The Impact Of The Sexualisation And Objectification Of Women

Film, television, and the media are a huge part of our culture. Especially in the modern age of technology, it is impossible for us to avoid being exposed it. It is on our phones, computers, and TV. It is our entertainment, a part of our education, and it serves as a reflection of our society. The problem with media, however, is that has the power in manipulating us to feel certain ways. The most problem of which is the way we perceive our own bodies. Leading media industries such as Hollywood sets. An example of the ideal body that we are expected to have in order to look good and be perceived as handsome or beautiful by society, but, behind the scenes, actors and actresses of Hollywood go to extreme lengths in order to attain that ideal look.

Modern people live media-saturated lives, even children as young as 6 years old, have had some type of media exposure. Extensive exposure to media outlets can lead to body image issues. Body image is defined as, the subjective picture or mental image of one's own body (Smolak 2003). Body image is formed as people compare themselves to others. Because, people are exposed to countless media images; these images become the basis for such comparisons. These mental comparisons, have a strong influence on an individual’s personal perception of beauty. Media outlets create images and pressures about what our bodies should look like; however, sometimes these images have been manipulated, creating an unrealistic expectation of beauty. When an individual believes that their body is substandard, they can become depressed, suffer from low self-esteem, or develop eating disorders.

Today's media is increasingly pornographic, and the notion that 'sex sells' has infiltrated the advertising of virtually all products and services. Both men and women are sexualized in contemporary media, but the extent to which women are sexualized is far greater that men are. Jean Kilbourne states in her talk, The Dangerous Ways Ads See Women, "There are stereotypes that harm men, of course, but they tend to be less personal, less related to the body." The stereotypes that drive the portrayal of women in the media lead to the repeated objectification, particularly sexual objectification,

Media is everywhere. Television, newspaper, cell phones, movies, as well as numerous other sources. Today, just about everyone depends on information and communication to keep their lives moving through daily activities. We need to be aware that the values we hold, the beliefs we harbor and the decisions we make are based on our assumptions, our experiences, our education and what we know for a fact. Mass media is relied on for the current news and facts about what is important and what we should be aware of. Media is considered a trustworthy source for news, information, education and entertainment. Though someone has to have thought behind an issue to write it.

Over time, the perfect body image has changed in many ways. This is very evident in the female sex, especially through media. “Americans spend about 68 hours per week exposed to various forms of media” (US Census Bureau 2009). This media exposure through outlets such as t.v., radio, music videos, movies, and the internet, all influence the way people think about gender. The media influence is very evident in the way people view women and think about women in different cultures. Media influence on women creates negative viewpoints with how women view themselves and even how men view themselves, in turn making it hard to break certain beliefs and stereotypes instilled on society.

In the article, “The Negative Effects of the Media on Body Image” by Esther Vargas, there were several issues discussed about the negative effects that media has on body image in society. Many girls

Movies, magazines, advertisements, television, music videos and even music lyrics are just a handful of media sources where I have noticed an increased focus on women being viewed as sexual objects, instead of women proposing an empowering message. Many people in our society are not aware of the extent in which sexualisation of women in the media is occurring every day of our lives; this is because we live in a culture where sexuality is more accepted; this is is having negative effects on the social aspect of our society. So, has the media and society pushed sexualisation too far? It is believed that women are hyper-sexualised in the media and this is changing the way women are looked at; but what are we actively doing as a society to reduce this issue?

Today in modern society, we are driven by social forces. Not only do we strive for human approval and companionship, we also thrive on social media. The media plays such a pivotal role in what we buy, eat, wear, etc. that we are conditioning ourselves to fit the mold for the “perfect” or “ideal” body type. This social construct has been a pressing issue for many years regarding the female physique, but not as much has been said on behalf of men. When confronted with appearance based advertisements, men are more likely to experience muscle dissatisfaction, weight disparities, and anger and/or anxiety toward showing their body in public. This paper will address these facets of the media’s effect on male body image as well as presenting what has been done to address this quietly debilitating issue.

The media is an amazing invention that can be a very good tool during times of distress. There are issues with media sometimes but overall, it can be useful in the right hands. Throughout history, the media has been used wisely to enrich the knowledge of the public and to show what can be done in order to help their fellow man.

For example, the images and celebrities in the media set the standard for what we find attractive. As a result of, leading people to go to dangerous extremes to have the biggest biceps or fit into size 2 jeans. Today, more than 66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. In the American body, the media idealizes images of the male and female bodies. But, at the same time the media in the form of television, the internet, movies, and print publications is more powerful than before. “We live in a day and age where people make it IMPOSSIBLE for women, men, anyone to embrace themselves exactly how they are. Diversity is sexy! Loving yourself is sexy!” (Strecker, 2015, para. 2).

It seems that the media’s portrayal of women has negatively affected the body image of The Wykeham Collegiate senior school girls. The media has a negative effect on the youth of today, primarily amongst the female population when it comes to how young girls and women regard

Today, we are always surrounded by a variety of media and we identify ourselves in parts of those images we see. Media believes women should look like Victoria Secret models: tall, lean, and tanned women, but lately there has been issue from women all over the world who are tired of having to be set at impossible types of female figures. Revolving around a certain type of body figure is horrible because bodies come in different shapes and sizes. The media has influenced the female body perception by showing that women need to have a “perfect body” to pass in society. These magnificence gauges, multiplied through the media, impacts affect women and their self-perceptions. The medias influence on female body image has led to eating disorders, dissatisfaction in women, depression, and substance abuse in women.

Women have been objectified, and in many cases, insulted or degraded, for decades. It is important to note that to objectify means to “degrade to the status of a mere object” (Oxford). With the rapid increase of technology, advertising in the media, social media, and the internet, there has been a tremendous increase in the sexual objectification of women. In many aspects, digital images play a major role in the sexual objectification of women. The majority of these images consist of advertisements that are posted on the internet, on television, or on various forms of social media. Some argue that men have to deal with the same type of objectification in the media, but it certainly isn’t as severe. Furthermore, the sexual objectification

Why is advertisement that amplifies objectification of women bad? A report by the American Psychological Association says

Many Americans lives today are surrounded by media, whether it is through Facebook, Instagram, magazines, etc. One of the biggest topics highlighted in the media is women. The media portrays women in a “perfect” manner; they are shown with big breasts, large butts, hourglass figures, and almost always half naked. Because the media displays women's bodies in such a perfect manner, the average woman may begin to compare herself and harbor negative thoughts about her own body image. Besides unrealistic portrayals of women's bodies, most media platforms and ads objectify women sexually, because “sex sells.” This fuels the negative connotation towards women because this causes society to group all women together and view them as a vulgar disgrace. The media should stop portraying women in a negative way, because it causes them to become self-conscious, depicts them as a sex objects and leads society to believe women are vulgar.