Sex in Advertising and its Effects on Society
While style and image are impermanent categories,
malleable by definition, they leave lasting, sometimes
painful imprints on the fabric of people’s lives.
-Stuart Ewen, All
Consuming Images
“Sex
sells.” Here lies a phrase that is so widely heard and used in American culture
that it’s assumed to be true, but is it really?
Sex seems to be everywhere in the media; it’s in magazines, movies, TV shows,
songs, advertisements, on websites, posted on billboards, and it’s even bound
to pop up in the everyday conversation. But how does our over sexualized media
affect society? Besides the claim that “sex sells”, why else are companies so
eager to use sexual images to sell their products? What other messages are they
trying to get across to their consumers? Or what messages are they involuntarily getting across to their
consumers? These are the many questions I seek to answer within this text by
analyzing print advertisements by two popular clothing companies and the
website of America’s top clothing manufacturer along with doing research and
surveying average citizens to discover their takes on such topics and by taking
a feminist perspective on sex and its presence in media. I believe that
companies use sexually suggestive images in their advertisements to grab
attention while making their products more desirable to specific demographics.
These usages of sex within the realm of advertising are potentially detrimental
to society as a whole and specifically to young individuals.
The
first advertisement I chose to analyze is an online image from Gucci. The ad
shows a man and a woman alone in a room. The man is sitting down with his back propped
upright against wooden panels, dressed very formally in a light-gray suit while
the woman is lying on her stomach across his lap and wearing a short,
form-fitting, metallic golden dress with silver stilettos. There is no text on
the image other than the “Gucci” logo in the lower left corner. The man has a
stern, seemingly aggressive look on his face as his hand is placed on the
women’s butt, either in a spanking or groping motion (this is left to the
viewer’s imagination). The man seems professional, yet edgy and in charge. The
woman, on the other hand, has an alluring look of surrender on her face as she
seems to be willingly lying in his lap. They are almost depicted as two
opposites, like the “lion and its prey”. Gucci’s demographic is known to be
members of the middle and upper classes, usually Caucasian, and between the
ages of mid-twenties through early forties. I chose to analyze this specific ad
not only because it displays a highly sexual scene, but also because it is
similar to many that I’ve seen on billboards, website banners, and in magazines
such as Vogue, InStyle, Essence, Glamour, etc that are commonly left in salons,
offices, and clinical/medical waiting rooms to be viewed by the general public.
The
second advertisement I chose is for Levi’s “501 button fly jeans” and to
promote the “www.501.com” website. This particular ad also shows a woman and
man alone in a room, only in a different scenario. The man is sitting on some
type of wooden crate in what seems to be a garage or a warehouse, sort of
leading the viewer to infer this is a construction scene. The man is shirtless,
wearing nothing but ripped blue jeans and black work boots. He’s propping
himself up with his knee bent and arms to let the light gleam on his visible
chest and sort of thrust forward while making direct eye contact with the
camera as the male model in the previously mentioned image for Gucci. The women
is emerging into the picture from behind him with an extended arm that’s
wrapped around the man’s torso and managing to unbutton his jeans. Once again,
the man has a stern, aggressive look on his face and the woman is kissing his
neck with an aroused expression on hers. The man seems tough, rugged, and looks
like a “hard-worker”. He is definitely the center of attention and the focal
point of this picture. The text in the bottom, left corner reads “LIVE
UNBUTTONED”, just over the Levi’s “501” jeans logo and the website is printed
in the lower right corner. Levi’s demographic is known to be the typical
American, of any age, race, class, or size. Though with further research, I
later discovered that this particular ad is European, I initially chose it
because I’ve seen many ads like it in magazines like People, People Teen,
InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Glamour, and online. These types of magazines
and the websites I’ve seen similar ads on are all viewed by the public,
especially teens and young adults, which is why this ad was suitable for
analysis.
After
selecting these two ads, I surveyed twenty men and women from all walks of
life. From teenagers to senior citizens, high school students to professionals,
people from all different ethnicities and economic statuses were chosen to get
a variety of insight and perspectives on the sex appeal of these images. After
telling the participants to carefully examine the ads, they were asked the
following questions:
1) What do you
think about these ads? Do you think they're effective in selling the products
they present? (Would you consider buying these products?) What other messages
do you think these ads express besides the promotion of these companies’
products?
2) Why do you
think these companies chose to make such sexually suggestive ads for their
products?
3) Who do you
think these ads' demographics are? (What social groups are they targeting?)
4) Do you think
these ads are appropriate? Why or why not?
5) Have ads like
these affected your personal life and/or mindset in any way? If yes, how so? If
no, you can skip this question.
I allowed each participant to elaborate on any aspect
they saw fit in order to capture their true perception on these ads.
The
responses that I received while doing the survey where rather surprising as I
recorded them, compared and contrasted them from one another. 75% of
participants said they would not consider buying the products advertised while
around 5% claimed that they thought the ads were effective in selling their
products to their target audiences. 35% said that the companies chose to make
sexually suggestive ads simply because “sex sells” and 30% agreed with my
initial hypothesis that sex was used to “grab attention”. Participant #10
specifically commented, “While you’re flipping through the pages, you’ll
actually stop and look at what’s in these ads.” (Ross) Participant #3 noted, “I
don’t see why they need to [use sex appeal], it’s just clothes! But people are
like ‘maybe I can get that sexy look on me’.” (Ross) Many participants agreed
with Participant #13’s observation that “It would make you feel like through
buying these clothes, sex will inevitably follow.” (Ross) The majority of
participants thought that the demographics ranged from teenagers to thirty-five
year olds and mainly Caucasian, upper/middle class citizens. 60% thought the
ads were clearly inappropriate because they were “offensive”, “demeaning”, “way
too sexual”, and were showcasing clothing that was “too revealing.” (Ross)
Participant #4 thought they were inappropriate because “they’re taking
advantage of basic thoughts and desires; they’re taking advantage of people for
being people.” (Ross) The other 40% either thought the ads were appropriate
depending on where they were placed or were neutral on this portion of the
survey. Shockingly, 80% of participants stated that these types of ads had no
effect on their personal life and/or mindsets. However, the 20% that admitted
these types of ads had affected their personal life/mindsets made compelling
statements. Participant #16 said, “These types of ads have tricked me into
thinking that those are what glamorous young people wear and do, and make me
want to emulate that behavior.” (Ross) This statement shows a lot of
frustration and resentment towards these types of ads because this young woman
feels that they have shaped her mindset and influenced her very behavior
throughout her life. Participant #15 admitted that advertisements like these
motivate him to work out more in order to attain a body type that’s as sexually
attractive as the ones displayed. (Ross) Though this participant noted this as
a positive effect of the ad, he may not be aware that this may also be a
negative effect as it may cause him to feel insecure about his own body type
and may convince him to want to fit
the proper masculine gender role that the ad is reinforcing, which is not
necessary to be a healthy, functioning, or even an “attractive” individual.
Participant #17 mentioned, “I just don’t like the way they only seem to target white
people and only choose white models to advertise the products.” (Ross) The tone of his comment came off disappointed
and slightly resentful as well because he wanted to see these clothing brands
reach out to more diverse customers. Though the majority of participants
claimed that they weren’t personally affected by these ads, many of them stated
that they felt offended by them while answering the first two questions.
When doing my research on
these ads, I came across the terms “social constructions of gender norms” and
“gender roles” many times. In order to understand what other messages are being
portrayed in these ads, one has to accurately understand what these terms mean.
Gender norms and gender roles refer to the stereotypes of feminine women and
masculine men. (Lorber) These stereotypes are socially constructed through
culture, traditions, religion, and all kinds of other societal domains that can
separate men and woman into two separate categories. For instance, we know that
in American society, the stereotypical female is the homemaker, the domestic
laborer, the housewife, usually passive, submissive, fearful, delicate,
emotional, beautiful, and nurturing. The stereotypical male, on the other hand,
is almost the exact opposite of these qualities. He is the provider, the
protector, aggressive, dominant, the head of the household, the one who “wears
the pants” in a relationship, strong, bold, and isn’t quite known for
expressing much emotion. More goes into play when discussing the stereotypical
physical appearances of the two sexes and the negative attributes that are
sometimes considered to be common among them. For instance, a female is
generally expected to have long, flowing hair, a thin figure, a curvaceous
shape, a perfect complexion, etc. A male is generally expected to have a
muscular, fit built with a full set of abs (otherwise known as a “six pack”), a
chiseled jaw line, a clean shave or well-groomed facial hair and a short
hairstyle. Both of these physical stereotypes are depicted in the Gucci and
Levi’s ads. The negative attributes that come with the female stereotype include
being sly, seductive (like a temptress, succubus, or a witch), being
manipulative/money hungry (a gold digger) or being promiscuous (the derogatory
definitions/labels of a slut or a whore). The negative attributes that come
with masculinity include being abusive (looking at majority of rapists,
murderers, pedophiles, etc. who happen to be male), emotionless, over
aggressive, controlling and cold. Though these archetypes are not always found
in reality, they’re usually portrayed by the media. This is confirmed in the
2001 PBS Frontline documentary, “The Merchants of Cool”, which showcases the
process through which companies undertake to learn about what appeals to teens
in order to advertise to them. This documentary introduces terms such as the
“mook” and the “midriff”. The “mook” is a comical portrayal of a young man,
seen in advertisement, music videos, reality shows, and TV shows. The “mook”
does not necessarily have to be a “handsome” or physically attractive male, but
is usually liked and respected because of his daring and entertaining
personality. The “midriff”, on the other hand, is the slightly sexual portrayal
of a girl. She is thin, pretty, and seen in most images and on most
shows/videos with her abdomen and stomach (belly button area) exposed. She is a symbol of beauty and sex appeal,
liked and respected by her fellow peers/friends because of her confidence and
attractiveness.
After
combining this information with my analysis of the ads, the puzzle pieces
started to come together and I realized the messages these ads were hiding.
Both of these ads work to reinforce gender roles. Whether or not this was the
intention of the companies, both ads depict the female models as submissive or
“under” the control or status of the male model. Two of my survey participants
mentioned that the female models were shown as “subservient” to their male
counterparts. (Ross) This is seen not only by the expressions on the female
models’ faces, but on their positions in both images. In the Gucci
advertisement, the female model is allowing herself to be “spanked” or fondled
by the male, showing an act of compliance, thus giving the male model the
authority or the “upper hand”. Her head is bowed down, slightly turned away
from the camera, as if she is the subject of less importance. The pose she is
in is degrading and offensive, as many of my survey participants mentioned
while observing this ad. (Ross) In the Levi’s advertisement, the female model
is barely seen. She sort of blends into the darkness of the background, and
only her hand is emphasized as it makes a sexual advance on the male model,
also making him the primary focus of the photo. The male model is in a
threatening position, boasting that he’s in control and it looks almost as if
he is granting the female model the permission to touch him. All of this works
to demonstrate and reinforce gender roles, and as seen in “Merchants of Cool”,
can influence the target audiences. The teens seen in the documentary dress and
act in a way that reflects what they see illustrated by the media, and this can
be potentially bad for society. As Steve Hall states in his article on sex and
media, “opinions on sex range from it being purely for procreation to it being
an enjoyable recreational activity,”, and perhaps these opinions become even
more enhanced and controversial as ads become more sexualized. In Ballam and
Granello’s article “Confronting Sex and Media: Implications and Counseling
Recommendations” they argue,
Children grow up surrounded
by media and are exposed at a very early age, and media usage hits its peak in
teenage years. From this information, it can be concluded that the media plays
a significant role in the education of our youth. . . Not only is this a problem because our
youth are being exposed to information that might not be developmentally
appropriate but such sexual content also encourages stereotypes of how they
should look physically and how they should behave. (422)
As seen on The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and
Unplanned Pregnancy website, teen pregnancy rates reached their peak of 62% per
1000 teen girls in 1991, thus corresponding to the rise of provocative ads
shown in the media. Though the rate of teen pregnancies has dropped
significantly in present times, this does not decrease the detrimental effects
that sexualized ads have on the mindsets of young individuals.
In
1994, Deborah L. Tolman wrote an article that involved her study with
interviewing several teen girls to learn about their experiences with
sexuality. In one interview, she speaks with an African American girl named
Rochelle who is a Sophomore in high school at the time of the interview. On
speaking about her sexual encounters with her first boyfriend, Rochelle states,
“I felt as though I had to conform to everything. . .
you know, the things that a girl and a guy were supposed to do, so like, when
the sex came, like, I did it without thinking, like, I wish I would have
waited. . .” (286) Rochelle doesn’t directly state
where she gets these ideas that she feels she needs to conform to, but perhaps
such ideas are extracted from the images portrayed by the media and in
advertisements similar to the ones previously mentioned. Rochelle goes on to
say that she was “scared” to engage in sexual activities because of the reputation
she might receive if her peers were to find out. “I was scared that if I did
that [had sexual intercourse] I would be portrayed as, you know, something
bad.” (Tolman, 287) The bad reputation she was fearful of corresponds to the
negative attributes of the female stereotype, being considered a “whore” or a
“slut”, and these are the same stereotypes that are being reinforced and
depicted within the Gucci advertisement and several others.
Tolman
does an interview with a Caucasian girl named Megan as well, and Megan
identifies herself as “bisexual”. Megan directly admits that she is in conflict
with her sexuality because of what is presented and so highly emphasized by the
media. Tolman states,
Megan is an avid reader of
the dominant culture. Not only has she observed the ways that messages about
girls’ sexuality leave out or condemn her embodied feelings for boys, she is
also keenly aware of the pervasiveness of cultural norms and images that demand
heterosexuality. . . Megan links her confusion with her
awareness of the absence of images of lesbian sexuality in the spoken or
imagistic lexicon of the culture, counterpointing the pervasiveness of
heterosexual imagery all around her. (289-290)
Megan mentions how in
magazines, all you see are heterosexual couples together, and this leads her to
feeling confused about her sexuality as a young woman and causes her to
disassociate with her true feelings. (Tolman, 290) Many scenarios like these
continue to happen in modern times and they correspond to the over sexualized
images in media, as the ones I have analyzed. Besides magazines, many over
sexualized images are seen on the web, which led me to do my second analysis.
American
Apparel is known as America ’s
top garment manufacturer and is praised for its “sweat-shop free” environment
and for creating thousands of jobs in the U.S.
The American Apparel website
is crammed with sexually suggestive photographs, so I chose to only focus on a
few. As you first enter the site, a video begins automatically playing to
showcase the new additions to their inventory. Multiple blocks appear with the
same model wearing the same garment, only in different colors for each block.
In one, the female model is wearing a one-piece bathing suit, and as she turns,
her lower backside is almost entirely bare as the bikini region of the garment
is pulled so taught against her skin. This portion of her body isn’t seen until
she completely rotates around while the blocks appear and disappear in the
video, but it’s seen for many seconds before the next layout of blocks appears.
This may strike many as “too revealing” for a simple ad on swimwear.
Another photograph seen on
the website featured a rather pale and thin model wearing a very translucent
one-piece leotard made out of a light-blue colored lace fabric. She is lying
flat on her stomach on an unmade bed with a rather flirtatious expression while
holding a strand of her hair in a playful manner. This is a rather sexually
suggestive position already, but to enhance it, her bare backside is visible
just as in the previous photo mentioned. The worst of it is that this
photograph is not essential to the website because this particular leotard/body
suit is shown again in the online catalog with a different model wearing it.
Continuing through their
“body suit” online catalog, there is an item referred to as the “Nylon-Spandex
Micro Mesh Bodysuit”. The model shown here is of a colored descent and this
particular body suit she is modeling is so transparent that her breasts and
pubic regions are highly noticeable when zoomed in. In most online catalog and
print catalog ads, an article of clothing as revealing as this is usually
modeled on a plain mannequin or on a model wearing undergarments to cover these
regions of her body. In this particular picture, the model might as well be
completely nude because almost all of the private regions of her body are
exposed.
Though Dov Charney thinks
these types of ads empower women by “celebrating their sexuality”, all these
ads are really doing is strongly objectifying women and reinforcing gender
roles/norms as the ads analyzed earlier. These models fit the “perfect”
physical female stereotype as they are thin and have clear, soft complexions. They
appear as highly seductive and vulnerable. They are also shown in submissive
positions with revealing clothing that makes them objects of sexual attraction,
thus desirable to males and or suggesting that they are ready/willing to be
taken over by a member of the opposite sex. The American Apparel website is
viewable to the public from just about any computer on any network, and since
American Apparel is such a well-known American store with hundreds of locations
nationwide, many young girls may be driven to access their website to buy these
styles of clothing. When coming across random photographs and advertisements
like these on the website, these young women may feel that it’s alright to wear
clothes this revealing because of the nudity and sexuality highlighted within
them, and as mentioned earlier by a survey participant, they may choose to
“emulate” such behaviors.
Overall, by doing this
study, I was able to test my knowledge and discover that there was truth to my
initial hypotheses about companies using sexualized advertisement to capture
their customer’s attention and that most of these sexual portrayals can have
ultimately negative effects on society, especially when looking at youth.
However, we must remember that these advertisements are only made to sell
products, and in order to do so, the marketing/research teams look at what
appeals to their demographics. Unfortunately, what appeals most is also what
reinforces stereotypes and gender roles, but these are social constructions and
therefore create a sort of feedback loop that perpetuates such behaviors and
archetypes in society. Participant #1 made a very valid claim that demonstrates
this, “Why does sex sell? Because it’s considered so ‘taboo’ in American
society, and perhaps if it were more respected and accepted socially, it
wouldn’t be capitalized on.” (Ross) As
Stankiewicz and Roselli stated in their article “Women as Sex Objects and
Victims in Print Advertisements”, “Advertising is a pervasive form of media to
which people do not often give conscious attention and therefore its social
messages are likely to remain unquestioned.” This is seen throughout this text
and the only way we can avoid sexualized advertisement from negatively affecting
society and our young population is to be more conscious of the messages
portrayed within these images and to not allow them to change our mindsets
about what we’re comfortable with and what’s appropriate to us. By properly
educating our youth, they will understand that fitting into these perfect
stereotypes is not essential to be a proper member of society and that promiscuity
and heterosexuality are not the only options of sexuality even though they are
what’s most promoted in our media and advertisements today.
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