Male and Female Sexual Images and Portrayals - Essay Example

Male and Female Sexual Images and Portrayals What has been the history of your issue? Theuse of males and females as sexual symbols in advertisement has been present for over 40 years. The history has been repeating since then with the only difference being that the female are being more sexualized than before as is evidence by their clothes or none existence of them for that matter. The male on the other hand are all about the sexy clothes they wear which includes tights t-shirts and tight jeans as well to show off their well-toned muscles. They are however more dressed than the females in these advertisements. Research has however shown that the less clothes women continue to wear in advertisements, the more the companies make in the sale of the products and especially when the target market consists highly of the male population (Shepard 282). Females in advertisements since the late 1960s have been portrayed as sexual idols and that is the same image that is still present today with advertisers despite the generational gap or the protests by feminists. Men never used to be seen as sex symbols in advertisements but rather were used because of the masochism they brought out. The trend has however been changing for them as well as they start being recognized as sex idols. These changes started in the late 1980s with the continual liberalization of women and them becoming independent and freely airing their views as well as preferences. Advertisements in the televisions are featuring men shirtless and just wearing trousers and showing how built, muscled and toned they are. The sex images become much explicit in print where there are male underwear models being featured to advertise the different types of male underwear there are including male thongs which never used to be present in the past. Similarly with the female appearing naked in male magazines advertising electronics, there are male naked shoots in female magazines featuring even celebrities advertising various products which may captivate the women. The whole point of sexually idolizing the males and females in advertisement is for subliminal advertisement purpose where the sexual image is unconscious in an individual’s mind but it drives them to purchase the product being advertised in future or as soon as one sees the advertisement. The consumers purchase in order to look like the sexy male or female in the advertisement or intend to get such a sexy male or female as a companion once they have the product. This subliminal advertising is common in beauty products or other products such as cars. Where is it going? The sexual idolization of male and female in advertising is not bound to end soon. According to advertisers, the trend in fact is headed towards more “steamy” sexual idolization and this has already begun in some magazines. Some of the gender exclusive magazines such as playboy have product advertisements with completely nude photographs of models or celebrities. These images are meant to induce sexual fantasies to the target population driving them to purchase the products in large numbers, remain faithful to the brand and even advertise the products to their friends and colleagues through the word of mouth and by showing them the magazine photos. There is increased cut throat competition in each industry with each company trying to assign itself a position by outdoing each other and this is where innovative, creative and sexualized advertisements comes in. Women for decades have been seen as the sex symbols first before being seen as being useful of any other thing and this is not bound to change anytime soon. The advertisers are therefore taking advantage of this stereotypical judgment of women and maximizing it to the limit to get as much profits and get competitive advantage in the market as much as possible. There has however been an increase in the women rights activists denouncing the sexual idolization of women in advertisements and hence another trend of sexually idolizing the male is likely to emerge in future. With the men lacking or having very few activists, the companies are likely to start using the male as sex symbols to attract not only the female but the male population as well towards purchasing the products. This has already started emerging with more males modeling shirtless or sometimes with their underwear showing off their bodies (Carilli and Campbell 12). With continual sexual liberalization being seen in this century and naked beauty being appreciated and even flaunted more, it is definite that advertising will take that trend as well to increase their sales by enticing more customers. The new angle currently being used and which is likely to continue for a while is featuring trending celebrities in naked shoots together with their spouses or current lovers. The same way the entertainment news are getting higher rating for such photos is the same way the ratings will increase for companies using such photos. The current of these celebrities include sports personalities such as Cristiano Ronaldo and even fashion icons just to name a few. Companies dealing with sports equipment and paraphernalia are likely to benefit even more than other companies in the future. This is so because there is an increase in body health and achieving or maintaining a certain body image which is being achieved through insane workouts and exercises. Women especially are looking into getting certain body types and shapes and especially after giving birth and they are seeing these images from advertisement of celebrities and even other people whose taut bodies are being sexually idolized (Carilli and Campbell 87). Is it being legislated? There actually isn’t any legislation on the male and female sexual images and portrayals in advertising known. The only legislation that comes to play is when the model being portrayed is underage as this is likely to be regarded as child pornography under 18 U. S. C, 2251 (Levine 115). Other than that, the other older people according to statutes can dress or be sexually idolized as much as possible. The other legal restriction that may be involved in such advertisements are the hours of advertising certain products which are bound to have such intense sexual portray such as condoms. The legislation which exists in some nations insists that such advertisements in mediums such as the television should be carried out at certain hours of the night as they are rated parental guidance. They can however be advertised in adult magazines as mentioned above as much as possible. The other legislations of the issue depend on the country where the advertisements are happening. Conservative countries such as the Muslim nations prohibit such extreme sexual level of advertising and especially where the females are involved. The women have strict conservative dress code which should be maintained even during advertising. The western nations are however liberal and this is portrayed in their advertisements as well (Bullock 212). With the current trend in not only the US but the whole world of idolizing female and male and their sex images, it is likely to lead to legalization of the few laws that may seem to refer to indecency in public through such advertisements. Conservancy even in the legal system is slowly revolutionizing and the future will likely see sexy images being patented by companies and especially in the era of cut throat competition for customers. Countries such as France have no problem with male and female sexual portrayal and image as evidenced in their naked beaches and sometimes naked shows on body building. The same is likely to spread to the rest of the world slowly by slowly and this will be without any legal implications (Shepard 178). The only strict legal measures that are likely to be maintained are where the children under the age of 18 or even 16 years are involved (Shepard 65). Work Cited Bullock, Katherine. Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical & Modern Stereotypes. New Delhi: IIIT, 2002. Carilli, Theresa and Jane Campbell. Challenging Images of Women in the Media: Reinventing Womens Lives. Maryland: Lexington Books, 2012. Shepard, Joycelyn. Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2003. Shepard, Jon. Cengage Advantage Books: Sociology. New York: Cengage Learning, 2009. Read More