It's an indisputable fact that the media has an impact on American sexuality. Sex is used to sell and advertise many a good or service this day and age. But how long has it been this way? How long has sexuality been commonplace in mass media? Sexual imagery has been incorporated in mass media outlets such as advertisements and literature, and aired on television and film since the 19th century.
It has become normalized to see sexual innuendos in regular television programs, magazine advertisements, and even on billboards that everyone is exposed to in our society. As shown below, from 1910 to the 21st century, sexual content in the media has only increased and gotten more and more risque.
Perhaps the most controversial part of this however is that most often (96%) this sexually objectifying imagery is of female bodies, rather than male. It seems that mostly the portrayal of women in the media is changed and gets more and more airbrushed and sexualized, but a study that involved taking a look back at Rolling Stone covers dating back to 1967 shows, however, that the portrayal of BOTH genders has become far more sexualized over the years. Why do we do this? Why do companies feel the need to over sexualize the human body in order to sell a product or make people watch a certain broadcast or film? Bringing up children surrounded by this sex filled culture could desensitize our future generations and bring about even more objectifying imagery in popular media. That's not too much of a good thing either. This very process of making people appear oversexualized and perfect in the media negatively affects many people of both genders in terms of mental health problems (eating disorders, anxiety, depression, body dysmorphic disorder.) Ideally, PEOPLE should treat other PEOPLE like the truly complex and magnificent beings they are, rather than objects. But for that to happen, we need to stop objectifying ourselves and accept that there isn't just one body type or one perfect look out there. It's important to know that humans of both genders have more to bring to the table than simply body parts.
http://bolditalic.net/2014/03/14/sexual-objectification-works-both-ways/
http://youtu.be/u_4dPB9MVS8
http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/08/11/medias-growing-sexualization-of-women/28539.html
It has become normalized to see sexual innuendos in regular television programs, magazine advertisements, and even on billboards that everyone is exposed to in our society. As shown below, from 1910 to the 21st century, sexual content in the media has only increased and gotten more and more risque.
Perhaps the most controversial part of this however is that most often (96%) this sexually objectifying imagery is of female bodies, rather than male. It seems that mostly the portrayal of women in the media is changed and gets more and more airbrushed and sexualized, but a study that involved taking a look back at Rolling Stone covers dating back to 1967 shows, however, that the portrayal of BOTH genders has become far more sexualized over the years. Why do we do this? Why do companies feel the need to over sexualize the human body in order to sell a product or make people watch a certain broadcast or film? Bringing up children surrounded by this sex filled culture could desensitize our future generations and bring about even more objectifying imagery in popular media. That's not too much of a good thing either. This very process of making people appear oversexualized and perfect in the media negatively affects many people of both genders in terms of mental health problems (eating disorders, anxiety, depression, body dysmorphic disorder.) Ideally, PEOPLE should treat other PEOPLE like the truly complex and magnificent beings they are, rather than objects. But for that to happen, we need to stop objectifying ourselves and accept that there isn't just one body type or one perfect look out there. It's important to know that humans of both genders have more to bring to the table than simply body parts.
http://bolditalic.net/2014/03/14/sexual-objectification-works-both-ways/
http://youtu.be/u_4dPB9MVS8
http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/08/11/medias-growing-sexualization-of-women/28539.html
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