Visual Rhetoric : Media Sexualization

For centuries, women have found it to be difficult to live up and be the standard “runaway model”. Women have the pressure to fit in to be considered beautiful since ads and media have distorted society in how they view and evaluate beauty. The false representation of models in the beauty commercials have made women want to replicate them even though they don’t know what’s behind the editing. Even though this is a huge matter, companies did not stand back but instead made more commercials that self-degrade women constantly, except one. The Dove Evolution Commercial- “Campaign for Real Beauty” focuses on the way they change women sending a strong message to women about beauty and what it really

The result was a commercial called “Choose Beautiful”. The commercial detailed how women in today’s society perceive their own beauty, which Dove used as a persuasion tool to to market their line of “beauty” products. For the commercial to be effective, Dove relies on women measuring their worth by their physical

I’ve always believed woman have been misconstrued throughout the media, especially in the beauty industry. The Dove Campaign, Onslaught, is a primary representation of this idea which truly stands out. Unfortunately, this one minute ad portrays a younger girl growing up in a toxic environment due to the use of both photo enhancing elements and other factors which can ultimately be detrimental to oneself. However, this is a great insight produced by the company, Dove, and shines light on a topic that is meant to be perceived as what society believes is “normal”, but in reality numerous of the ads we as individuals see are all somewhat altered to an extent, if not completely changed through the use of photoshop and other image altering medians.

Throughout history, there has always been a pattern of sexism and misogyny. This predicament even dates back to the bible, when Eve was created only to appease Adam's loneliness; This is still an ongoing problem in society that is implemented in media, schools, and work places.

Many different articles and essays use statistics to back up their claims but you is to say if they are accurate or not? In “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect” by Stephanie Hanes and “Toddlers in Tiaras” by Skip Hollandsworth they use many different statistics to back up their claims that the media is sexualizing little girls and that it is a problem for themselves and society. Even though they shock you with their disturbing statistics you wouldn’t know if they were correct without some further research.

Advertisements surround us on a daily basis. Constantly bombarding our conscious and subconscious minds with consumer items and suggestive material. But how much of that impacts the mind of young adults? More specifically, how does the constant incursion of beauty advertisements impact young women? Media, any form of mass communication- is one of the biggest factors in this widespread problem. Through the use of the media, ideas, images, expectations of perfection broadcasts throughout the country and on most occasions throughout the world. The portrayal of beauty in the media has contributed to a variety of psychological problems such as: misinterpretation of beauty, early exploration of sexuality and lowered sense of self worth which later leads to eating disorders.

In 2015 during the Superbowl, Procter and Gamble released an ad called “Like a Girl” representing the feminine product brand Always which was directed by Lauren Greenfield. P&G conducted research for the campaign finding that over half the women claimed they experienced a decline in confidence at puberty (Always, Procter & Gamble). The opportunity was clear, empowering girls during this time of their lives when confidence is at its lowest stage would give a powerful and purposeful role in how they would grow up to see themselves.The audience of this advertisement is a wide range of people, from those who watched the superbowl, and those who buy the variety of products P&G sell. The award-winning response Always #LikeAGirl campaign commercial, had turned a phrase that had become an insult into an empowering message for all young girls.

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.”

This study examines sexualized representations of women in fashion advertising through a theoretical structure identified as visual rhetoric. Documented findings on explicit images of women in advertising have focused on content analyses of these visuals and how they affect women. This investigation asks how sexualized imagery of women utilities rhetorically as part of a branding message designed to sell

With the media becoming the main source from which the current society gets their daily information concerning products, news stories, and entertainment, it is wise to think critically about the messages they are conveying to us. These corporations spend large sums of money every day in order to grasp our attention. The question as to whether or not they have their customer’s best interest in mind arises and leaves the public no answer but to look to the advertisements they have produced. Consider the pistachio industry using a woman with a whip to grasp the viewers’ attention. In reality, is a provocative image what it takes to sell us a simple bag of pistachios? With advertising decisions like these come negative consequences such as the

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?

Melt.” Kate Upton appears as sexy, thin, fit, and attractive. This common appearance of young women in the media encourages eating disorders among young girls to achieve this standard.

The AXE Body spray add is a great example. The Advertisements shows a man with braids that connotes femininity, and sitting in a way that contributes to this as well. He is located in a female changing room, further emphasising femininity. It then states; “Stop being a friend, and start being a man.” This connotes that to be a man – you are not meant to have feminine aspects, and, have to be ‘powerful’ and in charge; the opposite of the man in the poster. This is also exemplified in a multitude of other advertisements. Like women, most men are portrayed as extreme examples of men’s ideals – being bulky and handsome, such as the man in the Spice Bomb poster. Great consequences come out of setting such a high standard to be a ‘Real’ man, while also prohibiting feminine aspects; consists of higher suicide rates, misuse of supplements, and health issues in men. A study by insurer Blue Cross Blue shield found that in 1999 to 2000, use of steroids and similar drugs amongst boys ages 12 to 17 jumped 25 percent, with 20 percent saying they use the drug for looks rather than sports. Furthermore, a study from the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found that exposure men increases muscle dissatisfaction and depression in young men.

In Western society, the media hypersexualizes children from birth. However, this hyper-sexuality is commonly focused on girls aged eight to fifteen (CWHN). This leads to self-esteem issues, high teenage pregnancy rates, eating disorders, sex trafficking, suicidal thoughts, and actions, and what is called the “Lolita effect.” This hyper-sexuality, also leads to violent relational abuse. In boys, has been shown linked with violence. These all have devastating consequences on individuals as well as on Western society as a whole. With less and less clothing becoming more and more prominent by Western media, it seems even children are picking up on this. It has gotten to the point that the media is even sexualizing the children, showing them in

Many young women in today’s society struggle with confidence and their body image. This is a huge problem in society and many people have spoken out against the influence of media on women’s body image. However, it continues to be a major problem and more can always be done to raise awareness about societies unrealistic expectations for women’s beauty. Dove’s Choose Beautiful campaign was started to promote the self-esteem of women and encourage them to see their beauty, however there are some criticisms, including the company using this campaign to increase their sales. Dove is selling a product with the expectation that confident, beautiful women will purchase it, however people still have the ability to resist the ad industry.