SEX SELLS

For decades, advertisers have been finding different ways to feature women in ads in order to entice buyers. And…the strategy works. But the way women have been portrayed in advertising has changed over the decades, and changed the way society views women because of it. From housebound drudge to sexpot to business leader, ads are constantly arguing with us about women's role in society.

Prior to the 1960’s, men and women’s gender roles generationally became conservative and traditional. Males were the breadwinners; women were the homemakers. In the decade of the 1960’s, two major changes emerged: the sexual revolution and the American feminist movement. Both advancements caused advertisers to shift in the freedoms they expressed. Putting aside the American feminist movement, gender roles on advertisements displayed a negative connotation towards women. Advertisements prior or post the 1960s were not favorable to women whether it is a women’s confined household role or her objectified body. In decades past, advertising would include images of modest women holding the items the advertisers were selling. Illustrations also included traditional families or gender roles as the picture in the advertisement. Advertisements were depicting gender roles, modesty and women’s limiting position within a household.

The media has done an exceptional job in creating pressures and standards for women, that have recently been an overwhelmingly large part of our society. In recent years, advertisements have started to objectify women and create an impossible definition of ‘the perfect woman’. Just being an honest, caring and generous person is not enough anymore. You have to now have all of those traits and look sexy in addition to keeping up with the household chores, taking care of the kids and placing a hot meal on the table for their husbands and the end of the day. These standards have caused many repercussions for women. Low self-esteem, eating disorders, unhealthy views of who women are supposed to be are all consequences of the media’s influence on society. Unfortunately, those ideologies have been placed in individuals’ minds at a young age, which makes it even more difficult to change those thoughts later on in life. The media’s portrayal of women has changed over the decades and has played a large role in the images males and females have of women.

From a woman’s perspective, I think that the advertisements seen on billboards, in magazines or on television cause me to feel less than I should. The idea that ‘sex sells’ places pressure on women that are unnecessary and unreachable. I personally struggled with an eating disorder in high school and a lot of that had to do with the expectations others had on me as a woman. Having to look a certain way that realistically I could never reach. This is why the objectification of women in advertisements needs to STOP!