ipl-logo

Objectification In Media

799 Words4 Pages

In this essay I will be examining objectification in the media and the negative effects it may have on society. I began by thinking, what are some forms of objectification found in the media? I found that we have created this idealized image of how we should look and associated that image with success and happiness, “women’s magazine covers often place weight loss messages next to messages about one’s sex life, implying weight loss will lead to a better sex life And it is similar for men, except their image is based off of a sculpted muscular physique. With varied brands of protein powders and the latest bulk building methods plastered all over men’s magazines it’s difficult for them not to feel inadequate unless they are sporting six-pack …show more content…

When interpreting the effect on the male population it was found that young men and “men with limited social and economic power are more likely to adopt a tough persona and to use violence to gain respect”, due to extensive exposure to hypermasculin advertising. Studies have also shown that the majority of these ads are directed towards this specific group of males, young and of lower socioeconomic …show more content…

One way this is achieved is through the “male gaze”. I examined the question, how does the “male gaze” play in the media? The “male gaze” looks upon women in a way that makes them appear as an object created for male pleasure. As Fredrick and Roberts stated in their objectification theory, “Sexual objectification occurs whenever a woman’s body, body parts, or sexual functions are separated out from her person, reduced to the status of mere instruments, or regarded as if they were capable of representing her.” The male gaze highlights particular assets of a woman’s physique that men find arousing and uses them to entice both men and women. For males, they want to feel strong and desirable and to dominate the woman who is being objectified. Women are influenced by the male gaze in their desire to be wanted, they aspire to be like the women they are viewing. As the common saying goes “sex sells”, so the male gaze is frequently used in marketing to attract and influence an

Show More
Related

  • Susan Bordo's 'Beatuy' Discovers The Male Body

    299 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Susan Bordo’s article, “Beatuy (Re)Discovers the Male Body”, she wittingly posits the industry of male modeling seen through advertisements as well as consumerism and the male body. According to Bordo, she starts off pointing out that the male body is not seen equivalent to the female body. For example, she states that the male body is a “commercial representation” (168) while the female body is “an object of mainstream consumption” (168). The Calvin Klein underwear ad, being Bordo’s first sight of an ad with a male body, points out the difference in how he is posed. Bordo views the model offering himself away to the gaze of another (170), which is usually different from the norm of how guys are portrayed.

    Read More

  • Turning Boys Into Girls Michelle Cottle Analysis

    266 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the entertaining article “Turning Boys Into Girls”, Michelle Cottle enlightens the readers of how unrealistic depictions in media and advertisements are increasing men’s attention to self image in order to show the damaging effects media has when targeting the insecurities of men and women. Michelle Cottle utilizes relatable language to inform the readers of the effects the media has on men’s body image and how it “levels the playing field” for women. Cottle writes words like “beef-cake” and “whippersnappers” to appeal to younger males. The word choice implements a conversational tone that youth will find easier to relate to. She targets young men and boys to reinforce how damaging media and advertisements are.

    Read More

  • For The Record Jenifer Anniston Summary

    529 Words  | 3 Pages

    The news broadcasted, printed, or diffused about celebrities and their lives and routines attract the attentions audience. In her article, “For the record,” Jenifer Anniston feels offended by the scrutiny and the objectivity of the media that puts the lives of celebrities and young women in danger. The objectification that celebrities are exposed to is dangerous and insane, while the scrutiny of how they look is a bad example for young women. The objectification that women are exposed to is bad, it is important to not to treat women more as objects than human beings.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography On Stereotypes

    792 Words  | 4 Pages

    In today’s society, the traditional differences between genders are constantly reinforced. The male figure is usually characterized as the strong, successful, dominant gender. When advertisements create a target message for men, they exploit the male ego. This means that men are thought provoked to look or be

    Read More

  • Women's Role In The Comedy Pillow Talk

    808 Words  | 4 Pages

    Images of women have been used to sell products and send subliminal messages since we could remember. Today, it has become apparent that the way these women are photographed and used for advertisements is creating a concept that women are just objects. Over the past few centuries the objectifying of women has only increased. When television was first invented in the 1950’s families would come together and spend time watching their favorite shows. One thing the shows on TV during the 50’s has in common in are the stereotypical gender roles with no sexuality application.

    Read More

  • College Freshman Cycles: Article Analysis

    834 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many advertisements have images of women that have their faces or mouths covered and are positioned in ways that make them look weak. In contrast, when a man is placed in an advertisement, he is shown as being big and powerful. Men are pushed into the norm of being tough and powerful, just as women are portrayed as weak and passive. These advertisements are examples of how media has a very large influence on us as a culture. “But by the age of 5 or so, most children have developed a fair number of gender stereotypes (often incorrect) that they then use to guide their own perceptions and activities” (Newman 66).

    Read More

  • Michael Kimmel's Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code

    967 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dehumanization is the process through which someone asserts control and power, treating the person as an inanimate object with no dimension or surface; becoming an object means being acted upon rather than being the active subject. It is easier to be violent to someone who one already feels power over. Dehumanizing women and men is similar to pornography, where either violence or status (men over women) promotes “power over other” (Kilbourne 420). According to Jean Kilbourne in her essay, “‘Two Ways a Women Can Get Hurt’:Advertising and Violence”, advertisement is portraying women’s body as objects that both lead to dehumanization, violence, and mistreatment toward women. Considering the opposing characterization between males and females, femininity refers to submissiveness and vulnerability that is often depicted in advertisement.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Hyper-Masculinity In Advertising

    159 Words  | 1 Pages

    Young men from lower socioeconomic status fall victim to hyper-masculinity in magazine advertisements to achieve the ideal image of a man. Magazines advertisements use male models that have exaggerated ideas of masculinity known as Hyper-masculinity. They are often depicted as violent, tough, emotionless, enjoying danger and insensitive towards woman. Because young men, especially those from the lower class with little power, aspire to fit into society’s normality of a man, they are more susceptible to not only purchasing products advertised by using hyper-masculine but behaving the part as well. This can be especially dangerous when it promotes a more violent society.

    Read More

  • Intersectionality In Chimney Movies

    1012 Words  | 5 Pages

    This is mainly influenced by newspapers and magazines. Recently, the main newspaper that highlights the expectation of the body image is The Daily Star, which took over The Sun’s page three, (which will be covered later in the essay). It is clear their main demographic are males, due to the coverage of topless, or revealing women which feature throughout the newspaper. Upon purchasing the Daily Star the main picture was a celebrity in just her bikini. This relates to Mulvey’s () male gaze therefore attracting a male audience.

    Read More

  • Essay On Objectification And Dismemberment

    801 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sexual objectification is the viewing/treating as a woman (or man, although much less common) as nothing more than a sex object, or “a thing to have sex with”, stripping her of her ability of have emotions, or any feelings for that matter. Objectification theory is a central and key concept in the third wave feminist movement. In the first advertisement (Figure 3), singer Katy Perry is objectified by having her breasts used as a way to sell Popchips, which, evidently do not involve breasts. Furthermore, the second advertisement (Figure 4) exhibits a far more extreme version of objectification. The woman modeling here is used only for her body, and all indications of her being a living human being are removed.

    Read More

  • Barbie Dystopianis Duhamel Analysis

    805 Words  | 4 Pages

    This constant fixation on physical perfection has created unreasonable beauty standards for women, ones we cannot possibly achieve on our own. Such standards permeate all forms of popular media, particularly fashion magazines and advertisements. Women are bombarded with the notion that we must be thin in order to be desirable. These images project an

    Read More

  • Eating Disorders Argumentative Essay

    1525 Words  | 7 Pages

    From an early age, we are exposed to the western culture of the “thin-ideal” and that looks matter (Shapiro 9). Images on modern television spend countless hours telling us to lose weight, be thin and beautiful. Often, television portrays the thin women as successful and powerful whereas the overweight characters are portrayed as “lazy” and the one with no friends (“The Media”). Furthermore, most images we see on the media are heavily edited and airbrushed

    Read More

  • Objectification Of Women In Advertising

    747 Words  | 3 Pages

    The existing asymmetry in terms of social power between men and women was strengthened through these images, as the stereotyping of women in these categories was associated with lower degrees of social and control. In his book ‘Gender Advertisements’ Erving Goffman describes how feminity and masculinity displayed within western media. In his analysis, Goffman addresses several trends and patterns in how feminity (and masculinity) is portrayed as well as the messages this conveys to the viewer. According to him women are portrayed as soft, vulnerable, fragile, powerless, dreamy, childlike and submissive . Goffman described a number of symbolic ways in which indicative behavior displays the subordination of females to males, the ritualization of subordination is accomplished by using social connotation associated with elevation, location positioning, and body posture .

    Read More

  • Epistemology In Advertising

    2439 Words  | 10 Pages

    The current societal standards of feminine beauty in contemporary society. We defined body image as subjective concept of a woman’s appearance based on her own self observation. From the perspectives of television advertisements as well

    Read More

  • Essay On Gender Representation In Mass Media

    2285 Words  | 10 Pages

    The representation of gender in mass communications has been a hugely debated topic for years and will continue to be one for many more years to come. The media plays a big role in how they want to portray a gender to the public. They create certain stereotypes through the role of a gender in order to attract a large audience and interest to sell a product, brand or image. Media is so important in today’s society, people spend hours and hours each day watching TV, browsing the Internet and reading magazines. There are so many images of men and women in the media today that it certainly has an impact on the viewer’s thoughts and sense of identity.

    Read More

More about Objectification In Media

Open Document