The Use of Sexual Images in Fashion Advertisements - Research Paper Example

THE EFFECT OF SEXUAL IMAGES IN FASHION ADVERTISEMENTS ON THE YOUTH (Student Name) (Course No.) (Lecturer) (University) (Date) 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Information Advertisement has been on the rise globally as one way of marketing. Today, people wake up to different kinds of images on television, print media and over the internet developed by various companies for the sole purpose of catching the attention of consumers. The reason why advertisement is commonly used by many companies and organizations today is because it communicates the desired products to a large number of people. Companies are increasingly improving their communication campaigns to ensure that their products reach as many consumers as possible. Amongst the industries that have fully embraced the use of advertising is the fashion industry. The business uses sexual images to make certain that products reach the desired audience. The fashion industry also uses sexual images especially of musicians and film stars to reach the desired consumers. Sexuality was originally linked to disgrace and guilt until the 20th century when information and politics altered this perception. Today the human body is increasingly being exploited and used offensively to lure people to buy products from various companies. 1.2 Problem Statement According to the marketing research, sexual appeals in advertisements are strategically used with the aim of drawing attention, attracting, arousing and leaving memorable images in the minds of the audience. Studies on post-advertising sales indicate the ability of sexual advertisements to attract the immediate interest of the intended audience. However, the use of sexual pleas in fashion advertisements has negative implications for young adults. Considering that they have little sexual expressions and experiences, marketers use categorical images to sell products to teenagers and young adults hence heightening their sexual awareness. 1.3. .Research Hypothesis The use of sexual images in fashion advertisements has a negative impact on the young persons. 1.4 Justification of the study The sexual appeals and images used in advertisements today target the youth because they can be easily influenced to spend money on such products. The study is relevant because it aims to address how these advertisements impact on the youth. 2. Literature Review Although several studies indicate that the use of sexual images by the fashion industry is beneficial as it enables them to reach many youths and young adults across the globe, little has been done on the response of the youths to these advertisements. Sexual information stirs a lot of emotional reactions whether in imagery or written form. There is also the controversy about religion that rises in the use of such adverts to sell products. Religions such as Islam consider the exposure of the human body as indecent. Additionally, the same perception of sexuality is practiced in conservative countries such as Ireland and the Philippines. Decency in sexual appeal in advertisements has also been a major issue outlined by several authors. There is the recognition in the literature that there have been a lot of changes in what is considered decent in such advertisements. Many authors argue that numerous fashion industries use young beautiful women in advertisements, thus portraying them as sexual objects, a problem that manifests in many countries. The ways through which sexual information is represented in the adverts are nudity, sexual behaviour, physical attractiveness, sexual embeds and sexual referents (Tom and Jacqueline, 2013, p. 11-23). All these can have adverse impacts on the youth, causing them to behave in unreasonable ways. 3. Methodology 3.1. Research Design The research involved youths from different nationalities who are currently studying or working in the United Kingdom. The research was a cohort study involving the youths aged between 18 and 25 years. This group of people was chosen purposefully by the researcher because they form the primary consumer population of various fashion companies. Additionally, they are easily convinced with such products because they are overly concerned with appearances. 3.2 Research Methods The research methods used in this study were selected following the findings from the literature review, the scope and scale of the study. Prime data was acquired from the field through the use of questionnaires. In other instances where the researcher could not reach the respondents individually because of limitations of time, random sampling was used. Secondary sources of data for the research was obtained from both published and unpublished works relevant to the topic. These included books, journals, reports, print information as well as the internet. 3.2.1 Questionnaires The primary aim of conducting the research is structured quantitative data collection. This research method looked most suitable for the researcher in gathering information about the target consumers of fashion products and to test the potential effects of the use of sexually oriented advertisements by the fashion industry on the youth. The researcher developed a questionnaire to help in conducting the research. The questionnaire was used to collect data from the target population on their ages, nationalities, and the tendency with which people see sexual images in magazines, the ratio of male to female models in fashion adverts in magazines. The second part of the questionnaire provided the respondents with fashion advertisement images and challenged them to choose the images that were more attractive to them. 3.2.2. Social survey Aside from the questionnaires applied for primary data collection, surveys were also used by the researcher to gain more insight on the perception of the youth on the sexual images and pleas used by the fashion industry in marketing their products. The survey was conducted through personal interviews on the sample population. A team of five enumerators was assembled for this task with all the members being capable of speaking English. Before being dispatched for the data collection process, the team was trained on how well to conduct the interviews. The target sample group for the interviews comprised of both male and female respondents aged between 18 and 25 years. The interviewers were instructed to select the participants randomly, and the process was supervised by the researcher. When commencing the interview, the enumerators were asked to first introduce themselves, the topic of research and its relevance. Additionally, the enumerators were asked, to conduct the interviews in an interactive manner. This was important to enable the respondents to easily remain within the context of the interview rather than losing concentration or losing interest in the interview. Overall, most of the people approached were willing to participate in the exercise. 3.2.3. Simple Random Sampling The researcher correspondingly applied simple random sampling to collect data from the target population. This is the ability of a relatively small sample to reflect the opinion of a larger population base. Because of time constraints, the research could not cover the whole population and hence random sampling of the population was used. The researcher used her own judgement to select the population that was sampled for the research. 3.2.4. Limitations of the methods used Although the research was conducted successfully, there were some limitations during data collection. One of the issues encountered in the field was the failure of the respondents to properly address the questions in the questionnaire. Some of the respondents who were interviewed did not give the correct information as to their views on the study topic. Also, in conducting the surveys, some of the respondents were always absent minded despite the efforts of the enumerators in attempting to engage them in the discussion. This caused situations such as respondents giving irrelevant answers to the enumerators. 4. Research results and analysis 31 respondents were sampled during the research. The data collected from the field study during the research was analysed through the use of excel spreadsheets. All the data derived from the field study was entered into the spreadsheets to show the distribution of opinions among the various respondents. From the data analysis, it was found out that 99% of the respondents agreed that it is easy to see sexual images in magazines today. This is due to the increased use of these images by the fashion industry to advertise their products. Also, the sampled population agreed that most fashion sexual images have more female than male models. This indicates the perception that women are commonly used as sex objects. When provided with a sample of images from the fashion magazines to select the most attractive images, the respondents chose different images depending on their own judgments. However, the effects that these images had on them was established when each of them was asked to give reasons behind the choices they made. To show the emotional effects of these images on the youth, some of them indicated that the images chosen were the most memorable and attractive while others were interested in those that showed the shapes of the bodies of the models. Others from conservative backgrounds also indicated that some of the images were surprising. The comments of the respondents on the images given were seen by the researcher as a reflection of the effect the images had on them. 5. Conclusion With regards to the above discussion, sexual appeal in advertisements impacts differently on people depending on their cultural and religious backgrounds. There is an increase in the use of sexual pleas by many marketers in advertising their products. Also, the number of female models that are used in this advertisements are higher, thus bringing the perception of women as sexual objects rather than as respectable people in the society. Some of the youths are aroused while viewing such sexual images while others are shocked that such things happen. Since there have been changes on the societal view on sexuality with the emergence of information. The recommendation is that the images used by marketers in communicating their products to the target consumers should not be too sexual. This is because it may impact negatively on the buying preferences of the consumers. Implications for future research Although the research provides an understanding of the effects that the use of sexual appeal and images have on the youth, there are fascinating areas that future research can investigate while researching in this area. It would be important for future research to investigate the thinking of corporations when using such images. Case studies should be conducted in future for the companies that use sexual images to find out the reasons behind the use of such images and the benefits accrued. Also, since it is not only the youth that interact with fashion magazines, it would be interesting for the future researchers to investigate the reactions of the older people, especially those aged 40 and above to the sexual images and pleas used in fashion advertisements today. References Tom, R. and Jacqueline, L. (2013).Sex in Consumer Culture: The Erotic Content of Media and Marketing, p. 11-23. Read More