Make-Up Exploration
Georgie Kennett
Sexualisation of Women in the Media
sagaciousjane. (2012). Women in the Media (advertisements objectifying and sexualizing women).YouTube.[online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MCZp4PDQ0U [Accessed 10 January 2015]
The video above shows the brutal reality of sexualisation of women in the media, the last part shows a comedian making a joke about the fact that one day there will be advertisements for products with no sexual relation to them at all yet there will be a naked woman holding the object making a man want to go and buy it. It appears we have already reached this level of exposure of women in the media and the sexualisation continues to become more and more risky.
All the images on this page have been taken from the video above that is already referenced.
Sex is a main feature of many current advertising campaigns. There are droves of commercials using Kate Upton's cleavage and American Apparel uses half naked models to promote their goods, but that's just the tip of the chauvinist iceberg.
While demeaning ads were more omnipresent in the '50s and '60s, their modern counterparts can give vintage ads a run for their money as shown in the following slide.
It seems that the media is subjective to sexualising females be it in films, on television or in music videos. Pressures are being thrust from the media to look good and have the perfect body image all the time. Younger and younger women appear to have role models that represent sex and nudity greatly.
On the following slide it appears many advertisements are depicting the idea that women are inferior to men and are subject to sexual objectification sexual violence
Objectification of Women in the Media
Project, T. R. (2014). The Representation Project: Rewrite the Story.YouTube.[online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPAmjWtHHYs [Accessed 6 January 2015]
The video above attempts to explain the reasoning for such gender roles in society questioning why women have become so sexualised and why men strive for dominance.
The video is made by supporters of The Representation Project that focus on film as a catalyst for cultural transformation, The Representation Project inspires individuals and communities to challenge and overcome limiting gender stereotypes so that everyone, regardless of gender, race, class, age, sexual orientation or circumstance can fulfill their potential.
Katy Perry is another role model in the media that involves a lot of sexualisation in her songs. The videos show katy as a very sexual and beautiful woman which may be accepted by grown women but young girls watching these videos feel the urge to be sexual in order to be like their idol.
The Tom Ford advert above for mens fragrance is quite possibly the most shocking of sexualised images I have seen. The images suggest sex to extreme extents. This is the image that the comedian in the previous video assumed would happen. This poses the question of when will it end? How far can the media really go before they are literally selling sex.
The advert above is for a car suggesting a car is the ultimate attraction even placing objects superior to women. He is suggestingly making love to the womans body yet not even acknowleging her. Instead using her as a sexual object while he dreams of a perfect car.
In Robin Thickes music video blurred lines there are several naked women dancing in the video while the males are fully clothed. This gives the impression that the men are in control of the women and they are seen as play things. The video has been seen by millions of people and not suprisingly by young children assuming this is normal behaviour because if they are able to view it on the TV then it must be ok?.. But the truth is far from it.
The image above is from a French Vogue photoshoot where a young girl no older than 12 is lying on a couch surrounded by animal fur actually laying on top of a tiger with high heeled stilletto shoes on, backcombed hair, red nail varnish and makeup on. The image appears to be extremely sexualised which is controvesial because she is so young. It appears childrens immature childhoods are being stripped away and they are being exposed to too much too young causing them to mature much quicker and have thoughts that of a twenty year old.
The image above is for American Apparel. The naked body of the woman crouched on the floor covered in male clothes with shoes actually walking over her back suggests she is inferior to a male and under his control, literally under his shoe. Men also are surrounded by these ideas and assume that images like this are normal and concequently in relationships men begin to think treating females as inferior is normal.
The image above for vogue vanity shows an officer standing on the womans throat with boots on while probing down her top with an object. In what way is this remotely acceptable for these images to exist promoting the idea the men are superior and women must obey to male rules and not fight back. I would like to explore further the colour representation of red as in most of these photos the woman is wearing one form of red.
This advert for Dolce and Gabbanna is truly shocking. The scene suggests the idea of gang rape against a woman, not only that the man in the photo is actually holding her down to the ground while she looks submissive and unnattached. It is such a sad image because of the morals it is suggesing are acceptable when it is far from that.