Thesis on "Sex and Media"

Thesis 6 pages (2022 words) Sources: 8 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Sex in the media has received little attention despite sporadic pubic outcry. From advertising to serials to movies and magazines, sexual images are readily available everywhere and they target every demographic. Impressionable youth is however more susceptible to these images compared to mature adults but no one has been spared and sexuality is available in all its forms in the media. It is important to know how it affects the viewers. Those who present these images to the world have a single idea they operated with: sex sells. And if sex sells, why not make use of it and sometimes even more openly than viewers can take it. While mature adults may be able to rationalize the contents and internalize it using more filters, the youth doesn't have that kind of cognitive maturity. They are highly vulnerable to these pictures and they are the ones targeted the most in advertisements, television and magazines. Selling anything from brand-name clothing to cigarettes has become easier with the use of "sex-sells" theory. Youth wants to look "cool" and the "cool" effect is deliberately immersed in sexual images that circulate the media. Take the Levi's ad for example. The young adults are their prime targets and while there is no explicit sex taking place, at the end of the ad, viewers can easily tell that something sexual was present in the contents. However some of its recent ads have become very explicit, showing that despite the rage against influx of sexual images, media is not ready to tone down its act. Levi's recent ads for its signature brand 501 was all about sex and the print ad even read "Who do you want to unbutton" and we can imagine the kind of impact this would have on the audiences especially the young adults. If nothing, they would at least feel more sexually aware when wearing 501 jeans. Levi's is not ashamed of its ad campaigns based on the single idea of sex but the fact that its ads are objectionable is clear from the way the company has been changing its contents for more conservative markets in Asia. (WSJ, 1998)

Calvin Klein is another company known for its ruthless use of sexual images in media campaigns. Unfortunately the CK brand is a big name and this gives them the power to get away with just about anything. CK has reportedly used models as young as 15 years old in suggestive ads. For example in one of its ads, a young girl is told she looks pretty and she doesn't need to be shy, this encourages her to unbutton her shirt. These ads do not even look classy instead the sexual images are too explicit to be considered anything but raunchy. But CK insists these ads are not pornographic in nature. "Klein insisted that the campaign was not pornographic -- that the ads were intended to "convey the idea that glamour is an inner quality that can be found in regular people in the most ordinary setting; it is not something exclusive to movie stars and models." (Case study)

Serious public outrage ensued. People complained about child pornography and many major teen magazines refused to carry these ads. Finally U.S. Justice Department took action and these ads were recalled. But how did it all affect CK sales? Instead of doing any damage to them, CK sales skyrocketed and its jeans became an essential item for teens. As one marketing director said: "this controversy took Klein's "coolness factor from a 10 to a 60," and if continued sales are any indication, his "bad boy" reputation has only enhanced his products in the eyes of young consumers." (Case study)

Levi's and CK are not alone in using sexual images to attract their target audiences. Despite growing conservatism on the part of the consumers, advertisers and other media persons have not shied away from using sex as their most important tool for attracting attention. Even if the serial, ad or film bombs, there is a good chance that it would attract enough attention due to controversial contents and this is often all that they need. They have received the kind of attention they wanted and the rest is none of their concern. Their future products will not need much marketing and people will flock to see what new items are being produced by these controversial figures.

Many advertisers have exploited youth's impressionable psyche by making use of sexual images in their campaign. Another culprit in this regard is the retailer Abercrombie and Fitch. They are known for putting suggestive slogans on their shirts and creating figure hugging clothes for teenagers which appear rather provocative. In their Holiday Quarterly in 2002, they literally went overboard with sexual imagery when they used nude men and women on front cover as well as on several pages within the catalogue. This outraged people as Don Wildmon, chairman of American Family Association said: "Abercrombie & Fitch is selling porn, plain and simple. This is a company that markets itself to young people, and their message is one of promoting immoral personal and social behavior (AFA Action). This catalogue had no clothing messages so it was difficult for people to distinguish it from a pornographic magazine. In their defense, however a spokesperson for Abercrombie and Fitch said: "These photos depict young, healthy, presumably red-blooded young Americans posing, frolicking, and generally living what could be considered the 'good life.' They do this in Abercrombie clothes, sometimes; other times they do this out of Abercrombie Clothes. It's the 'out of that's drawing the ire out of Uncle Sam" (Collins, 2001).

But did the outrage over this catalogue made any difference? Not really. Abercrombie and Fitch continue to make use of sexual images in their media campaigns and so does Calvin Klein. There are numerous problems with this kind of media exploitation of youth. Youth is going through a very impressionable period in their lives. They form their opinions based on what they see on TV, read in the magazines and find on the billboards. It is hard for them to separate right from wrong if wrong is always presented as the norm. In the case of sexual images, what most media persons would do is associate it with love and this is where the real problem arises.

Youth thinks that sex is love and hence engages in sexual activities at a very young age. The media consistently endorses their behavior with shows like "Secret life of American teenager" and "Sex and the city." Even mature adults get confused between love and sex so it is only natural that youth would be puzzled when they see the link between love and sex as portrayed by the media. The increase or persistent of sex in the media is something perplexing especially when conservatism is on the rise everywhere else. As Sapolsky (2003) said:

"Today we live in a more conservative political environment that emphasizes family and religious values. Parents, pressure groups, and lawmakers soundly criticize the media for their portrayals of sex. Yet the outlets for and diversity of sexual fare continue to grow along with the toleration of sexual imagery. We love our media sex, and we hate it too. (p. 296)

Sex in the media is however not a new theme. It has been present in literature for centuries. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was filled with sexual innuendoes with wife of Bath being a very bold and aggressive sexually alive figure who had had five husbands and she was proud of her insatiable appetite. Similarly Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew made explicit sexual innuendoes and several other such classics are filled with sexual imagery. So we cannot hold the current media entirely responsible for starting it, but since in old days, books were read by few, the sexual messages were far more restricted and contained in their effect. Today however media is a massive highly pervasive commodity which has variety of outlets and everyone has an easy reach to these. Television is everywhere and so are movies and magazines. People have access to all kind of media and this means whatever is shown is seen by people of almost any age. A child of 3 is as aware of what's coming on television as a man of 70. This has turned sexual depiction in the media a major problem. Parents are required to use various kinds of child monitors to track their child's activities on the internet, various blocks are used to prevent children from seeing certain television channels and ratings are keenly watched before a child is allowed to watch a movie. All this is done simply because of proliferation of sexual content in the media and media's massive influence on society.

The popularity of sex and sexual imagery in the media is also attributed to the lack of enough sex information available through other channels. Young adults cannot have an open discussion with their parents about various aspects of sexual experience without causing a serious… READ MORE

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