 |
| Source: acu.edu |
A research conducted on the covers of Rolling Stone magazines found that 11
percent of men and 44 percent of women on the covers of Rolling Stone were
sexualized in the 1960s. There was a huge increase in the figures when it was
found that 17 percent of men and 83 percent of women were sexualized in the
2000s (Nauert 2011). There is an increase in the percentage of young men that
wanted TV advertisements to be sexy, from 14 percent to 30 percent (Devine 2004).
These advertisements focused on breasts, limited attire or hypersexualized
images of the women to sell their products. These figures are alarming as the
sexualisation of women in advertising hinders the healthy development of young
ladies (American Psychological Association 2010).
The
article entitled ‘Sexualisation of women in ads a social norm’ states that ‘women
continue to be portrayed as objects of sexual desire in advertisements’. There
are high tendency for advertisements to depict women in an unflattering light. I
think that these kinds of advertisements are unrealistic, distasteful and
disrespectful to women.
The
sexualisation of girls in advertisements hinders the healthy development of a
young lady in many areas (American Psychological Association 2010). These
advertisements can undermine a girl’s confidence and she will not feel
satisfied with her own body. When they compare themselves with the impossible
cultural standard for attractive and sexy appearances, they may be subjected to
feelings of inadequacy and shame (Wolf 1991). This is because these
advertisements portray an unrealistic image of an ideal women’s sexual
attractiveness.
In
addition to that, these sexualisation of women in advertisements can generate
feelings of disgust towards their physical bodies. These may lead to serious mental
health problems in young ladies, such as eating disorders, depression and low
confidence.
In
conclusion, parents and other family members can help girls interpret the
advertisements that include sexualization of women in ways that reduce or
prevent harm. Results from a field study suggested that parents can play a role
in influencing the way their children interpret sexual content on television
(Collins et al 2003). Young girls would then be able to understand that the
sexualization of women in advertisements is unrealistic and inappropriate. Furthermore,
advertisers
must understand the negative consequences of the sexualisation of women in
advertisements to young girls and stop depicting women in unflattering light in
advertisements.
References
Collins, R.L., Elliot, M., Berry, S.,
Kanouse, D.E., and Hunter, S 2003, ‘Entertainment television as a healthy
sex-educator: The impact of condom-efficacy information in a episode of
“Friends”’, Pediatrics, pp.1115-1121
Devine, M 2004, ‘New sexism’, Sunday age: Sunday life, pp. 15-17
Wolf, N 1991, The beauty myth: how images of beauty are used against women,
Anchor Books, New York
