Sex Sells and Why That Isn’t Going To Change
Films, books, programmes, clothes and even food all try to sell us sex. Think back to adverts were a woman is wearing high heels and stockings, or is sat eating a yoghurt whilst in a bath or that man dripping in sweat, drinking a certain carbonated drink. Not that that is a new idea, if you look back into the 70s and 80s they were a lot more risqué than how we decide to be now. That’s because us millennials would rather read about scandalous happenings and make it look like we are social butterflies, with a more than healthy sex life instead of actually fornicating.
But what we’re discussing here is not perhaps how cringe worthily raunchy our parents are but in fact that everything we are sold, does in some way link to sex, that is not to say it should be however.
Whilst we’re all familiar with adverts showing half naked women when advertising clothes or a woman in a swimsuit when selling cereal, I feel that we neglect to notice that men are often objectified within these adverts too. Whether it be a shirtless man mowing a lawn or a guy walking around in just a towel apparently showcasing a new aftershave, these men are being used to sell a product in such a way that is made to get the attention from both sexes; men want be him and women want to be with him. And is that not the same as how women are used as a vice to make sales of a seemingly irrelevant product?
The only key difference between these types of adverts is that the man is allowed and almost encouraged to own his sexuality in a libidinous way, but the woman is more often than not another product being displayed, a product of lust that has little ownership of her sexuality, or at least that’s how it seems. And this is where the problem is rooted; Not that sexuality and sex are used to sell products and lifestyles, but that both men and women are sexualised within advertisements in similar ways, but one is an Adonis and the other is a slut. But is this purely the fault of men or are us women to blame too?
As a young woman, I do not have strong objections to salacious advertising, purely because sex being used as a mode for consumerism has enabled sex to become less of a taboo subject, which has in turn facilitated the freeing of sexuality, sexual experimentation and has sparked world-wide conversations on sexuality, femininity and masculinity. However, I am fully aware of how women are used to sell products that have no relevance to them being half naked, and I know that it is both unnecessary and often done to the extreme. But we must all acknowledge that men too are used in the same way, not nearly as often, but it does happen. As a young woman, I know that we as women do pit other women against each other, whether it be for personal gain, jealousy, self-doubt or self-consciousness, or purely because we just don’t like them- we all do it to some capacity, and I feel like this is in part to blame for how some of these advertisements are scrutinised.
For example, perfume adverts that have scantily clad women are not just produced for the enjoyment of men to watch whilst scrolling through channels. Nor are they created purely for women to feel exposed and exploited. These adverts are made to make women feel that if they use this product, they too will in some way become like it’s celebrity endorser and feel luxe and perhaps more mysterious or sweet etc. But instead of seeing these things, some women may think that the celebrity or actress is perhaps ‘easy’ or ‘slutty’ because she has a smile on her face when the advert alludes to sexual activity. This causes any pleasure or happiness linked to sex, if you are a woman, to seem pejorative and vulgar. Which leads us to believe that perhaps those that feel that way are not totally in touch with their own sensuality and sexuality- however where this ideology is conceived from is another story.
So, in short it is not one sex that is purely responsible for the sexualisation of women and it is not one sex that is being sexualised. It shouldn’t be seen as terrible that sex does sell products, because sex is one of the oldest forms of biological communication and appeals to more than just the male population. Women should be allowed to be as sexually freed as men, without being shamed and frowned upon. Women should elevate each other and not pass the entirety of the blame. And perhaps advertisers should find some alternative ways of selling products, because who really purchases a yoghurt based upon whether there is a woman in a bath or not?
