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Sexual Objectification In Advertising: A Case Study

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Introduction The following study will examine whether there is sexual objectification of women in international marketing communications. The author will focus on several academic papers related to the sexual objectification of women in advertising including: ‘The Sexual Objectification of Women in Advertising: A Contemporary Cultural Perspective’. ‘The Effect of Thin Ideal Media Images on Women’s Self-Objectification, Mood, and Body Image’. ‘Women as Sex Objects and Victims in Print Advertisements’. An Alternative View. A scrutinisation of the documentary ‘Killing Us Softly 4’ by Jean Kilbourne will be made. A critical evaluation/conclusion will also be produced. According to Heldman (2012), sexual objectification can be defined as “the …show more content…

It is at the discretion of advertisers to undertake more moral responsibility in relation to the portrayal of females in advertisements. Consumers are often unable to view the product or service being advertised as the focal point centres around a semi naked female protagonist. It has been proven that sexual advertising grab’s consumer attention and marketers will push the boundaries to sell a brand. The investigation discovered that young, educated women accept the objectification of women, where previously this demographic was the most critical of such practices. Objectifying women has become socially acceptable and most consumers will not find these adverts surprising, alarming or dangerous (Zimmerman and Dahlberg …show more content…

Serious implications of the thin ideal are widespread in Western women, who are constantly bombarded by such images. The task of paying attention to oneself’s body image causes other cognitive and behavioural functions to suffer. It has been considered that extended exposure to such advertising can lead to women living vicariously through the models and actresses displayed in magazines and on television. The study proves that media pressure has inundated much of the young female population who will stop at nothing to achieve the perceived ‘perfect’ body image (Harper and Tiggemann

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Kilbourne argues how sex in advertising, subconsciously promotes violence against women. With ads about alcohol, skimpy clothing, and even one about an elevator, Kilbourne reveals that these kinds of ads can signify violence, when paid enough attention to. These ads play on the media so often nowadays, that society is numb to them and no longer pays close attention to what the ads are implying. Not only does sex in advertising objectify women, but when a man is objectified, the woman is blamed for not so being innocent, which is what Kilbourne argues as further poor treatment towards women. Sex in advertising seems to allow dominant and forceful men to get away with violating the passive and playful women because the women are teasing.

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The definition of Sexual Objectification is given as “A person is sexually objectified when her sexual parts or sexual functions are separated out from the rest of her personality and reduced to the status of mere instruments or else regarded as if they were capable of representing her.” (Bartky 1990). As explained by Tracy Moore, in her book The Sexual Objectification Scale: Continued Development and Psychometric. Objectification takes women 's sexuality away from her and makes it the viewer’s property. Moore also concludes that “it is predominantly women who are reduced from subject to object.”

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in English from Wellesley College and a doctorate in education from Boston University, Jean Kilbourne is a more than credible author. Kilbourne proposes the idea that women are sexualized and degraded in modern society by sexually aimed advertising. “When a beer ad uses the image of a man licking the high-heeled boot of a woman in clad leather, when bondage is used to sell neckties in the New York Times, perfume in The New Yorker, and watches on city buses…” (460). Kilbourne uses a large array of ads from beer to perfume to show that this is not just present in a few advertisements, but many advertisements seen almost everywhere. While mostly throughout the article Kilbourne bashes men, she also admits to some limitations and expresses good will.

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Retrieved from http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/sexualised-music-videos-only-teach-women-how-to-sell-out/news-story/c56c78bc541cbfe91e7cfc31a7c77599 Hatton, E. & Trautner, M.N. (2011, May 14). Equal opportunity objectification? The sexualization of men and women on the cover of Rolling Stone. Sexuality & Culture, 15(3), 256-278. DOI:

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(Banks, 2001). These questions are answered in the running text. The theoretical framework has showed that ‘sexualization’ can mean making something sexual in character, and also the public expressions of sex in media and culture. Yet, these definitions do not tell us which things, or images, are sexualized.

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