as a person and contributes to a general feeling of comfort in one’s own body and well- being both mentally and physically. Encouraging my clients to take control of their own personal hygiene also ensures that they are making their own choices and decisions about their preferred ways in which to carry out their personal care; for example where an individual chooses to wash, and what product they may want to use. Bathing and showering also promote circulation in the body; exercises muscles and can create a relaxing sensation.…

    • 2039 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    David Smith

    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Once a short, fat boy, now a tall, well-built one, he acquired quite a stench throughout the quick transition. His armpits and feet could have killed the pigs in the hog confinements, but he could not smell a thing. Like most boys, he does not get very excited about showering, brushing his teeth, and applying deodorant. If he did, his name would not show up in this essay. The strong smell is almost hot, and over the course of a few years, he received enough comments and looks to understand the criticism his sister gave him about his stench was not just malice; he reeked, and everyone knew it. Making deodorant a habit made a substantial difference, but his showering and teeth cleansing habits could use some work. The odor has become less smelly than before, but his future, non-smelly days cannot come soon enough.…

    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout our childhood, and as young adults we have constantly been reminded that cleanliness is very important,whether that be from parents, the media, or any influential person in one’s lifetime. However have you ever considered the effects of too much cleanliness? Things like allergies and asthma are caused by too little exposure to germs. Which Penny Sarchet discusses in her article “Germ Warfare” featured in the magazine New Scientists she explains just how essential cleanliness is along with; the side affects of being too clean, the proper amount of laundry detergent, soap, and cleaning supplies to use,the importance of washing,and the positives of exposure to germs at a young age.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    School Satire

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages

    At a time when parlous pathogens are more than ever wanting to take control over humans, it is necessary to have sanitary bathrooms. This school offers this luxury. With granite-layered walls embellished with elegant language, bathrooms are a student’s paradise and safe-haven in this dangerous world. The random yellow tinting in the bathrooms also adds to the splendor of the truly brilliant artistry. Paper towels are scattered across the floor and puddles of biological secretions are clumped near certain areas. Strategically placed, they teach a person how to avoid obstacles.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Slippery Problem

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Let us return to the premium toilet soap market in India. Suppose research has discovered an emerging cluster of consumers-young, modern, well-to-do-who believe that a bath soap should have good-for-skin qualities, who even think well of traditional herbs like Neem, but would accept it only with much more pronounced cosmetic benefits in terms of perfume, lather, colour, shape and packaging. Recall our discussion on Margo in the previous chapter.…

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Assignment 249

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Assignment overview This assignment is intended to provide evidence of a learner’s knowledge and understanding of how to support an individual to maintain personal hygiene.…

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    The aim of this assignment is to explain a nurse’s role in relation to assisting patient’s with meeting their hygiene needs. In order to accomplish this, the following areas of the subject will be highlighted; why hygiene is so important and the various aspects of hygiene such as; what influences hygiene, assessing a patient, bed bathing, oral hygiene and eye care.…

    • 1571 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays

Related Topics