Sex in Advertising

Essay # 59335

Advertising > Gender Issues
Sociology > Media and Society
Women Studies

Sex in Advertising

This paper discusses the use of women and young girls as sexual objects in media advertisements as a continuation of the belief in gender inequality.

2,630 words () | 11 sources | MLA | 2005

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the use of women and young girls in advertising has been criticized, but the fact is that sex has always been used as an advertising strategy and has always had the effect of attracting consumers. The author points out some media messages are telling people that women may be heads of states and may be doctors, but, in the end, they are all sexual objects, made for the satisfaction of the male. The paper relates that young girls are used in ads in such a sexual way that the U.S. justice Department stopped a Calvin Klein ad campaign because it was "likened to kiddie porn."

From the Paper:

"Women, according to sociologists such as Dawn Currie are viewed in "traditional womanhood" terms, which focus on "physical beautification and heterosexual romance" (456). Women, therefore, are seen as objects of beauty and sex, with their task in life being to enhance their sexual and physical appeal to attract men. This view of women has survived over the centuries and is still dominant today, even though women have become heads of states, business leaders, and have proven that they are equal to males. Similarly, the view of children as not having the right to an opinion and having little rights compared to the adult is very strong. More to the point, similar to women, children are viewed as having a duty to obey adult males. The belief that women and children are inferior to the adult males has survived across time, despite campaigns for women and children's rights and , according to many observers, due to the content of media advertisement, images and messages."