NEWTON - Jean Kilbourne's revolution started with a single clipped advertisement she hung on her refrigerator. It marketed birth control to women, but did so in a way she found demeaning.
That wasn't the last ad she clipped. Soon her fridge was speckled with similar glossy cut-outs, all objectifying women in some way.
The collection helped Kilbourne see patterns in the way the media portrays women. It also inspired her to launch a successful career as a renowned media critic, author and filmmaker who tackles how advertisers address body image and push alcohol and tobacco products.
"I'm a crusader. I want to do what I can to make things better, and I think this is helping," Kilbourne said of her 30-plus years as a media critic. "The antidote to despair is action."
The West Newton resident has been anything but idle. Kilbourne wrote "Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel." She made several award-winning documentary films, such as "Killing Us Softly: Advertising's Image of Women," "Deadly Persuasion: The Advertising of Alcohol & Tobacco" and "Slim Hopes." And she is the two-time recipient of the Lecturer of the Year award from the National Association for Campus Activities.
Hearing Kilbourne's personal story gives new meaning to the work she does. Trained as a secretary, she worked for the BBC in London and did some modeling work in Europe and New York. She also battled alcohol and drug abuse.
"In those days, the choices for women were very limited," Kilbourne said. "(Modeling) was very soul-destroying work. It left me with a lot of interest in image and beauty."
Kilbourne became active in the women's movement and focused on the way advertising stereotypes affect female body image. Her research and avid ad clipping amassed into a career as a media critic.
Tom Gardner, assistant professor of communication at Westfield State College, has known Kilbourne for years, and credited her for starting the conversation about female stereotypes nationwide.
"She was the real pioneer in putting this together in a systematic way," said Gardner, who saw Kilbourne earn an honorary doctorate degree at the western Massachusetts school in 2004, when she gave the school's commencement speech.
Kilbourne's work is used in classrooms and conference halls throughout the United States and Canada.
"The professors who have used her material in their classes are just so appreciative of someone who can analyze the social impact of the culture and make it so accessible and clear and fun for their students," Gardner said.
A Kilbourne presentation is equal parts education and humor. Using a collection of slides, the energetic brunette locks her aqua eyes on the audience and challenges viewers to interpret what message each alcohol, tobacco or fashion advertisement is sending youth. Her speech comes in a steady stream, spooning up statistics with pithy commentary.
In her video "Killing Us Softly 3," Kilbourne flashes ads of flawless women across the projection screen. Advertisers, she explained, push a beauty ideal that is heedless of money, time or genetics.
Of one model, she quipped: "She never has any lines or wrinkles, she certainly has no scars or blemishes. Indeed, she has no pores."
The crowd bursts into laughter, recognizing the humor and truth in Kilbourne's message.
John Suby saw Kilbourne's influence on students in person. The director of athletic, health and wellness at Dana Hall School invited the speaker for a presentation Oct. 16.
The group of eighth- to 12th-grade students, he said, absolutely loved her.
"She presented something they've known about ... (but) she said it in a way they could hear because she mixed humor so well with edgy provocative clips," Suby said.
Today Kilbourne will be the keynote speaker at the Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association gala at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in downtown Boston.
Beth Mayer, chief executive officer of MEDA, said she and many others in her field use Kilbourne's materials to teach youth suffering from eating disorders.
"Media is one of the many factors that sometimes contribute to poor body image," Mayer said.
Parents receive Kilbourne's message as well and take it home to their children.
"Most parents are kind of aware of (the media's influence) and feel powerless of what to do about it," Kilbourne said.
The star speaker has a 20-year-old daughter herself: "The most difficult part was seeing her hit adolescence," when self-esteem typically plummets.
And the media's messages are being targeted at an even younger audience by the year, Kilborne said. She is currently working on another book exploring the topic, "So Sexy, So Soon."
From the late 1960s to today, Kilbourne's message still rings true.
"One of the things that surprises me throughout the years is that this still surprises people," she said. The difference is today, "I don't have to fight as much as I did to convince people that this is really happening."
Leslie Friday can be reached at lfriday@cnc.com.
