Negative Effects of Objectification in the Media on Young Adults

INTRODUCTION

It seems that as the first decade of the twenty-first century comes to close that the media is growing exponentially. Information is readily available at the touch of a button. This presents more opportunities than a company could possibly hope for to advertise. Most commonly the advertisement shows a women whose body is being objectified in order to sell a product. This is so commonplace that no one usually gives it a second thought. But maybe they would if they knew the multiple negative affects that the objectification of women in the media leads to, especially among young adults.

PLATFORMS OF MEDIA THAT OBJECTIFY WOMEN

MAGAZINES

            Appealing to sexual desires is the media’s primary advertising scheme. With basic knowledge one can infer that if it is the media’s most prominent form of advertising than it must also be their most successful; after all, what business chooses an advertising scheme that doesn’t work?  

Sexual advertising is used for products that don’t have a direct correlation to sex. The most recent edition of Glamour is a perfect example of this. Like most magazines, Glamour is filled with advertisements. In their most recent edition, the March 2010 edition, the clothing company  Armani Exchange has an advertisement on page three of the advertisements, which objectifies women models (“Glamour” 2). This is not the only example of this. By simply turning to pages seventeen and eighteen in the advertisements, the clothing company Nine West also has an advertisement, which does the same thing. (“Glamour” 17-18).  The companies that place advertisements in magazines objectify models bodies so much that it is difficult to tell what product they are trying to sell.

PORNOGRAPHY INDUSTRY/ FILM INDUSTRY

•  The pornography industry that grosses about $10 billion a year in the United States and contributes more to the objectification of women than a simple advertisement (Jensen 1) 
  
• Pornography is widely viewed and consumed by college aged  (ages 18-24) males. 
• 70% of men between the ages of 18 and 24 visit “adult sites” each month (Kendal 11).

TELEVISION

In a 2004 report, the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic media states that in the 2001-2002 television season, 1,276 shows were coded for sexual content and were targeted at adolescents ( “ Sex on American Television:…” 1).

EFFECTS OF EXPLOITING WOMEN IN THE MEDIA

Pornography most commonly it depicts men dominating women, women enjoying being dominated and women being submissive to men. This gives men a false sense of reality. They believe that they are entitled to sex from a flirtatious girl. Based on the manner in which women are portrayed in X-rated films, men believe that women enjoy being dominated or forced into unwanted sexual actions. 

In a study published by the American Psychological Association, results showed that after exposure to X-rated and even R-rated films, men become desensitized to sexual assault victims in real life.   (Donnerstein 759).

This study not only proved that pornography made men desensitized to women who have been victims of sexual assault but also shows that they are more likely to carry the belief that sexual assault is acceptable into their own lives. Laurie Shrage’s research paper published on the website of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, states,”…By depicting female subjects as dehumanized objects, pornography encourages the idea that women can be treated without moral regard—i.e. raped and tortured…” (2).

            As a result of the continued viewing of media that objectifies women, men become more sexually aggressive towards women. Young adult males are consuming more media than ever before, the media is more sexually explicit than ever before; therefore, young adult males are viewing more sexually explicit material than ever before. 

            Mentally, viewing sexually explicit material places women in the category of “objects” rather than “people”. In reality, an object is treated differently than a person and can be abused, whereas, a person is treated with more respect and seen as more than just an object of desire. (Donnerstein 759).

SEXUAL ASSAULT STATISTICS

           Sexual assault is very real and the media encourages its place in society with subliminal messages and with some more obvious messages that sexual assault is acceptable. Sexual Objectification is usually biased in terms of that the women is submissive to the man. This is often violent depicted in the media. Some might say that simply because a man sees sexual assault in the media does not mean that he will imitate that behavior. For those who believe that myth, here are some frightening statistics:

•  1 in 4 college women will be victims of sexual assault
•  51% of college males admit to “perpetrating one or more sexual assault incidents in college” 
• 98% of the perpetrators of sexual assault are male (“Creating a Climate of Respect…” 2). 
• 47% of men who had raped reported that they would engage in similar actions in the future (Jensen 2)
  
• 88% of men who had reported an assault that met the legal definition of rape “...were adamant that they had not raped..” (Jensen 2).

CONCLUSION

            With these statistics it seems that ever platform of media is benefiting from exploiting women—not to mention the profits that companies seem to be making. Television, the film industry and magazines all depict women being objectified Young adults seem to be soaking in these subliminal messages without regard to what is happening to their view of the world. The issue of the popularity of the objectification has potential to lead to more negative consequences for society, especially young adults, in the future.