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The objectification of women, more specifically, of the female body, is a prominent feature prevalent in today’s media. Ads, television, movies, and commercials are all mediums that are highly saturated with sexually explicit images, innuendos, and connotations. Is it merely a marketing strategy, or is there more to it?
The phrase, “Sex Sells” is something that we often hear from our experts in the media. It is a phrase that we do not put much thought into, but simply accepting it as inevitable due to the high content of sexually explicit images that are portrayed through the media. Is it simply a marketing scheme? And if so, what are the detriments that women face in being hyper-sexualized in the media?According to Laura Mulvey and her theory on “The (Male) Gaze,” she asserts that it is the fixing, the objectification, and the aestheticization of females, where the viewer is put into the male, heteronormative lens. She notes that here are two distinctive features in this argument: The Voyeuristic Gaze (a way of seeing women as whores or highly sexualized), and The Fetishistic Gaze (seeing women as “Madonnas” or goddesses).
Depictions of women in the media attempt to simultaneously elevate women, and degrade them. But in doing so, the result or the effect of this is the latter. Are women subconsciously aware of this “Male Gaze” and conforming to patriarchal ideals of feminine beauty, and are therefore subservient to the viewers? Or are women aware of this “Gaze,” and are using it to their advantage to attain power and/or agency? I’ll leave that up to you.
Personally, I believe that there is no definitive answer to this question. There is a definite interplay between the two positions, where men create this “gaze”, and women fulfill it either to conform to this male, heteronormative perspective, and/or in order to claim power over men. Either way, women are being subjects of objectification. Whether their intents are to attain power over the men through the performance of their bodies, the simple fact that men are the “watchers” or the “voyeurs” of such sexually explicit images and acts, the “seer” is in fact the
holder of the power, not the “doer.”

Check out this link: http://perezhilton.com/2009-03-23-sexy-steamy-sizzlin

Labels: Laura Mulvey, objectification, offensive images, sexualization, the male gaze, women