Sex in the Media

Sexuality in the media has been a widely discussed topic amongst people for many years. Sexuality isn’t portrayed only on television, but in magazines, advertisements, and movies. Is sexuality in media really necessary? Does sex actually help advertising? How do people respond to this? These questions are all important when deciding what is appropriate and what isn’t.

People in today’s society are largely focused on sexuality. Sexuality is what is hip now and its popularity is getting bigger and bigger, but does it push the envelope in certain advertisements? A lot of people think so. A lot of people believe that sex in advertising is inappropriate and has very bad taste. The images are very influential to people especially children. Sexual advertising is said to help make products more desirable which makes sales increase very rapidly. Others feel that sexuality in advertising is good for society because it makes people more aware of a product and are more likely to purchase it.

Magazines are the most popular for having sexual advertising due to many different types of products with specific target markets. Ranging from cigarette ads to perfume, many symbolize sexuality to persuade their costumers. The idea that children have access to a lot of these magazines concerns many people including advertisement firms. Of course you cannot avoid children seeing magazines and the advertisements inside, but there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed that unfortunately does with certain advertisements. This advertisement below is for Calvin Klein underwear. It shows a young woman in a bra and underwear looking very youthful and sexy.

In advertising it is easy to get a man's attention by using women's bodies and associates getting the woman if he buys the product. It is playing on his instinctive rather than intellectual view of the world. The ad does not talk about her qualifications for sexual desire, because just her image is enough to intrigue a man. For women on the other hand, it is an entirely different story. Although they do have an instinctive sexual reaction, their intelligence strongly affects it at the same time. The use of healthy, fit men in advertising may indeed attract their attention and create desire, but their willingness to engage in intercourse is rarely aroused strictly because of a man's body. For a woman, sexual desire is a complex mixture of factors, most of which are extremely difficult to inject into an ad in the time and space available. A man's appearance plays a role by showing strength and health, but her instinctive concern is the long run. She must see that he is capable of other important things that would come along down the road. A woman wants a man who can father their children, help keep financial support along with sexuality, love, and devotion. Many of these factors are also learned in culture and society. Money, power, prestige, and health are factors that culture defines as extremely valuable. The woman learns their importance and adds them to her criteria for male sexual desirability.

To sell to a woman, advertising relies on the modern idea of how men and women relate which is romance. Below is another Calvin Klein ad, which is selling their perfume. Notice that there is both a man and women, young and attractive standing in a romantic position about to kiss.

Romance fits into the woman's view of relationships since its major element of attraction. The process, in which men appeal to women and how they select mates, is how she discovers of whether the male does or does not satisfy her for a suitable sexual partner. Rarely does the romantic appeal contain the same sexual messages that appear in ads aimed at men since such messages would contradict the intellectual view. Although an ad may use a man's body as an attention-getting device, he is usually shown in a romantic rather than sexual perspective.

Television is the second biggest advertisement industry considering millions of people watch T.V. daily. Sexual advertising is no different on T.V. than it is in magazines, except for the fact that it is video and it doesn’t leave you wondering like a magazine ad. People will either be offended or completely bought by the risk of using a commercial with sexuality. There are many examples of sex in television commercials that range from showing bare skinned people, sexual movements, gestures, or word. Throughout the years, sex has grown radically on television. It seems every show you see, there is something geared towards sexuality, especially in television sitcoms.