‘Sex Sells’
It is an unfortunate reality that the majority of the world still operates on the belief that sex sells. As a woman I hate to admit that the world is still like this. Sexism still occurs every day, from inequality within the work place to global advertisements representing us as the ‘inferior’ race.
We live in a ‘man’s world’, where women are constantly being pressured into fulfilling gender stereotypes; men are powerful and dominant figures, while women are objects whose worth lies in their image. Their sexuality.
An industry which profits from this stereotype is the porn industry, in which women exist solely as sex objects, whose purpose is to satisfy men. In the digital age the world of online porn has thrived enormously, exemplifying voyeurism to the highest degree. I still find it curious how people find it entertaining to watch such content.
Women are constantly under pressure to look a certain way in order to feel ‘desirable’. The fact there are still adverts showing the ‘perfect’ beach body is shocking; in this age of diversity and acceptance no one should be pressured into looking a certain way. Unfortunately is seems as though this common occurrence will probably never disappear.
Alongside the porn industry are pornographic magazines and ‘pin up girls’. Often seen as the ‘perfect woman’, it is degrading that the first impression of these women is how they look. Yes, some may have a career because of the way they look, but it hugely sexist to believe that is all they are.
Sexism was incredibly prominent in the world of advertising in the twentieth century, showing how a ‘woman belongs in the kitchen’. The belief that men went to work when the women had to stay at home cooking and cleaning and taking care of the children is ridiculous. Although this belief is still held by some, thankfully in this day and age women are empowered to strive for the careers, salaries and respect that men have nearly always been afforded based on their gender alone. However despite this, sexism is still widely utilised within the world of advertising, with companies such as BMW portraying a woman as only wanting a man because he has a BMW or Duncan Quinn portraying a woman in lingerie with a leash around her neck, being dragged by a man.
The view that sex sells is also present in the world of film and video games. A key example of this is Scarlett Johansson’s character ‘Black Widow’ in the Avengers franchise. Among a group of men, her character wears a tight Lycra suit with her zip pulled down, showing the top of her cleavage. The reason for this is clear. I of course like the character as she is a strong woman who fights alongside the men but her costume is like that for one reason and one reason only. That is only one example, but there are plenty more in the world of motion pictures. Similarly, in terms of video games, women are heavily sexualized, with tight clothing and an often-protruding cleavage. A key example of this is the character of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider or the female characters in TimeSplitters released in 2000.
In the 2010s with the up-rise of social networking the statement ‘sex sells’ has never rung so true. Instagram is notorious for being used for vanity, whether purposeful or not. The increase in sexualized images available on the app is incredibly vast, which could be viewed in a negative. It pushes the belief that women are there for men to look at. However, many women also feel empowered by freedom afforded to them by Instagram, and upload their own explicit photographs, as a display of confidence. An exception to this rule is Instagram accounts owned by wealthy ‘playboys’ who show naked women surrounding them or doing things for them.
It is clear that despite women’s more prominent and powerful place in society today, the ‘sex sells’ rhetoric is still alive and thriving, not only in the advertising industry, but in the media as a whole. The digital age has fostered unrealistic expectations of how women should look. It is still abundantly clear that we live in a world which profits from the degradation and exploitation of women.
With thanks to Rebecca Bloomfield and Ella Nelmes.
