Sexualization of Women in Media

The media, in all its forms, not only reflects many facets of a society’s life but also helps to shape it. However, while it is true that media can benefit people’s lives, it frequently has the exact opposite effect by portraying negative images of women and promoting gender stereotypes. As a matter of fact, mass media, advertisements, clothing, and toys are just a few examples of the various areas in which women and girls are frequently sexualized and objectified. Accordingly, we are constantly exposed to media portraying women’s bodies being exploited to advertise goods. For example, in the previous ten years, the top films in Hollywood had 61 % who were deemed to be skinny, 40 % who were dressed in “sexy clothes”, and 35 % of women who were partially nude (Deseret News, 2017). Therefore, the eroticized body has been the focal point of modern sexual portrayals of women. In the process of prioritizing an individual’s physical attractiveness over other qualities and valuing a person solely for their sexual behavior, sexualization takes place.   

Consequently, sexualized depictions strongly contribute to a culture in which women and girls are valued solely as objects, and additionally promote gender stereotypes and the imbalance of power between men and women. 

Read: Objectification and Exploitation of Girls and Women by the Mass Media and Social Media

Sexualization of Women contributes to Gender-based Violence 

The perpetuation of sexualization in media encourages violence against women as well as sexism, misogyny, and other forms of discrimination against females, contributing to gender-based violence. The idea that a woman’s worth in society is determined by her physical appearance and attractiveness is being propagated, either through women advocating unrealistic body images, encouraging provocative apparel for young girls, or demeaning pornography. This promotes young females’ concern with the way how they are perceived and valued physically, undermining their genuine identity. It was made clear in a conducted interview with Barbara Wiener, the organization’s founder, and executive director of “tv by girls”, that as girls enter puberty and begin to build their identities, they look to the outside world for indications about what behaviors and appearances are acceptable. In this manner, girls resort to the media, in which “they see a tall, blonde model, not just as a model, but a representative of how she is supposed to look and be” (Tv by girls, 2022). As a result, girls are ultimately impacted by the media in a way that prevents them from developing their own, true identities but encourages them to aspire to an unrealistic picture of women.

Read: Major Drivers of Femicide, A Global Pandemic

Furthermore, the way how women and girls are sexualized in media has a detrimental impact on mental well-being. This is increasingly prevalent now as Influencers on social media sites like Instagram, or Tik Tok promote the unattainable standard of attractiveness and consequently influence young people’s lives across the world. In accordance with American Psychological Association (APA), sexualization has destructive consequences in a range of dimensions, such as cognitive performance, and sexual behavior and development. Accordingly, women and girls adapt to beliefs that the media is providing, including inaccurate images of women and girls in their age range. This can lead to the development of internal struggles, perplexity, increased comparison, and self-doubting thinking patterns. According to Barbara Wiener (tv by girls), “one of the saddest parts that are happening [when girls are exposed to sexualization], is that young girls never feel their bodies are good enough because they do not fit the sexualized models.” Accordingly, the most prevalent mental health problems resulting from girls being frequently exposed to sexualization in media, are eating disturbed behavior, depression, low self-esteem, and self-harm (APA, 2022). 

Read: Silencing of Women Around the Globe

Moreover, sexualized media contributes to detrimental gender stereotypes that frequently downplay gender-based violence against women by persistently hypersexualizing and objectifying women and girls. Not only women and girls, but also men and boys suffer from these preconceptions’ negative effects. Accordingly, boys and men observe how women and girls are represented and consequently, internalize the idea that women solely exist for the benefit of men. As a result, sexualization in media contributes to the fact that society keeps up the stereotype that women are only valuable as sex objects for males to enjoy. The creation of media based on those gender-based stereotypes leads to the ongoing promotion of a destructive and harmful culture against women and girls. 

What can we do about it? 

 There are numerous strategies to fight against the mass media’s sexualization and objectification of women and girls. For example, writing letters, signing petitions, and joining groups that support gender equality and fair gender portrayal in the media. One method, which is attainable for many people, is to use social media to draw attention to the issue and to educate others. Through posting a story on Instagram or developing an own hashtag, the issue of sexualization in media is given a platform and a chance to address the issue in the first place. Another strategy to counteract objectification and sexualization of women in the media is to think about seeing and supporting a documentary that deals with the issue. One choice, for instance, maybe to advocate for the documentary on your social media pages or consider telling your family and friends about it. 

Read: How Can We Dismantle the Social Construct of Female Beauty?

Finally, it is beneficial to use the resources provided by initiatives and projects that support good depictions of women and girls. For instance, a crucial aspect of sexualization in media is that most media outlets are governed by males, which implies that men, who have themselves been impacted by the sexualization of women, are primarily responsible for determining how and what women are portrayed. Considering this, it is important to give women’s voices a platform in the media to be successful in changing the way how women’s and girls’ interests are represented in the media. 

Read: The Role of the Society in Crafting Our Body Image

As an illustration, the organization “tv by girls” works with numerous women and girls to help them develop their leadership potential, cross-cultural understanding, teamwork skills, and capacity to bring about compassionate change in the world through media art expression. Accordingly, the opportunity for girls and women to speak up for their core interests in the media ultimately results in the fact that “girls are given the opportunity to be leaders and to have their ideas reinforced and brought out, it is like opening the window [for girls] to see the possibility of the world” (tv by girls, 2022). Such organizations—among many others—provide women and girls with the confidence and chance to make their mark in the media, which ultimately results in the deconstruction of the emphasis on the objectification and sexualization of women as stereotypes. In fact, it promotes the inclusion of topics that are accurately representative of women to make the media more realistic. 

“[We] are not going to be able to change the media images, we have to empower girls to become women, to become the demand for their daughters and sons” (Tv by girls, 2022)