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Grace Kidder

Professor Beth Robinson

Comp 1, 8:00 A.M.

21 Nov. 2014

The Sexualization of Women in Society Today

Women have made incredible advancements throughout the last century, from earning the

right to vote to being accepted to universities to having a stronger presence in the workforce. So

why is it that, even after so much progress has been made by and for women in society, females

are still portrayed in such a degrading manner, their worth solely dependent on how sexually

appealing they are to the opposite gender? Jeffery Brown, in his book Dangerous Curves: Action

Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular Culture, further explains this idea: “The standard

glamorous presentation of actresses and models with perfect faces and hair, thin bodies and

augmented breasts, sexy clothing, and provocative poses reinforces the standard objectification

of women for male pleasure at every turn” (Brown 93). Society has sexualized women beyond

the point of acceptability, effectively turning females into objects of men’s sexual desires. This

extreme sexualization is evident in many aspects of our culture today, but for the purposes of this

report I will focus on three main areas: the advertisement industry, “nerd culture,” and

Halloween costumes. The wide scope of and differences between these three examples only

further proves how persistent the sexualization of women really is. Please be warned before

reading farther: due to the topic of this report, some of the images included may be explicit,

shocking, and/or offensive.

Sex sells. One of the oldest and most well-known tactics in the advertising industry, this

statement holds true today more than ever. The sexualized ads that can be found today in
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magazines, on television, and online range from slightly suggestive to disgustingly provocative,

such as the highly controversial Tom Ford fragrance for men ad in which a bottle of cologne is

placed between a woman’s breasts in one picture and in her crotch in another (Anderson).

Women in advertisements have become more and more sexually objectified due to clothing (or

lack thereof), body position, and context. There is a point behind the blatant sexualization of

women: advertisements are meant to make consumers remember a company or product, so

companies will do whatever they can to make their ads memorable, whether that be by using a

catchy jingle, a beaten dog looking at the camera with pleading eyes, or a sexy model. However,

the idea that sex sells has gone too far, as women in ads are consistently being shown nude, in

sexual positions, or at the mercy of men; all of these only reinforce sexism and objectification as

normal and acceptable.

The clothes that a woman wears, or does not wear, in an advertisement, regardless of

whether it is for a clothing company or not, carry heavy influence on the sexualization of that

woman. American Apparel, the clothing company frequently criticized for its borderline

pornographic advertisements, often advertises an article of clothing by showing a model wearing

said article – and nothing else. In a picture advertising their Sheer Luxe Cutout Pantyhose, the

model is featured wearing the pantyhose but is otherwise unclothed (see Figure 1). Now one may

think that this ad only appeared in something such as a men’s magazine, or is only available on a

Google search with the SafeSearch feature turned off. Let it be known, however, that this picture

was found on American Apparel’s public consumer website (as of 6 Nov. 2014), and I censored it

for the sake of this report. Why American Apparel tries to sell hosiery by using otherwise nude

women is beyond comprehension – I personally like to wear other clothes with my tights, so I

would like to see how those tights look with other articles of clothing, but that may just be me. If
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the respect and dignity of women are not reason enough to change the sexualization of women in

advertisements, clothing companies that employ nude models do themselves a disservice – being

that clothing is what they are trying to sell, it would seem logical for their models to be wearing

their clothes.

Figure 1
Not only does this ad demonstrate the sexualization of women through nudity, but also in

body position. The model is in a provocative pose, with one hand on her genitals and the other

placed behind her head to expose her breasts. Another image advertising the same product shows

only the model from the waist up, both breasts exposed and with her finger in her mouth. What is

the point of this picture if one cannot even see the article being advertised? It makes a person

wonder: what is American Apparel, and other companies like it that employ highly sexualized

advertising, actually trying to sell – clothes or women? Like the pose pictured above, the

positions women are shown in are meant to increase their sexual appeal. The fact that such poses

prevail in advertising is troubling, but equally as disturbing is the fact that we as a society have

come to expect them. The author of Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualization of Western Culture

illustrates this trend: “Arched backs, exposed breasts and simulated orgasms are so routine as to

rarely provoke comment” (Attwood 94). Our culture has completely brainwashed us to not even

blink at seeing nudity in advertising, and it is commonplace to see women portrayed as sexual
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objects, ready to satiate every male desire. Besides ads in which females are sexualized by their

clothing or body position, many ads feature women in suggestive, compromising, or even violent

scenarios, often involving men portrayed as the dominant gender.

The context of advertisements today, along with the innuendos found in them, are also

troubling. Many companies are not opposed to using suggestive captions, dialogue, or pictures in

their ads to appeal to men’s sexual fantasies. An ad campaign from the American Red Cross to

promote donating blood features a woman in a skimpy nurse’s outfit that barely contains her

enormous breasts staring seductively at the camera, with the caption “Are you my type? A | B |

AB | O” (Are You My Type?). Being a campaign to entice potential blood donors, these words in

and of themselves are not terrible; however, combined with the clothing, positions, and otherwise

sensual nature of the photographs, this ad for what should be a very noble cause becomes

corrupted with sexual connotations. Besides overtly suggestive innuendos, a disturbing trend of

depicting women as submissive to men has emerged in advertising. The scenarios in which

women are portrayed in these types of advertisements, which range from having slightly sexist

undertones to full-blown masculine supremacy, perpetuate male dominance and normalize

violence. One such advertisement with violent subtext is a

2007 Dolce & Gabonna ad, which received a lot of backlash

for portraying a scene reminiscent of a gang rape (see Figure

2). In a paper analyzing Rolling Stone covers, Erin Hatton

and Mary Trautner indicate that sexualized images such as

Figure 2

this “may legitimize or exacerbate violence against women and girls, sexual harassment, and

anti-women attitudes among men” (Hatton and Trautner 257-258). By glamorizing sexual
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violence against women, sexism, domestic abuse, sexual assault, rape, etc. are made not only

more acceptable in society, but possibly even something to strive for.

Besides the blatant sexualization of women that is present in commercial advertising

today, it is also existent in video games and comic books, which I will collectively refer to as

“nerd culture.” Gaming and superheroes have long been thought of as male territory, and that is

certainly clear in the way female avatars and superheroes are portrayed. The demographics of

gamers is changing, however, and as a female gamer and Marvel lover I am particularly

disappointed by the under- and misrepresentation of women in video games and comic books.

Female avatars are not given proper armor or clothing appropriate for their activities, even

though their male counterparts have suitable protection. Women in video games and comic books

are also drawn with highly unrealistic bodies, meant solely to emphasize the sexy clothing they

were given. As if this is not enough, women are drawn in ridiculous poses to show off their

sexualized bodies and clothes. Sexualizing the female characters in video games and comic

books not only reinforces the idea that gaming and superheroes are only for boys and men, but it

also depicts women as sex objects meant only to provide pleasure to the male audience.

The first aspect of how women are sexually portrayed in comics and video games is their

clothing or armor. Being that a majority of video games are action-themed, it would follow that

the character’s apparel would reflect the action-packed activities she is doing. More often than

not, however, female avatars wear skimpy, skin-tight outfits that scarcely cover the bare

minimum (sometimes failing to do even that); one would be hard-pressed to find a female

character whose clothes actually provide coverage and support. A tank top and short shorts are

great for relaxing on the beach, but hardly proper attire for a woman climbing through the jungle,

shooting alien invaders, or maneuvering through enemy terrain. The few well-known female
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superheroes (think Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Black Widow) are always pictured in skin-tight,

spandex suits that serve little functional purpose other than to draw the male gaze. A study of 489

characters from 60 different video games found that 41% of all female characters were shown

wearing sexually revealing clothing (Downs and Smith 727). The clothing that women are

given in video games and comics is unrealistic and

impractical: armor is meant to protect – what good is a

leotard and heeled boots at providing coverage and

support? A humorous game created by deviantArt

user OzzieScribbler illustrates the absurdity of the

armor (or lack thereof) provided for female avatars

(see Figure 3). If there were any advantages to cat suits

or stilettos, I would be all for women superheroes

wearing them; however, seeing as there are no practical

Figure 3
reasons for wearing them, it is absolutely absurd that female characters in video games and

comic books are still being drawn in such sexualized and impractical clothing.

Not only are women characters drawn with revealing attire, but they are also given

unrealistic bodies to enhance those sexual clothes. The authors of the study mentioned above

define unrealistic body proportions as having an “overly exaggerated chest-size, extremely long

legs, or a disproportionately small waist” (Downs and Smith 725). A prime example of a

franchise that utilizes a highly-sexualized woman is the Tomb Raider series, in which players

play as gun-wielding archaeologist Lara Croft. Lara’s “exaggerated sexual form” made her a sex

symbol even beyond the gaming world, appearing in men’s magazines on “Hottest Women” lists

(Brown 108-109). Just by seeing a picture of her avatar demonstrates how bizarrely Lara is
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proportioned, with breasts almost the size of her head and a waist only slightly larger around than

her neck (see Figure 4). Not only do avatars such as this serve no purpose other than to pleasure

male gamers, but they also discourage potential female gamers from

playing. I may just be speaking for myself, but I would much rather play as an

anatomically-proportionate character with practical attire than an avatar

resembling a Barbie doll dressed for the beach who looks like she might fall over

at any moment from the sheer weight of her enormous breasts. Female avatars in

video games are commonly sexualized, but stagnant characters, such as those found
Figure 4
in comic books, can also be extremely objectified.

Female characters, specifically in comic books, are drawn in unrealistic poses meant to

emphasize their sexual features. Some of these poses, besides just being ridiculous, are simply

not anatomically possible, as shown by the 3D rendering of a Spider Woman drawing (see Figure

5). Stances such as this are not conducive to fighting, running, jumping, or anything else that

would be expected of a female superhero; the only reason women are drawn in such positions are

to draw attention to their breasts, buttocks, and legs. There is an amusing campaign known as the

“Hawkeye Initiative” used to show how absurdly women are

portrayed in comic books. In this campaign, artists draw popular

male superheroes, most specifically the Avenger Hawkeye, in the

positions female superheroes are drawn in. One specific redrawing

of the Avengers movie poster is particularly entertaining, with the

male members of the Avengers facing away from the audience to

show off their perfectly rounded buttocks, as women often are in

Figure 5

comics (Bolk). The fact that female characters appear in such sexual poses, even though they are
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strong women capable of fighting villains and saving the world, is simply ridiculous, and only

proves that sexism and sexualization of women is still very present in nerd culture today.

So far the examples of how society overly sexualizes women have had relatively the

same motive – to capture the attention of potential consumers and make them remember a

product, game, character, brand, etc. Now I will introduce an example that does not share this

same motive, and that is Halloween costumes. The costumes that are available for females now,

both young and adult, seem to continually increase in degree of sexiness, and so-called “slutty”

costumes have come to be the norm. In the words of New York Times reporter Stephanie

Rosenbloom, the costumes available for women now have become “more strip club than

storybook” (Rosenbloom). Halloween costumes now fetishize professions, characters, and even

inanimate objects that should not be considered sexy by any means. However, these racy

costumes are generally only found in the women’s section, which points out the severe

disconnect between how men are perceived versus how women are. Another problem with

sexualized costumes is that they begin to appear at a young age, a fact which can be harmful to

children and their perceptions of gender differences. I, along with countless numbers of

feminists, believe that every woman has the right to be sexy. The problem with the sexualization

of this much-beloved holiday is that it leaves few options for those who want to be cute, scary,

funny, etc. for Halloween: there are not many other choices if a girl does not want to be

something sexy, unless she wants to make her own costume or be a nun.

The sad thing is that even nuns, something that should be one of the purest and innocent

costumes, have been sexualized, as the Halloween Express website offers both a “Naughty Nun”

and a “Sexy Sister” costume (as of 11 Nov. 2014). This illustrates one major aspect of the

hypersexualization of Halloween costumes – the fetishization of things that are not even
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supposed to be remotely sexually attractive. Another example of this, also found on Halloween

Express’s website, is a bottle of Coca-Cola. An inanimate object, there should be nothing even

slightly sexy about it, yet somehow manufacturers have found a way to sexualize this popular

drink (see Figure 6a). Of course, only the woman’s version of this costume is sexualized; the

male Coca-Cola costume is shaped like an actual can and covers a man’s entire torso and thighs

(see Figure 6b). The sexualization of women’s Halloween costumes conveys the notion that one

gender is thought of only in terms of how they can appeal to the other gender.

Figure 6a Figure 6b

A woman can be the same exact thing as her male counterpart (i.e. a doctor, a pirate, a

police officer) and yet almost one hundred percent of the time only the female version is

sexualized, namely by focusing on and drawing attention to the breasts, midriff, and legs. Why is

this? Why are women’s costumes “reflective of very specific, pornographic male fantasies,” as

pointed out by Elizabeth Grater in her M.A. thesis The Rise of “Slut-o-ween”: Cultural

Productions of Femininity in Halloween Costumes (Grater 53)? When men “dress up as police

officers, firefighters and soldiers, they actually look like people in those professions. The same

costumes for women are so tight and low-cut they are better suited for popping out of a cake than

outlasting an emergency” (Rosenbloom). Costume companies need to realize that there is no

need for all of their costumes to be sexualized – there will still be plenty of women who want to
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dress up for Halloween but not in something sexy. Sometimes a good, clean costume is exactly

what is desired, but it is almost impossible for women to find costumes that do not play upon

their sexual appeal. A cartoon by Andy Marlette illustrates the severe dissimilarity between

costumes available for males and their sexualized female equivalents (see Figure 7).

Figure 7

This image also demonstrates the troubling fact that the patriarchal idea of femininity

being equivalent to sexiness begins in childhood. Sexualization in costumes appears even at a

young age and continues to develop – as a girl’s age goes up, so does the hemline of the skirts in

costumes offered to her. Whether or not children’s costumes are explicitly sexual, they play upon

the innocent playfulness of children, then transitioning to a focus on the sassy and flirty nature of

teens, and culminating in the overtly sexual women’s costumes that plague the shelves of

Halloween stores. For a display of this progression, please refer to Tumblr user pr1nceshawn’s

compilation of Halloween costumes for girls (Pr1nceshawn). This upsetting trend can be

detrimental to children, as it places too much import on a girl’s need to be sexually appealing in

order to be successful: in her love life, her work life, and life in general. The costumes available

for little girls also reinforce gender stereotypes and roles; while little boys’ costumes typically
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center on themes of heroism and masculinity (think superheroes, soldiers, pirates), young girls’

costumes often reflect an emphasis on femininity and physical attractiveness, such as princesses,

beauty pageant winners, or cheerleaders (Nelson 141). Costumes such as these enforce the idea

of girls as passive individuals, dependent on their beauty to attract princes to ride in and carry

them off to their happy ending. Sexualized costumes are good and fine when chosen by adult

women who have an actual desire to be sexy, but because they are really the only ones available,

and begin to be offered to females at such a young age, is why they are a problem.

In examining various facets of our culture today, the sexualization of women is extremely

apparent. Society has sexualized women beyond the point of acceptability, effectively turning

females into objects of men’s sexual desires. From advertising to video games to Halloween

costumes, the sexual manner in which females are portrayed reinforces the idea that a woman’s

worth is reliant on how well she can satisfy a man. It is truly saddening to see how objectified

women are today, even after so much progress has been made in respect to women’s rights. As a

woman (and truly every human being should believe this as well), I believe that females have the

right to be treated with respect and equality; however, these two things are severely lacking in

how women are portrayed in the media and commercial business. If a car company wants to

advertise its latest model using half-naked women, then I want to see a half-naked man in the

next commercial trying to sell me Doritos. Maybe then society will finally come to realize how

absurd the extent to which women have been sexualized is.

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Works Cited

Anderson, Helen. “Fashion complaints – Is baring all a step too far?” Ministry of Fashion. 31

May, 2012. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.

Are You My Type? Advertisement. Talent.adweek.com. American Red Cross, n.d. Web. 8 Oct.

2014. <http://talent.adweek.com/gallery/American-Red-Cross-Campaign/1722545>

Attwood, Fiona. Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualization of Western Culture. London: I.B. Tauris,

Feb. 2009. ProQuest. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

Bolk, Kevin. Avengers Booty Ass-emble. 2011. DeviantArt. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.

Brown, Jeffery A. Dangerous Curves: Action Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular Culture.

Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, Feb. 2011. Web. ProQuest ebrary. 3 Nov. 2014.

Downs, Edward, and Stacy Smith. "Keeping Abreast Of Hypersexuality: A Video Game

Character Content Analysis." Sex Roles 62.11/12 (2010): 721-733. SocINDEX with Full

Text. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.

Grater, Elizabeth A. The Rise of “Slut-o-ween”: Cultural Productions of Femininity in

Halloween Costumes. M.A. thesis. The George Washington University, 2012. Ann Arbor:

UMI, 2012. AAT 1510421. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.

Hatton, Erin, and Mary Trautner. "Equal Opportunity Objectification? The Sexualization of Men

and Women on the Cover of Rolling Stone." Sexuality & Culture 15.3 (2011): 256-278.

Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.

Nelson, Adie. "The Pink Dragon Is Female." Psychology of Women Quarterly 24.2 (2000): 137-

144. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.

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Pr1nceshawn. The evolution of Halloween costumes for girls. 2014. Tumblr. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

<http://pr1nceshawn.tumblr.com/post/100020803071/the-evolution-of-halloween-

costumes-for-girls>

Rosenbloom, Stephanie. “Good Girls Go Bad, For a Day.” New York Times. 19 Oct. 2006. Web.

8 Nov. 2014.

Figures

Figure 1 – Sheer Luxe Cutout Pantyhose. Advertisement. American Apparel. American Apparel,

n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.

Figure 2 – Dolce & Gabonna. Advertisement. Blogs.longwood.edu. Dolce & Gabonna, 2007.

Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://blogs.longwood.edu/advertising3/2012/10/11/dolce-gabbana-

ad/>

Figure 3 – Scribbler, Ozzie. Female Armor Bingo. 2014. DeviantArt. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.

Figure 4 – TR One TR1004. N.d. Tomb Raider. Laura Croft Online. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

<http://www.laracroftonline.com/media_gallery/image/tr1/pictures/tr1004.jpg>

Figure 5 – Dinoignacio. I Rendered Milo Manara’s Spider-Woman Pose in 3D. 2014. Imgur.

Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://imgur.com/FmE7mJz>

Figure 6a – Coca Cola Dress. Halloween Express. Halloween Express, 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.

Figure 6b – Coca-Cola Costume. Halloween Express. Halloween Express, 2014. Web. 9 Nov.

2014.

Figure 7 – Marlette, Andy. Cartoon. News Journal, 2000. Found in The Rise of “Slut-o-ween.”

Web. 9 Nov. 2014.