My Writing Portfolio Objectification of Women in the Media | Page 4

of skin and by using pervasive, sexual taglines. Advertising affects people’s social behavior and
plays a major role in how the society perceives certain ideas; it is a “pervasive cultural institution
that represents women in a problematic and unacceptable way” (Kates & Shaw-Garlock, 1999).
Advertisements, infomercials, commercials and other media outlets depict females in a sexual
manner, in order to attract the audience’s attention. Media’s sexual portrayal of women is often
accompanied with certain branded products, and according to Frith and Mueller (2003), this
creates interest in the products and, consequently, sales of the product will increase (p. 94). Thus,
women are objectified and degraded for purposes such as the increase of sales, and this majorly
affects and shapes how men perceive women. As a consequence of this problematic perception
of women, it is not surprising that violent aggressive behavior towards women has increased, and
rape is an unsolved and recurring issue in our world. In rape cases, often the victims of rape, i.e.
the women, are blamed. In their study, Loughnan et al. (2013) sought to find out whether the
sexual objectification of women altered the way people perceived victims of immoral acts, and
they concluded that perceivers eliminate attributions of mind, which limits their moral concern
(p. 18). This crucially affects people’s perceptions as they commence to view and treat rape
victims in a degrading manner. Victims of sexual assault are even blamed for the way they dress,
e.g. wearing provocative clothing or showing too much skin. Thus, it can be noted that the
immoral objectification of females in the media results in their mistreatment and dehumanizes
them in the eyes of men.
Advertisements are one of the most significant and influential forms of mass media, as
they are able to reach a massive audience and spread the information they want. Each individual
perceives a media message differently, depending on their own personal set of norms, cultures
and ideas, however, it is the media that alters and shapes people’s culture and moral norms. The
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