Rodgers 1
Jaiah Rodgers
Mr. Alex C. Barr
HUMN 1201
20 August 2014
20 August 2014
The
Sexualization of Women in the Media
Sex
sells…take it off…explicit pics. We live in an oversexed, testosterone driven
society, but ladies we have to do better! We do not have to allow the media to
present us this way. No more, no way, this has got to stop…we can say no! We
have to raise the bar and the standards. They need us; therefore, we can set
the standards in regards to what we will and will not do and what they will and
will not present in the media. The media portrays women in risqué commercials
such as Victoria's Secret, song lyrics, in music videos and on magazine covers
such as GQ and Esquire. Women are portrayed as "sex objects" in the
media, resulting in negative consequences for everyone.
There
is a long history of women being portrayed in the media as sexual playthings
for men's pleasure. Society has become accustomed to women in scantly clad
clothing being used to sell different products.
It is wrong to use women in this manner and definitely not for financial
gain. The media says that sex sells, but at what cost? There are song lyrics
that objectify women such as, "Face Down" by Meek Mill, and
"Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix A Lot. There are song titles that are so
explicit they cannot be said in my paper! With the advances in electronic media
and the fact that anyone can log on to the internet in seconds to see and
purchase pretty much anything they like, makes it even easier to continue the
over sexualization of women in the media. From inappropriate names for women in
song lyrics, practically nude commercials shown on TV and nude women gracing
the covers of magazine as you walk down the grocery store isle. When I hear
song lyrics and watch music video, there are a lot of derogatory names given to
women. In music videos, women are practically nude! It has gotten so bad, that
women are now calling themselves and others these very names, like
"bad/boss 'female dog'". Women are even seen in videos performing
acts that should be considered porn. "The media is so intertwined in our
lives that we do not truly comprehend on a conscious level how much influence
it really has over us.", says Melanie R. Salome, a Technical
Writer/Analyst in the field of Information Technology (Salome 1).
When
women are presented in a very sexual manner in the media, it sends the message
to young men that they can treat women anyway that they like. Sometimes it can
lead to physical or sexual attacks on women by men. On the flip side, when
girls continue to see women being overly sexualized in the media, it affects
the way they view their own bodies. We need to be aware of the messages that
the media is presenting with regards to body image. Unfortunately, if people
continue to buy the products, the companies will continue to sell these images
along with their products. We are enabling these companies to dictate the ideal
female image. This sometimes lead young ladies to be dissatisfied with their
bodies, which can lead to low self-esteem issues. The overly sexual presentation of women in
the media doesn't set a good example for little girls, or even little boys
because it sends the message that women are just for sexual pleasure. Even little girls begin to view themselves
differently. Girls as young as six years old are beginning to see themselves as
sex objects, according to a study of psychologists at Knox College in
Galesburg, Illinois.
Rodgers
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When six year old girls were shown a set of two dolls, one in revealing clothes and
the other in trendy covered-up clothes, about 70 percent of girls in the study
said they looked more like the sexy doll and that the sexy doll was more
popular than the non-sexy doll. Another
troubling thing is that these images project an unrealistic image of women. A
cologne ad with a half naked women laying on top of a man, might send a message
that a woman will perform all types of sex acts if he wears this particular
cologne. Simply stated, this is an unrealistic expectation.
Women
allow the media, which is mainly run and driven by men, to dictate how they
will present women to the general public. Women should shut down major industries
that use practically nude images of women to sell their products by not
participating or requiring that a different more respectable image is promoted.
In
conclusion, images of women as "sex objects" should be replaced with
positive images, such as women on magazine covers and in ads wearing
presentable outfits, suits, etc. Imagine what would happen if the media
replaced overly sexual images of women with positive ones... And don't forget
ladies, just because you're covered up doesn't mean you're not sexy! Flaunt
what you got, to a certain extent. If only the media could see like I see… I
hope that after hearing my speech, each and every female, and male can relate
and make a change, one step at a time.
Rodgers
3
Works
Cited
Salome, Melanie R. The Unrealistic Portrayal of Women in the
Media: Beauty and Body Image. 16 Oct.
2009. Web. 1 Mar. 2013 <http://voices.yahoo.com/the-unrealistic-portrayal-women-media-beauty-4665231.html?cat=9>.
Abbasi, Jennifer.
"Why 6-Year-Old Girls Want to Be Sexy." LiveScience.com. Web. 03 Mar.
2013.
Naeurt PhD, Rick.
"Media's Growing Sexualization of Women." Psych Central.com. 11 Sept.
2011. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.
http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/08/11/medias-growing-sexualization-of-women/28539.html
