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Dee Jackson
English 115
Professor Beadle
1 November 2016
Sexual Objectification
In todays society, a commonly heard phrase in marketing and advertising is, sex sells.
This phrase is typically used to describe the different methods by which companies use different
forms of sexual expression to sell or market a product or service. While observing a clothing
advertisement for the Primitive brand, I took note of the fact that rather than attempting to
intrigue consumers without necessarily appealing to their sexualities and/or hormones, they
chose to sexually objectify two women, seemingly in an attempt to increase sales or popularity.
However, although some may agree that sexual objectification of women as an advertising or
promotional tool may have potential advantages as far as money and publicity are concerned, it
is not technically a necessity, and can be potentially harmful as it relates to representation and, in
some cases, even the well-being of members of the female gender group. In addition, not only
does sexual objectification have the potential to be harmful to the women that are being used as
objects for sexual pleasure, but there is also the possibility of damaging the way societys men
view and treat them.
As I briefly mentioned before, the sex sells concept is now quite common in media
within our society, as companies all over are utilizing sex as a tool to increase revenue and attract
attention. Often times, sexual innuendos or suggestive themes are used in promotion, seemingly

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in an effort to appeal to hormones or desires, rather than to simply intrigue or spark an innocent
interest. In the case of the Primitive advertisement that I chose to analyze, two women were
used; both in a bed, only clothed on their top halves, with their backsides aimed toward the
camera. With such bold sexuality being expressed within the image, it was almost inevitable that
gender would become a major factor throughout the analytical process. In many circumstances,
where there is gender, there is the potential for sexism, as well. According to William M. OBarr
in the article Sex in Advertising, Sexism in the context of advertising refers to the assumption
that women share certain characteristics with other women, and men with other men by virtue of
their biological sex differences. The aforementioned characteristics could potentially include
anything from body types to physical actions and mannerisms. This was exemplified through the
portrayal of the two half-naked women in an image that seemingly suggested a sexual fantasy,
where women are simply viewed as sexual objects that are mainly present for the heterosexual
male populations pleasure. Stereotypically seductive characteristics were given to the women
that were portrayed in this image, creating a focus on them, rather than the clothing that was
being advertised by the company.
Often times, the general characteristics with which many females are labeled are
misleading and negative. Numerous forms of media commonly portray women as subordinate
sex symbols that are only meant to satisfy the needs and desires of males; hence, the Primitive
brands clothing advertisement, where the two women were only shown in a seductive setting,
rather than a position of power or prestige. Because only body parts and seduction were
highlighted as being important aspects of the image, this would be considered to be an example
of sexual objectification. Sexual objectification occurs when a womans body or body parts are
singled out and separated from her as a person and she is viewed primarily as a physical object of

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male sexual desire, (Szymanski et al. 8). Many might agree that the display of women in such a
sexual manner was not necessarily intended to entice females to purchase the clothing, nor
become fans of the brand, and could even potentially push women away. However,
stereotypically speaking, it was designed to attract the attention of males, whom society expects
to be attracted to such levels of feminine sexuality. These generalizations, no matter how true
they may or may not seem to be, are technically considered to be sexist. Sexism often plays a
major role in the way that different genders are viewed, and even treated. This oftentimes leads
to inequality and unfair expectations amongst gender groups, due to one groups misconception
about the other. Sexism is also arguably one of the major reasons for the presence of sexual
objectification. Without sexism, could sexual objectification even exist? After all, both sexism
and sexual objectification do, in fact, involve stereotypes and generalizations.
Although gender and sex are topics that are commonly overlooked in discussion, or even
viewed as fish speaking of water, as described by Judith Lorber in Night to His Day: The
Social Construction of Gender, their usage in media and advertising have the potential to be
very harmful to individuals and/or their corresponding gender groups. Exposure to sexually
objectifying media has been related to self-objectification, body shame, appearance anxiety,
internalization of cultural standards of beauty, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating
symptoms (Szymanski et al. 10). The viewing of unrealistic images that seemingly portray a
fantasy, whether it be related to a situation or societys conception of an ideal image, could
possibly lead to the aforementioned symptoms within an individual. Advertisements similar to
the one published by Primitive have the potential to affect the self-esteem of the female gender
group, as well as the way that women are viewed by men in society. Because women are often
portrayed in sexual settings in different forms of media, this could potentially become what men

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expect from women, especially considering the fact that media becomes a major influence in the
process of teaching, learning, and enforcing gender, as explained by Aaron Devor in his article,
Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender (36). If women are viewed a
certain way, then it is likely that they will be treated in accordance with these views, possibly
leading to disrespect and inequality as it relates to their treatment in comparison to men. Whether
it be the physical image, or the behavior itself, images such as these are misleading, and socially
harmful for the individuals and the gender groups that both create and view them.
Although sexual objectification is a popular method used in advertising, it is not a
necessity, as it relates to selling or advertising a service or product. For instance, promotion of
childrens toys, games, and/or clothes tend to have emphasis in other areas unrelated to sex.
Often times, products and services related to children or other groups, where it would be
inappropriate to use sex as a marketing or promotional tool, advertise seemingly in an attempt to
create excitement about particular qualities of the product or service itself. For example, based
off of previous observations, the Hot Wheels company chooses to promote its product on the
basis of thrill and excitement, rather than the idea that more physical possessions (Hot Wheels
cars in this case), will entice the opposite sex. They promote the different styles and features of
the cars and tracks, as opposed to using sexual objectification to sell their toys. With that being
said, if sexual objectification could possibly become damaging to individuals and/or their gender
groups, and it is not required in order to sell a product, then there is ultimately no need for it in
advertising. Perhaps, companies could attempt to try new methods of promoting brands,
products, and/or services. Without the use of sexual objectification as a tool in advertising, there
could potentially be a decrease in social issues caused by the many misconceptions of gender,

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and also encourage sexual equality amongst members of the existing gender groups in our
society.

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Works Cited
Devor, Aaron. Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender. Composing
Gender, Edited by Rachael Groner and John F. OHara, 2014, pp. 35-43.
Griffin, Darren. Primitive Holiday 2013 Collection | Video. Stupid Dope, StupidDOPE.com, 9
Dec. 2013, http://stupiddope.com/2013/12/09/primitive-holiday-2013-collection-video/.
Lorber, Judith. Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. Composing Gender,
Edited by Rachel Groner and John F. OHara, 2014, pp. 19-33.
O'Barr, William M. Sex and Advertising. Project MUSE, The Advertising Educational
Foundation, Inc., 2011, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/443593.
Szymansk, Dawn M. et al. Sexual Objectification of Women: Advances to Theory
Research. The Counseling Psychologist, 2011, pp. 133. doi:
10.1177/0011000010378402.