Kiddy thongs, short skirts, strippers, “look but don’t touch,” virgins, eating disorders, child abuse, women’s rights, women’s enslavement, domestic violence, sexual revolution. Those are just a few thoughts that pop in my mind when I consider the current state of how society treats females today.
It is a vicious cycle of involvement spurred on by today’s consumer market and the specialty advertising that corporations claim the public wants and desires. Yes, sex sells. But to whom? Are advertisers getting too young with sex-related advertising?
Kim Walsh-Childers, a journalism professor at the University of Florida and co-author of the book, “Sexual Teens, Sexual Media,” made links between problems with youth sexual exploitation and the recent empowerment of women.
The famous sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s had two dimensions. One was this “free sex” idea that men liked because they could request sex when and where they wanted it. The other dimension was the feminist movement that was supposed to liberate women sexually. It was difficult, however, for women to be sexually free with men requesting sex to please themselves all the time; not very liberating for women.
Then the AIDS epidemic scared everyone and the nation seemed to find some form of reformation during the Reagan years at the White House. Then came generation X and the following generation that is now turning people’s heads and raising a few eyebrows.
I’m not sure where I would fall. I’m not quite old enough to be generation X, but I’m a little too old for this new Brittany Spears-like generation. Therefore, I feel the need to criticize what I’ve been seeing.
Cases of child pornography and sexual abuse have skyrocketed in this country. Here is an explanation why. Since women have asserted their independence and power in the workplace over the past 10-15 years, insecure men have been looking for ways, most unconsciously, to make women appear weak. What is weaker than a child?
Probably nothing. Evidence of this trend have showed up in the oh so popular Playboy magazine, entertainment for men, right? Well, Playboy used to require its models to leave some pubic hair when posing nude for the risqué magazine. That has changed and the completely shaved look is now acceptable.
Walsh-Childers explained that she had read a Playboy article with comments from husbands and boyfriends of women who liked the nothing but skin look and said they found it exciting to see a woman completely shaved because they looked like a child. Sick huh? Well, if a man is insecure, what is more enticing than a child with big breasts?
Advertisers have also used images of domestic violence to sell their products to women. For more information see: about-face.org. The psychology of that is to make women feel inferior and inadequate unless they buy their product.
Advertisers do this with body image and implied sexual advertising to young teens, like “FCUK Him” and “FCUK Her” fragrances, abbreviated for French Connection UK, produced by Target stores big wig Marshall Fields.
The headline, “Scent to Bed” was used in the marketing campaign with pictures of young teens snuggling up close to each other.
More and more young teens are being portrayed in slightly pornographic poses. For example, Calvin Klein got into a heap of trouble in the 1990s for using underage models in his pseudo-porn ads. Instead of having a negative effect on sales, they skyrocketed, showing teens will do anything to make their parents cringe, Walsh-Childers said.
But people aren’t fazed by it, because real porn is so mainstream and accessible that sexual images and sex itself has over-saturated the media market.
What are the negative effects of selling thongs to pre-teens, teaching them to be sex symbols? How is that liberating to women?
What I’m trying to say here is that just because women wanted equality and freedom, doesn’t mean we wanted to fall into another form of sexual slavery. We want equality and respect at the same time.
I want to know what the LSU community thinks. Do you see that there has been a change in what generations consider sexy within the past four to five years? Do you think it is women’s responsibility, since most ads are targeted at women and most are consumers, to end this form of cheap-shot advertising? Post comments online or send e-mail to the address above.