Media and Marketing's Negative Effects on Female Sexuality and Self-Image

If you turn on the television or flip through a fashion magazine, it is very likely you will presented with many displays of hypersexualization of girls and women in advertising images and in media. There are many components to sexualization. It occurs, according to the American Psychological Association, when “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics.” This person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness with being sexy. “Sexualization” happens when a person is sexually objectified- that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than being seen as a person with their own independent actions and abilities to make decisions. Oftentimes, sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person without their knowing it or consent. Sometimes, researchers use the word “hypersexualization” to describe roughly the same idea. In the article, “Media’s Growing Sexualization of Women”, hypersexualization is defined as, “The act of making something extremely sexual and erotic.”

Europe is well known for using sexual nudity to promote a product, simply because ‘sex sells’.

In the American culture today, women are becoming more sexualized at a younger age due to the influences of the corporate media. Corporate media and society form the perfect idealistic body that women should have and is constantly being promoted making younger girls start to compare themselves to them at a young age. Certain shows and movies, such as Disney, influence young children and teenagers through their characters as to how a woman is supposed to be accepted. The way the corporate media and society make this body image they want women to have starts in a very early stage in a woman's life without them knowing. There are these childhood movies, such as Disney, Barbie and Ken dolls, programs such as Netflix, teen

Teenage girls are at an impressionable time in their lives. Mass Media is a key idea in one of the factors of socialization that become important to teenagers. Teenagers look to the media for a sense of entertainment. Whether it is movies, magazines, or even some aspects of social media, teenagers get a lot of influence from the media’s message. The problem with this is the media has a specific way of doing things and can be negative to a susceptible teenage girl. Media’s way of portraying a woman can be skewed and unrealistic way from what reality is. Teenage girls then have a desire for this look or way. In this essay the three ways I will describe as to why the media can negatively affect a teenage girls body image is by showing

According to Sociologist Craig Calhoun, socialization is “the process through which individuals internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of a society and learn to function as its members”(Calhoun, 2013). With that in mind, media, particularly the music video and advertisement industry, are essential parts of contemporary socialization, especially involving the perpetuation of gender roles in our culture. At a very young age, children learn, without difficulty, the differences between boys and girls, and what standards they are held to. Women are often objectified, systematically demoralized, and dehumanized in the music video industry and mainstream advertisement. External forces, such as the media, not only guide children to understand the norms of each gender, but these forces also shape children and adolescent’s perception of the self. The documentaries Killing Us Softly 4 directed by Jean Kilbourne and Dream World 3 directed by Sut Jhally explore the distorted and fallacious ideals of femininity and sexuality expressed in contemporary media.

The sexualization of young girls and women in society is a prevalent theme in mass media. Presently, the sexualization of females is commonly seen in various consumer items like clothes, dolls, and even in Disney movies, according to “The Sexualization of Girls Is Harmful” article. The author says that sexualization occurs when “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior; a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness with being sexy; a person is sexually objectified- made into a thing for others’ sexual use; and sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person (AboutKidsHealth).” Furthermore, the author provides statistics on how girls are being sexualized by the products they see and use

A majority of women today are simply viewed as sex symbols, and lingerie is now always used to either make a profit or used for lust. The saying, “Sex sells” has overridden the concept of women as people and turned them into possessions and prizes to today’s public. The days of viewing women as angelic and precious have permanently been replaced

In “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect,” Stephanie Hanes argues that the portrayal of women in media has proliferated the premature sexualization of young women. The author analyzes the effect of media’s portrayal of women on young girls to raise awareness about over-sexualization and to hopefully convince parents of young women to pay attention to not only the media that their daughters consume but the media they consume as well. Hanes uses various rhetorical strategies to legitimize her argument and address the corruption of girlhood caused by the relentless coverage of sexuality in media.

Everywhere you turn, there are magazine covers, movies, reality TV shows that portray woman in a sexual light. When was the last time that we as a society sat down and realized the effect that this is having on young girls, teens and even grown women. The portrayal of women as sexual objects in these and many other types of media have greatly affected the mindset of society. What affects has this had you ask? There are there main effects that we will explore. First, is the effect it has on their self-image. Second, is the effect on how they portray themselves in their relationships. Third is the effect it has on their mental state.

More and more young girls are getting taught ways to act because of how the media shows certain behaviors. "The American Psychological Association defines hypersexualization as "occurring when a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior to the exclusion of other characteristics." (Drabik) Media portrays women to the extent of being ‘sexy’ and not for having any other characteristics. Everyday, just by taking a look at T. V. commercials, magazine advertisements, and social media in general there are pictures of women being shown as ‘objects’ or ‘prizes’ all over. It doesn’t seem to be a big deal when a girl is eating a burger sexually in a fast food commercial or being half naked in a perfume advertisement. Dr. Shari Miles-Cohen said that a lot of inappropriate behavior of women in social media is not affecting women negatively, but it is “contributing a misperception many men have about the female gender." (Drabik) Because of the way media can portray women, men sometimes have certain expectations about the way girls should act. A lot of misperceptions apply because of the conceived idea that women are supposed to be sexy and undeniably

On all platforms of media, women and even young girls are oversexualized; thus leading to men viewing women as no more than breasts, vaginas, legs, or any other body part they prefer. Even in current television shows, movies, comic books, and advertisements, women are still depicted as sexual objects, which can damage a woman’s confidence. The oversexualization of women 's bodies can degrade a young woman’s confidence, and when girls try to boost confidence by dressing or acting like the women they see in the media, they are reprimanded for it. Girls cannot be blamed for their sexualization; they are just emulating what they see in the media.

The abundance of bare flesh is the last gasp of advertisers trying to give redundant products a new identity." And I greatly see that as a person who buys enough fashion to now, sex is popular in these items. Some people in society should realize, that you can be covered and sell fashion.

In our society, gender roles have always played a major role in our lives. But the objectification of women is more widespread than ever. It's popularity is fueled by the media using things such as music, music videos, movies, and TV to promote female weakness and portray women as sex symbols. This is unfavorable to society in light of the fact that the media is making social generalizations for both men and ladies that can bring about undesirable social and physical propensities. The issue is particularly common on the grounds that the more the media utilizes sexual substance in regards to ladies, the more viewers appear to become tied up with them. Consequently, the media can shape the way of life's feeling of dating, sentiment, sex, and

Objectification of women is a trend that is coming up in the entertainment industry especially in movies, music videos, music and television. This development seems to be affecting women more than men. The wave of women stereotypes is dangerous for the society because it is bound to affect how men and women relate to each other and promote unhealthy habits in the masses that are exposed to such incorrect media representation of women. This issue is especially tricky to handle because it is evident that the more the media depicts women as sexual objects, the more viewers seem to be entertained and buy into it. This viewership is not restricted to the men, but women also subscribe to such obscenities. By using incorrect and perverse representation of women, the media is able to shape the societies ideologies on dating, marriage and sex. It is also important to note that this problem falls across the demographic divide, young or old, black or white; they all seem to have fallen for this media craze. The actions of the media have been allowed because sex sells and the society has shown that it has approved the objectification of women.

With influences like Tom Ford, Calvin Klein, and Victoria’s Secret, the fashion industry has begun to focus more on sex instead of fashion. Unfortunately, fashion does not just focus on adults, but also on children. With new trends and fads being expressed, concerns have become undeniable; especially when it comes to fashion’s decisions on young girls’ clothing. The fashions of young girls no longer promote an essence of cuteness but of sexiness. With young models posing provocatively with close to nothing on, it seems as though, the sexualization of children has become a promising way for designers to make a profit; instead of focusing on their actual designs. Overall, the fashion industry and designers have become more acceptable with sexualizing young girls in order to sell their products, coincidentally, taking away a girls’ innocence and respect for themselves, while doing this.