Why are women sexualised in advertising?

Why are women sexualised in advertising?

Society makes no secrets that the use of sexualisation of women in advertising makes for a good advert, and this is proven time and time again. Especially in the fashion industry. In recent years’ sexualisation of women has been used anywhere from clothing to fast food to promote their products. The level of sexually explicit content varies drastically on who is being targeted by these adverts. Products designed for young adults aged 18-25 have the highest level of sexually explicit content. These commercials not only use sex to sell their products, but often women are being objectified and taken advantage of in advertisements by being presented as this “ideal” figure disillusioning young women from reality. This disillusion has led to a number of scare stories throughout the media of young women trying to achieve these body imaged.

It’s obvious that sex sells, but the question that lingers is why sex sells and what audience sex appeal mainly targets. Sexually explicit content is present for both genders; however, it is especially worse for females in advertising. Advertisers hope to capture the attention of potential buyers by showing a half-naked woman in a seductive post. In 2015, Kelly Brook became the face of Sketchers trainers. Showing that sex appeal can be added to anything. Within this advert she flirts with topless male models whilst being sat on a bed. Advertisers hope by featuring a sex icon like Kelly Brook who embodies the beauty and sex-appeal many people desire, that it will draw customers in and increase sales.  Advertisers intentionally try to appeal to the male audience reinforcing John Berger’s arguments that ‘man’ is the true spectator.  

Putting a model seductively on the cover of a magazine or wearing a piece of clothing on sale has long been a ploy beloved of advertisers. The science behind how this works is very fascinating. scientists have discovered exactly why sex sells products. Seeing an attractive woman in an advert excites the areas of the brain that make us buy on impulse, bypassing the sections which control rational thought. (Daily Mail 2011) The idea behind why women are constantly subjected to this, is purely based on the idea that ‘man’ is the ideal spectator and thus will sell more products this way.