Sex sells - comments wanted

[w_t5]

I am helping a student with some information for a research paper about sexual images in media and how sex

sells. Would be helpful if some would like to comment about the following topics:

 

1) Do you feel that women are overly exploited in media and advertisements?

 

2) Do you think that media and advertisements shape the peoples views of perfection?

 

3) As a photographer, do you feel that sexual photos would get your work more attention?

 

Please add any stories or examples you care to share.

[ellis_vener_photography]

1.0 I feel that the hetero-sexual male reaction to images of women is heavily exploited for commercial purposes. The models in these ads are generally well compensated.

 

2.) Yes.

[Norma Desmond]

1) These days, men seem to be used as sex objects as much as women, both in advertising and in entertainment (Sex

in the City, Desperate Housewives, True Blood). Perfection is exploited as much as people. But there are important

historical, cultural, and sociological reasons why men are less likely to feel exploited than women. Until that changes,

especially in the United States, our views of sex, sexual roles, gender identity, sexual identity will likely remain as

adolescent and Puritanical as it has been for centuries.

 

2) Yes.

 

3) It would in the gay, but likely not in the straight, community.

[yeffe]

Here's social critic John Leo on the perniciousness of advertising. BTW: Joel Meyerowitz 'made' his career on this ad account.

 

After reading this,I began to see this even in seemingly innocuous Coca-Cola ads.

 

"With Newport ads, either you see it right away or you don’t. And we’re not talking subliminal seduction, genitalia in ice cubes or anything nutty like that. We’re talking sexual combat disguised as play.

 

Viz.:

 

Most women who drink from garden hoses usually do not do so when a man’s nose is three inches away and the water is shooting out at 100 pounds per square inch. The water speed suggests danger. Clearly, the poor woman has some unmet oral needs, or she would have given up Newports and power hoses by now. The hunched, too-close position of the male in an oral-sex photo is the standard soft-core-porn way of suggesting that sex is forced.

In the past year Newport ads have been killing off more males than females. Does research show that female smokers want more symbolically dead males, or is it simply a fair-minded attempt to even the body count? People who ski rapidly into trees tend to be maimed. The sex-and-death theme is carried by the odd phallic demibranch sticking out from the tree.

This man is emitting a symbolic scream, the only sensible thing to do when a woman symbolically stomps on your private parts while you are unwisely spread-eagled halfway up a tree.

This male is surprising and delighting the female by plunging his hands into her pumpkin. Pumpkin-plunging occurs frequently in the Newport universe.

Suggestions of oral sex are ho-hum in fashion and advertising, but orgasmic fellatio scenes are still puzzlingly rare. Here a devoted girlfriend opens wide, apparently happy to have his machine go off at roughly the level of his crotch and her mouth. Obviously a trouper, she tries to catch as many of his precious bodily gumballs as she can.

The proper way to decode a Newport ad is to ask yourself, What’s wrong with this picture? In this case, it’s the leaves falling on the man’s head. No photographer in America would shoot the picture with a shutter speed so slow that falling leaves would blur. Unless, of course, the read and yellow leaves were meant to suggest the poor fellow’s immolation. He’s not afraid of leaves: His head is on fire. This might explain why he is wincing.

The male is scrunched down and doing something tense enough to make him grimace while the woman is busy being finger-trapped.

Man as penetrator and scorer, woman as receptacle and target. The referee’s shirt indicates she is neutral and safe, or would like to be. But the angle of the man’s upcoming slam-dunk indicates her imminent need for a reconstructed nose and a new set of teeth. As in other Newport scenes where disfigurement seems in store for a woman, the male is wearing the executioner’s dark shirt.

A merry seasonal rape scene. A girlfriend tries in vain to defend the victim, but the monstrous male, left over from familiar horror films, carts her off anyway. The smiling pumpkin is having a good time: His victim is wearing Newport’s usual half-scream–half-grin.

This photo has been shot and doctored to eliminate perspective and make the kneeling or sitting woman appear to be directly in the fire. The male’s scarf hangs like a priest’s amice, suggesting a religious or ritual burning, while his right hand seems to hold her down in the flames – Newport’s own Joan of Arc.

Thank goodness the alert art director has made the football jump out of the frame at right. If it didn’t innocents might think this was a rape scene. How often, we might well ask, do men play tackle football with women? When they do, how often do they apply dangerous chokeholds to a relaxed female obviously out of the play? If it is a football game, why doesn’t the tackler ignore the already-choking lineperson and concentrate on the ballcarrier?

Those of you trained by Jesuits know that subjugation is Latin for “under the yoke.” Here the male, with taunting leer and vehemently-clenched fist, is subjugating his enthralled female. Newport’s arbiter’s of symbolic coding must have been asleep the day this one was approved: The misogyny is so obvious that ten negative letters poured into Lorillard and the ad was pulled. Newport’s explanation of the scene: “We thought it was tender.”

Newport may be alive with pleasure, but this poor lady is about to be dead without it. The man’s dark hair and dark sweater suggest the executioner; his idea of a good time seems borrowed from the Boston Strangler. Do women really like to have their heads mummified like this during their leisure time, and if so, why does she seem to be screaming?

“Ooh,” the impressed female seems to be saying, and why not? She is the guest at a private showing of what appears to be the largest condom in America. The proud owner wisely restrains her with an extra-tight handhold.

The gutter, by the way, reads “All ads © Lorillard, U.S.A.”

[waltflanagan]

Giselle Bundchen is one of the richest women in the world. She's not being exploited, she's exploiting us!

 

Go to a bookstore and look at the magazines. All of the magazines for men (Maxim, car and music magazines) have beautiful women on the cover. Now look at the magazines for women (Cosmo, bridal magazines) They also have pictures of beautiful women on the cover. Pictures of men don't sell much.

[brucecahn]

1 no, 2 yes, 3 yes but don't care.

[Norma Desmond]

http://www.elle.com/fashionreport/14072/return-of-the-male-sex-object.html

 

Advertisers are using idealized men's bodies very effectively. They appeal certainly to a gay audience, and in doing so,

help set trends that mainstream audiences will eventually catch onto. These models appeal to women, who do a lot of the

shopping for men. And they appeal to straight men, often more subliminally . . . wearing the clothes, fragrances, deodorant

will make me be or look like that.

[waltflanagan]

Wow Fred, you obviously have different friends than I do. I guess you're not in the computer industry! :)

 

We wear T-shirts and shorts/jeans every day. Our wives, girlfriends, mothers, all give us nice clothes for Christmas and they just sit in the closet never worn some with the tags still on them until finally they are donated to Goodwill.

[Norma Desmond]

Walt-- When you have a spare minute, google "metrosexual."

[kelly_flanigan1]

One may ponder why adverts have cute young 125 Lb men and women instead of 300 Lb women in hair curlers; or fat 400 Lb balding men with giant beer bellies and no teeth. How about folks with bad BO; or an evil look; or that look like they are missing links?. How about adverts of food that looks all greasy; rotten covered with flies and maggots? . Most sane folks want a product that looks good; whether its food; a mate; clothes, car or cellphone. Ugly stuff sells less; its a million year old selection issue hard wired in many animals brains. That "sex sells" is as old as life itself; its what keeps the many species of plants and animals going more generations.

[bangengeman]

1) Do you feel that women are overly exploited in media and advertisements?

 

:: No. If anything, they're the ones exploiting men. **If you're a male reading this, you should be nodding in approval right now** Think about it. They use a primal need in men to help sell a product, that in turn, pays them. For example: Company X hires Model A to promote Product XX. Joe 6Pack sees the advertisement, and buys Product XX mainly because Model A is endorsing the product. Company X makes revenue, and part of that revenue goes to Model A for maybe just standing there and getting a really good picture taken. Who was exploited then?

 

2) Do you think that media and advertisements shape the peoples views of perfection?

 

:: No. Any thinking person who has had a lot of interaction with celebrities will know that a lot --not all -- of them have nothing going in the head. If you're a thinking person, looks matter as much as brains and personality when it comes to determining perfection.

 

3) As a photographer, do you feel that sexual photos would get your work more attention?

 

:: Maybe not the right kind of attention, but yes, it will attract attention. There's porn, there's plain ole' nude and there's artistic nude. My subjects don't include any of the previously noted variations, but I do have a curiosity to try and shoot artistic nudity.

[cooltpmd]

(1) NO, and I always thought that was a funny question. Models, knowingly accept money ... to have their picture taken. Simple transaction. What happens in the hands of advertising media is much more complex. the end viewer is the victim.

 

(2) WITHOUT A DOUBT. Psychology recognizes that people overestimate what they see frequently. People think Democrats and their philosophy is predominant because the media leans left. In fair elections, 50:50 is much more the case. Similarly, weight/height/muscularity/breast size, etc... of models is seem as a norm, when actually they are a quite rare bread.

 

(3) PROVEN DAILY HERE. Just look at the "number of views" of the quirky peacock, lovely landscape, and spread eagle blonde ... it usually answers this one well.

[Ray House]

And then there are the Epson "Beautiful" ads...which I think are great! They go against what has been mentioned above, but I find myself taking the time to really look at them. Thanks Epson!

[brian_derouen]

1) Do you feel that women are overly exploited in media and advertisements?

Yes.

 

2) Do you think that media and advertisements shape the peoples views of perfection?

Defintently. It is a visual society.

 

3) As a photographer, do you feel that sexual photos would get your work more attention?

I'm sure it would but how would you get a dolphin, a pelican, a ship, a bird, and a shell to go nude?

Honestly, I would not want more attention to my photos if I had to include sex to get attention, the pictures I take

should speak for themselves as they are.

[AJHingel]

Three times YES !

[mrraz]

Yes, yes, yes,

 

Male or female, we have all become objectified, but it doesn't really matter. Ideas of perfection will change with each new generation. Sex will always sell, but good photography will also transcend the simple erotic over time.

[sobeystudio]

I don't have a stupid answer- that is "ask a stupid question..." Really, this information isn't worth asking. Its been answered

time and again, with the same response. Your "student friend" should do their own homework.

[dd_toth]

Geez louise Martin just because something has been discussed in the past doesn’t mean that it can never be discussed again. Get off your high horse. Photo.net has such a huge range of people in it that you get so many different views and opinions. There is nothing wrong with wanting to hear them. Sometimes what some people have to offer, make you think about something in a different way and that’s how we grow to become well rounded individuals…maybe you should listen or ignore this post, if you don’t have anything of value to add. Anyways…

 

1) Do you feel that women are overly exploited in media and advertisements?

 

Yes and no. When you think about it women and men can recognize the beauty of women everyday in our lives. Say my husband and I are walking down the street and we see this trendy woman with a curvaceous body walk by and both him and I will comment on her. But if a beautiful man walks by, I’m the only one commenting. So in a sense it’s much easier to attract a broader range of people because women appeal to everyone really.

 

Most men don’t like to admit that they find the same sex attractive, however most woman have no issues pointing out and telling another woman that she is beautiful. But it’s my theory that we all in a sense are attracted to one another, and that attraction is what tells us what beauty is or not. I bug my husband all the time, I tell him that you see that man and you know he is good looking and the reason you know that is because you are attracted to him, and he always tries to disagree and tell me he’s not but how would you know, there has to be something telling yourself that he is what is considered attractive/beautiful/good looking… And I don’t mean sexually attracted.

 

You can say that a man will see a good looking male model advertising a product and therefore want to see themselves looking like that and end up buying the product, however if there was a woman put in the same advertisement they will see it and think I want to attract women just like that man is. Which one will work better I don’t know. But women definitely help sell, and if they are attractive it helps even more. I fully 100% agree with Kelly Flanigan.

 

2) Do you think that media and advertisements shape the peoples views of perfection?

 

I have this theory that I have been toying with….I think it all ties in to our own self esteem and self confidence. If everyone was 100% happy with themselves with the way they are, then the word perfection could be found everywhere in everyone. I think that if our parents/mentors/teachers instilled in all of us, at a young age of what real beauty is and that the only flaw is the way the media tries to make you look at things, then the way we advertise product may change a bit in a positive way… I’m not really done thinking about this theory of mine but feel free to add your own comments to it.

 

3) As a photographer, do you feel that sexual photos would get your work more attention?

 

What’s funny is that I’m now trying to change the focus of my own photography business to specialize in Boudoir photography which means I’m going to be taking photos with a more sexual nature. And I’m not doing this to try to get more attention. It has really been my clients that have got me to take this route because of the want for it, and they like how I portray them. I’m doing this to help women see that they too are beautiful, if not more, then the women they see in advertisements. Women are now almost wanting to take a stand and say I’m beautiful too, and to celebrate it.

[kristina_kraft]

Yes, yes, yes and no.

I totally agree with Desirae. It's true what you say about attraction. Although, here I'm talking about real, natural beauty of a woman. For me, that "kind" of woman is like a shell with a pearl inside. There are so many physically beautiful women out there that I'm going to refer them as being a shells without pearls. In my opinion regarding men, I dare to say that dream of every man is to find a shell with a pearl.

[lou korell]

Using the word "exploited" may be a poor choice. What does it really mean? Certainly the models for advertising are not exploited. They get paid good money and they know what they are doing. So, who is being exploited? The public? If people are not intelligent enough to know that even if they buy a product they will still be themselves and not the person in the ad, then they are not being exploited, they are just being dumb.

You and only you have the power to be exploited or not. If you trust all advertising then you are exploiting yourself. Companies sell products. They do so to make money, not to help everyone with their self-esteem. It is a personal choice whether or not to buy the products. We always are quick to blame everyone else for our poor choices.

[lou korell]

3. As a photographer, do you feel that sexual photos would get your work more attention?

 

Only if you are interested in that particular market. Then you have to be as good if not better than most of the "erotic" photographers out there. There are those who do fantastic work in that market, but you won't make good money unless you are very competitive in the upper echelons of the market. I may be wrong, so others feel free to correct me, but I don't think there are as many contracts as there used to be. Most work is done freelance and only compensated initially as freelance without re-use fees. Not an easy way to make a living unless you are very busy.

[lou korell]

2. Do you think that media and advertisements shape the peoples views of perfection?

 

They certainly hope they do. That's how they sell stuff. But if you believe their view of "perfection", you deserve the results of the products you buy.

[lou korell]

I think I misunderstood your use of the term "sexual photos". Sex in advertising sells because we like to look at it, not necessarily because we think if we buy something it will give us more sex.

I think any good photographs will get you more attention if they are used in a mass media campaign, sexual or not. Of course, you can create more of a stir if they are controversial. How about Annie L's Miley Cyrus shoot as an example?

[yeffe]

"If people are not intelligent enough to know that even if they buy a

product they will still be themselves and not the person in the ad, then they

are not being exploited, they are just being dumb."

 

Was it PT Barnum who said: 'there's a sucker born every minute?' H. L. Mencken said: 'No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American People." But then, Mencken never met John McCain.

 

Smirnoff, the middle-shelf vodka brand repeatedly wins out over almost all other more expensive brands in blind taste tests. It may not be scientific proof but business puts its ad money in 'branding' as the way to customer recognition, leading to customer confidence and finally, customer identification. Its how Black and Decker, after decades of making well-reputed professional and semi-pro power tools moved its brand into mass retail outlets in the form of toaster ovens, coffee makers and such. The consumer division of B/D is well reputed in the industry (small appliance, audio, etc.) to turn out something I can't describe in the pages of a family forum. I own a B&D toaster-oven. I unplug it when Ieave the room.

[chris_waller]

1) Who is being exploited - the model or the target of the advertising?

2) Anyone who any longer believes what they see in adverts deserves to be suckered.

3) It certainly worked for Hugh Hefner and Bob Guccione.