Final Essay

How have representations of men in advertising since the 1980's mirrored that of the representation of women since 1950's?

Along with other factors "Sexualization is when a person's value comes only from his/her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics and when a person is sexually objectified"

<http://sites.google.com/site/mediasportrayalonwomen/Home/the-perfect-woman--1950-vs--today/the-sexualization-of-women> Sex in advertising is "words and images calculated to arouse sexual desire"  (Ridgeway, J., and Plachy, S., 1996. P.42)

Women have been viewed and depicted as sexualised objects due to the ways in which they have been represented for centuries. For example images of naked women were commonly used in advertising tobacco in the 1800's, and "intimacy was emphasized to sell soap and lotions to ladies in the 1920s." <http://sexinadvertising.com/History/index.php> The images vary from overtly sexualised and erotic to subtle and suggestive.

Advertising is presented in many forms of media, such as magazines, pictures, television commercials, and the internet, in which women are usually the objects of sexualisation. <http://sites.google.com/site/mediasportrayalonwomen/Home/the-perfect-woman--1950-vs--today/the-sexualization-of-women>

Research suggests that increasingly women are beginning to treat themselves as sexual objects for the pleasure of men as that is how they are being portrayed. " the focus on female sexual attractiveness in advertisement aims to imply that women's primary reason for being is to be 'admired, manipulated and used by men'"  (Monk-Turner, E., Wren, K., McGill, L., Matthiae, C., Brown, S., and Brooks, D., 2008. P.202) With women believing and "treating their bodies as sexual objects it then leads women to believe that that is all that is important. Also with these ads showing women as sexual objects, men then begin to believe that the sexual image of women is what is important and what makes them "attractive"." <http://sites.google.com/site/mediasportrayalonwomen/Home/the-perfect-woman--1950-vs--today/the-sexualization-of-women>

With overtly sexualised images in the media it has become increasingly hard for women to be happy with the way they look as "Sexualisation can lead to a lack of confidence with their bodies as well as depression and eating disorders."

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6376421.stm> Increasingly this is similar to men as the use of men in advertising has become more prominent and men are now portrayed in similar roles as women.

Although overtly sexualised adverts contain women, men are now featuring in similar roles as women and are being used as sexual objects. I have found four main artefacts as examples which demonstrate similarities to how women have been depicted and sexualised throughout advertising history.

Two of these examples are images from adverts for clothing brands, one an electrical appliance advert for a vacuum company and one an aftershave advert.

Arguably the sexualisation of men has changed the advertising world, due to the way in which they are now depicted. It could be argued that there are direct links and references to the ways in which women were, and have been portrayed in advertising historically.

The first advert I want to consider is a clothing advert for Emporio Armani which pictures celebrity icon David Beckham. The image is in black and white which suggests nostalgia and romance this is suggested as it looks like its been taken with an old fashioned camera. He is photographed with his legs slightly spread apart and arms to the side; this enables the viewer to see the torso clearly. "images of very young men commonly focus on the abdominal/genital area" (Tallim, J., 2003.)

The image echoes those of women portrayed in paintings: such as The Venus of Urbino painted in 1538 by Italian painter Titian she is led on a bed looking directly at the viewer, her body is exposed however her private area is covered by her tightly closed legs and her hand so that the painting isn't overtly explicit, this is similar to the Armani advert where small briefs are being worn/advertised.

Another example of clothing adverts are those of Abercrombie and Fitch. The adverts are overtly sexualised with maximum flesh exposed and the main focus is on the males’ body. In this image it is only the torso that is presented. The photograph has been cropped from the neck up suggesting that this person does not have a head and the image goes no lower than the waist. Even though the 'sexual' organs area has been cut off this image is still suggestive and sexualised as the person is purely an object to be gazed at as it’s not considered to be a person.

The company has caused great controversies over how they advertise and how overtly sexual their images in advertising really are. "Abercrombie & Fitch, one of the most successful and trendy US clothing manufacturers, now puts its catalogues (which are geared to college students) in plastic bags to prevent them from being opened casually, because of controversy over the sexualized images of young people contained in them."

(Tallim, J., 2003.)

I then found an image that used a male in an overtly sexual way being dominated by a female, this is an extremely explicit example of sexualisation and domination. As this advert is for a vacuum company the imagery relies on sex to sell the product whilst the vacuum is in the corner of the image. The main focus of the advert is on the male with his hands tied behind his back by the cord of the vacuum, which is a direct connection to sex used to sell a fantasy.

  

Additionally an aftershave advert for Dolce & Gabbana- Light Blue, presents a male laid down with his arm behind his head looking seductive and sexual in a position which women are traditionally positioned in. The image echoes that of adverts and paintings such as the oil painting called La maja desnuda painted in 1797-1800 by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya and also an advert which pictures celebrity icon Beyonce Knowles dancing and moving in a sexual way. She is presenting her perfume called heat, this advert has now "been banned in Great Britain for its overtly sexual contact." <http://news.bgfashion.net/article/5115/12/beyonce-heat-perfume-ad-is-too-sexy-for-uk>

Research suggests that women, seem to have a certain look that they need to fulfil to give off the sexual aura in advertising. "Women's open, moist and lipstick-red lips, half closed eyelids or hands suggestively placed on a bare bosom or stomach are staple elements in pornography,"

(Paasonen, S. Nikunen, K. and Saarenmaa, L., 2007 P.1)

These adverts of males that I have focussed on surprised me, they all seem to have very similar looks such as the torso being the main focus. I think this demonstrates that when advertisers consider using sex in advertising similar methods are employed. This is also reflective in the use of women in advertising.

In todays society, looks and beauty are a major concern as "it becomes hard for women to be accepting of their own beauty and constantly compare themselves to images in the media" <http://sites.google.com/site/mediasportrayalonwomen/Home/the-perfect-woman--1950-vs--today/the-sexualization-of-women> Young children exposed to overtly sexualised advertising and images can be harmful and can lead to "eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression." <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/1543203/The-generation-of-damaged-girls.html> This is often spoken about with connection to young woman but not  as well known in young men. Perhaps with males being increasingly presented as sex objects this could affect young boys which would lead to them being body conscious. Christina Hoff Sommers and Naomi Wolf are feminist authors who say that "women's sexual liberation has led many women to view men as sex objects"<http://www.mybodybeautiful.co.uk/Sexualisation%20of%20Society/Sexual_Objectification_Page2.htm> in which women are now viewing the male as the object of the gaze.

The objectification of men can lead to negative body image among men in which is similar to women; research has suggested these psychological effects.

Although men "have dropped their guard and admitted they care what women think of their looks."  (Underhill, P., and Shirley, E., 2010.) it is this that is going to seriously affect young boys as the sexualisation does to young girls, arguably this will become more prevalent with increasing sexualised presentations of overtly sexualised images of men.

In conclusion I think that the use of males in advertising has caught up with how women are portrayed and they are being overtly sexualised as women always have been not only in advertising but also throughout art history. I think men being used in advertising is a problem for young boys and have the stress that young girls already are burdened with. "Increased exposure to unrealistic sexualised role models - for both boys and girls - can affect self-esteem, body image and expectations regarding the appearance and behaviour of the opposite sex." (Tallim, J., 2003.)

I think overtly sexualised images are not good for society as people are only aware and only consider how people look, making people only consider others beauty and making people conscious with the theory of identity and image leading to an image obsessed society.

This subject is very large and after my research I have realised I have only just touched the sides of this large issue.

Word count 1395

Bibliography:

Books:

Ridgeway, J., and Plachy, S., 1996. Red Light: Inside the Sex Industry. powerHouse Book. Page 42

Paasonen, S. Nikunen, K. and Saarenmaa, L., 2007 Pornification Sex and Sexuality in Media Culture. Berg Publishers. Page 1

Journals:

Monk-Turner, E., Wren, K., McGill, L., Matthiae, C., Brown, S., and Brooks, D., 2008. 'Who is gazing at whom? A look at how sex is used in magazine advertisements.' [eJournal] Journal of Gender Studies. Volume 17, Issue number 3, Available through: Business Source Premier database [Accessed February 2011] Page numbers 201-209. Quote from page 202

Tallim, J., 2003. 'Sexualized Images in Advertising' Media Awareness Network, [online] Available at:<http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/upload/article_sexualized_images.pdf> [Accessed February 2011] Pages 1-7 Quotes from page 1, 6 and 7

Underhill, P., and Shirley, E., 2010. All Is Vanity: Grooming Brands Target Men With Ads Using Sex, Humour. [eJournal] Volume 200, Issue number 59 Available through: Business Source Premier database. Accessed February 2011

Websites:

The Sexualization of Women in the Media. [online] Accessed February 2011. Available at: <http://sites.google.com/site/mediasportrayalonwomen/Home/the-perfect-woman--1950-vs--today/the-sexualization-of-women>

Reichert, T. History of Sex in Advertising. [online] Accessed February 2011. Available at: <http://sexinadvertising.com/History/index.php>

BBC News, 2007. Sexualisation 'harms' young girls. [online] Accessed February 2011. Available at: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6376421.stm>

Fashion.bg, 2010. Beyonce's Heat perfume advertisement is too sexy for UK. [online] Accessed April 2011. Available at: <http://news.bgfashion.net/article/5115/12/beyonce-heat-perfume-ad-is-too-sexy-for-uk>

Womack, S. The Telegraph. 2007. The generation of 'damaged' girls. [online] Accessed February 2011. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/1543203/The-generation-of-damaged-girls.html>

Sexual Objectification. [online] Accessed February 2011. Available at <http://www.mybodybeautiful.co.uk/Sexualisation%20of%20Society/Sexual_Objectification_Page2.htm>

Images:

Emporio Armani image of David Beckham advert

Posted by BBC/BBC Radio 1. Posted December 2007. Accessed March 2011

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/news/entertainment/galleries/beckhams_pants.shtml>

Abercrombie & Fitch, image of the torso advert

Posted by iNetGiant. Posted December 2009. Accessed March 2011

<http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_srp23_3aHgI/TEzdadyVkiI/AAAAAAAABvQ/TOs4_Q_cThI/s1600/a%252526f.jpg&imgrefurl=http://southeast.inetgiant.co.uk/reading/addetails/abercrombie-and-fitch-pink-polo-shirt/2660248&usg=__sCDGa0x84Llsu3-01q3YF0JrYCw=&h=511&w=679&sz=57&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=HWTUrjCkt2pPBM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=172&ei=rlLATdmXDoyFhQe-lvzIBQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dabercrombie%2Band%2Bfitch%2Badvert%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1079%26bih%3D893%26tbm%3Disch1%2C0&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=496&vpy=119&dur=296&hovh=160&hovw=213&tx=147&ty=112&page=1&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&biw=1079&bih=893>

A vacuum company advert

Posted by thisisbandit. Posted April 2009. Accessed March 2011

<http://thisisbandit.com/?p=2826>

Dolce & Gabbana, Light Blue advert

Posted bymodels.com. Posted Winter 2008. Accessed March 2011

<http://models.com/work/dolce-and-gabbana-light-blue-fragrance-fw-08>

The Venus of Urbino painted by Titian

Posted by mallymoodle. Posted November 2009. Accessed March 2011.

<http://no-point-stories.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html>

La maja denude painted by Francisco Goya

Posted by Public Domain Photos. Posted April 2011. Accessed May 2011

<http://www.public-domain-photos.org/2011/04>

Presentation

The Presentation:

            •            Starting point (s)

At the beginning of the course I didn't really bother to understand pieces of art that I didn't like or get so didn't bother to read about it. I also didn't understand hidden messages within art, this is why it is so important for me to read and research into artists as it explains what they have done and why. But also to research into the artist to get a feel of how they work and their experiences as artists.

I was adamant that I only was interested in graphic design and that was the only path that I wanted to follow without considering the other pathways before realising that they are all closely interconnected and that I actually use all areas in my own work already without realising.

I started considering areas from the lectures in which I either agreed or

disagreed with as there are things in both that interest me and I knew I would need to look further into and research as I didn't know the subject matter.  I prefer to look at art that I strongly disagreed with as I know this provokes more of a reaction for me and this makes me more involved and interested in the subject.

I am really interested in "what is right with art" and what is going "too far" such as the artist Guillermo Habacuc Vargas who left the dog to starve in the museum, I do not think this is right or art.

Something else that I would like to look further into is the fashion industry as I

strongly disagree with the fur trade and child labour.

But the main subject matter that really interested me is how young children are being targeted and sexualised by the media such as clothing ranges, toys and advertising. I think this is the direction in which I wanted to base my research on as I feel that it is affecting how children are and how they perceive themselves along with many other factors. This was the starting point for my essay as it also involved ethical issues and is part of advertising which is closely related to my graphics pathway.

            •            Where did your thinking go next?

Now I appreciate art and do more reading when in art galleries and try and research the artists and what the work is about.

Once I had decided to base my essay on the sexualisation of children and young women I started to look into different areas in which I could research.

I started looking at all the obvious areas such as clothing, toys and adverts.

Clothing where items such as bras and high heels for young children but also words printed on t-shirts, advertising such as overtly sexualised images of

women in magazines and music videos looking dominated by the men and finally toys that where far to sexualised for young children such the bratz

dolls with overly sexualised looking eyes and clothes.

The main problem that I had found was the subject had in-depth research

done on most areas, this made it difficult as I needed to have a new

approach to the subject and not cover what’s already been covered.

This then lead me to consider how men are now featuring in similar

roles as women and this interested me the most as it’s an unusual

subject to consider. Men, who previously were shown in a dominant

position are now being shown in similar roles as women.

This is what had lead to me my chosen question and subject matter.

            •            What changed/informed your views (and was useful)?

I think the main thing that has changed my views is that art has been produced

for a reason. I think this was the point in which I realised how much the different

pathways actually cross over. When I did the 24-hour task nearly everything I

was seeing was designed but also designed through the pathways combining

the different art areas.

Most pieces of art that are seen to be horrible and not classed as art really is art and has been done for a reason, often with hidden meanings. The most shocking pieces of work are done to make people look and notice it but mainly to provoke a reaction, this is why artists try to push the boundaries about what is right and wrong in the art world.

Supporting my essay the images I found seem to provoked a major reaction for me. The images I researched where shocking and surprising. They show how men have been portrayed in advertising. Theses images provoked more of a reaction than some of the research I've been reading.

I feel this is the same for most pieces of art; you need to experience it yourself but also take into consideration others opinions.

Art needs to provoke your emotions and how you feel.

            •            What was not useful? (Or was interesting, but not relevant?)

I think that mainly fine art is my least favourite pathway/subject as I feel that old paintings and sculptures are interesting but don't massively provoke any sort of reaction as I'm just not massively interested in them, this is why I feel this was the least useful to me.

I enjoy most aspect of fashion such as old garments, fair trade and the fur trade however I wanted something that I could make links to my chosen pathway which is graphic design as then I felt it would be of most use to me.

            •            What are the conclusions you have come to?

I think the main conclusions that I have come to is that sexualisation is

damaging the future generations, giving young people wrong views about their

bodies and how they should be viewed by others.

Not only is there concern for young females but now for young males due to the

rise in men being portrayed in adverts looking overtly sexual making people

consider the way in which they look.

This is a very large subject matter in which I simple wouldn't have been able to

cover.

            •            What further research does your work now point to/ would you like to do to extend your thinking about the subject?

As I am interested in areas such as sexualisation, which was the base for my essay, I think my work now points to the research into image and identity.

But more specifically I would like to investigate the subject of an image-obsessed society. One of the main issues that arose from my essay was that people are concerned about their body and the way that they are being viewed by others. I think I would be interested in the history of how this idea of an obsessed society started to become apparent and why.

            •            Has this work informed your practice? How/in what ways?

This work has definitely informed my practice as I can now see how all the different creative path ways link together and become one instead of them being individual isolated areas within the art industry.

            •            What have you learnt through the process of doing this project - about the subject; about yourself as a researcher/student/practitioner?

There are a few things that have really made an impact on me such as there is no definitive answer to whom is saying that art is correct or wrong but it is in the eye of the viewer and is purely down to personal opinions.

The main thing I have learnt is about semiotics, as I had never heard of it before. Semiotics is a visual language that is now almost everywhere. This is where we make assumptions of the meanings because they've been around for many years.

A sign is "something which stands to somebody for something in some capacity" Charles Sanders Pierce 1977, I feel this quote explains it perfectly.

I have learnt a lot through doing this project as I have started to consider that art

is everywhere but we don't always notice it. I have learnt that things are

designed for a reason and in almost every case they have been designed to fill

a purpose, provoke a reaction or look interesting.

I have learnt a lot about the subjects as a whole. Many people disagree with

how the media is representing both women and men in an explicit way.

Clothing and toys that are clearly not appropriate for children are still

being sold and only a few items that have major complaints get removed.

It has made me think about myself as I am always body conscious and

comparing myself to other women.

As a graphic designer I will consider how I portray people in my work, especially from photographs as I feel this is something that needs to be abolished. I have previously used an image of a woman in just pants to promote safe sex however I was using the woman to provoke a reaction which is using sexualisation.

            •            What would you do differently if you were to do this assignment/module again?

If I was to redo this assignment I would do my own independent research into each subject area from the lectures and do some in-depth reading into each artist and time period so I would have been better informed and more aware. This also would mean that I would understand the artist’s thoughts and perhaps there work could influence me.

            •            What advice would you offer to another researcher/student embarking on this module?

The advice I would give to another student embarking on this module would be

consider all creative areas within the lectures even if it’s outside of your creative pathway. Absorb all the information given to you and start by reading and researching into all points suggested so you are better informed yourself about different areas that you don't necessarily know about. Keep an open mind and think broadly as art as a whole, don't have a narrow-minded thought path let the information inspire you.

For the essay subject, choose something that you find interesting and feel

strongly about as you will feel more prone to want to read more and consider

other peoples' view points, you will have your own opinion even though this

might change due to the research and reading you will do.