Wednesday, January 15, 2014


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. instead of bringing work elsewhere. However, it’s highly unnecessary sexualized ads make it a controversial company. American Apparel sells all kinds of colorful and plain garments to young women and men that are known to be in style or the latest trends but are relatively expensive compared to stores like Forever 21. Their hipster looks are sure to appease, but their advertisements may be deemed inappropriate. On the American Apparel website, there are several pictures of underage looking models wearing very tight-fitting, transparent garments and posed in extremely sexual positions with seductive expressions. The first thought that came to my mind when I observed many of these random photographs was “is this really necessary to sell these clothes?” It is studied that most of the time sex is used to sell a product in advertisements, it is more likely to appeal to a male audience. (Monk-Turner, 201) This is evident in ads for products like tobacco, athletic wear, and alcoholic beverages, which are most often directed towards male demographics. (Monk Turner, 201) Since American Apparel markets mostly women’s clothing, I wondered what they were trying to do by “selling sex” to a majority of heterosexual females since this goes against the standard. In an interview with Dov Charney, the founder and photographer of American Apparel, he stated that “.  .  . right now, the women in the photographs and young adult women today I think celebrate the aesthetic of our advertising.” (Hall) Dov Charney was basically saying that the reason for so much sexuality being evident in American Apparel’s advertising wasn’t necessarily to promote their products as it was to celebrate women’s sexuality and appeal. But though this is his reasoning, this may not be how others view it. As the previous ads mentioned, American Apparel’s advertising also objectifies women and makes them “sex symbols”. The excessive amounts of sexuality apparent in their ads have resulted in many of them being banned because onlookers were simply offended by the images they saw and disgusted. These ads might even account for part of the reason there are recent rumors spreading about the company’s possible bankruptcy.


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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