Using Women as Objects

It is no surprise that many times, women are used as objects (often sexual) in commercials, advertisements, songs, and other forms of media that are directed at men. Women are represented in a variety of ways to gain male attention - overly sexual, animalistic, dazed/confused, unintelligent and vulnerable, just to name a few. Advertisements often trivialize sex, dehumanize women (although it is sometimes done to males), devalue women as people and use violence to sell products.

 

These books, while sold in a sex store, trivialize women for the intention of gaining male attention. These women are shown as WANTING sex, as vulnerable, not to mention, fitting the female beauty standards. These books also imply a few things about men: 1) That men need guide books because they do not know how to make (good) love to their partners 2) Men (particularly the 'Modern Man') have heterosexual partners 3) What women want in a sex partner can be summed up in a book - all men have to do is read and they're know the secrets and 4) That men are sex machines and that women, in turn, will make men happy just via sex... not intimacy, not relationships. These books say that men have a short order that can easily be filled in a matter of minutes. No pun intended. 

These pictures I wanted to include to show that men can be sexually trivialized as well. Although, these men are shown as strong, delightful, "man of the year" or "tall, dark & handsome." While men can be trivialized in advertisements too, it is never to the same dehumanizing extent as women are. 

The pictures below were taken from internet searches of popular clothing companies (known for their sexual trivialization of women and depictions of violence - particularly against women - in the form of rough sex.)

 The woman is pinned to the ground with the man on top of her, keeping her from escaping.

 The man has the woman thrown to his side, like a rag doll - lifeless.

 This image implies women are promiscuous and/or easily taken advantage of. 

 This ad seems to be for an orgy instead of underwear, where the women are outnumbered the men. Coincidence? Doubt it.

 This woman is dehumanized to be a mere object. The focus is on her breast that is covered by the man's grasp. With her eyes closed and her left arm covering her far breast, there is a sense that she is being touched against her will. 

 I found this picture particularly interesting as it supports the stereotype that black men like to be sexual with white women. This photo insinuates that the man is not only a player but that he is domineering the white woman. 

And there's more:

 Sex sells perfume. 

 The picture above insinuates that women will do anything (sexual)  for fun - including make out, while topless, with two topless, muscular men. What annoys me most about this photo is the look on the guy's face on the right. He seems all too amused with the situation and taking advantage of the girl.

This photo is, in one word, DISTURBING. Not only does it use a woman's body to sell a product (which I have yet to figure out), it does not even show the woman's head or face. The woman is completely dehumanized to a mere sex object used by the man for sexual purposes.  

 This picture, pictured above, attempts to use women and skin to sell ...jeans? As a photographer, I admire this picture's artistic qualities greatly. As a woman, I find it disheartening. The man has the woman pushed against the wall - a way of visually demonstrating power and dominance.

The picture on the right is one that is of great annoyance to me as well. In three words it can be summarized as such: Every man's dream. As a woman in a same-sex relationship, I have lost count of how many times straight men have joked or flat out asked me to have a three-way with them and my girlfriend. The look on this man's face is all too familiar as it is the same look I have received from some straight men when they realize/find out that I am gay.  It's especially obnoxious and I find it degrading that this clothing company would use these models to pretend to fulfill every (straight) man's fantasy of sleeping with two women at once. Not only does it objectify women sexually, it exploits masculinity.

As a member of a campus organization that promotes sexual assault awareness and advocates for prevention and education, this picture is extremely harmful and hurtful. The woman is sandwiched between two strong men as they take advantage of her. The interaction between the woman and the man on the right is one of sexual nature while the man on the left is depicted as violent and almost brutal, as he pulls the woman's hair and head backwards. This picture trivializes the epidemic of violence against women in order to sell..... what? 

And below are some examples of how men are sexually objectified in the media and in advertisements. As I stated before, objectification is not something that only happens to females, unfortunately. Men experience it as well. While the messages are very different when using men as sexual objects compared to women to sell a product, the messages of sex through the use of naked bodies is still dehumanizing. 

 A&F using the naked torso's of men to sell cologne. (Above)


A group of half-naked men are shown as masculine, dominant, strong, fearless, aggressive, and adventurous. Not only does this send messages to men about having a toned physique, it tells men that they need to possess all of these character attributes to be attractive or have friends. This picture looks more like something from a college fraternity hazing (often violent) instead of a clothing magazine.
Lastly, below is a picture of a half-naked man's ....crotch. Above all else, this picture is solely about depicting sex to sell jeans. This is an advertisement that covers the side of a building, with the door being right under the man's penis. Insinuations could be: The bigger the picture, the bigger the man's penis looks - buy these jeans and you too can have a huge dick! OR perhaps the photographers and the advertisers liked how the jeans fit over a half-erect penis. The bulge is noticeably the eye-catcher of the picture and is yet another example of how mens' bodies are used, dehumanized (we don't even see this man's head), and exploited for sexual purposes in order to sell a product.