Mandy's Research Page

Because I have taken both advertising and women's studies classes, I feel I have adopted a basic understanding of this topic. I know that advertisers use the sex appeal tactic frequently because it attracts. However, it does not sell as the catch phrase often suggests. In my feminism class, we read several articles about the effects of sexual advertising. According to the articles, these ads featuring women in sexually suggestive situations often influence the ways women view themselves and their place in male-dominated society. By continuing to display women as sexual objects, advertisers are upholding patriarchy. These advertisements illustrate women as objects to look at and may often contribute to eating disorders, etc. Advertisements involving sexual images are one of the many factors that contribute to inequality among women and men.
As I research this topic, I want to reveal whether or not these arguments are true and uncover the initial response that a reasonable woman has when confronted with such advertisements. I also want to look at how this has changed in advertising over time. I want to address the manner in which women continue to be portrayed through advertising and the effects this has on their self-images.
My target audience for this research is directed at young women in their teens, twenties, and even thirties. Perhaps this would make an interesting article for a magazine such as Glamour or Mademoiselle. I think any women in this age category would benefit from this research because it affects all of them. Whether or not they realize it, sexual images in advertising are everywhere and will reach them to some extent.

Web sources Addressing this Topic:

Title of Web Page: You and Me Babe, Sex and Advertising
Web address: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~taflinge/sex.html
Brief Description: This web pages examines how advertisers use sex to sell their products and shows various advertisements to illustrate. The author also describes how the sex appeal tactic is used to target men, while it is negative for selling tom women. He examines how romance is often used to target women. Finally, it discusses the ethical situation behind sex in advertising: whether or not it is right to use this tactic and what the advertisements say about men and women.
Source of Web Site: Richard F. Taflinger, PhD

Title of Web Page: Advertising and the Voice of Authority: Men have it, Women Don't.
Web Address: http://www.finearts.uvic.ca/~rzarchik/home.html
Brief Description: This web site offers an excellent crash course to any beginning researcher on portrayals of women in advertising. The author reveals how advertising helps to maintain patriarchy and offers a unique timeline of the history of advertising and portrayals of females. The author also discusses how men have always have had more power in the advertising industry. Because of this, she says, women have yet to gain equality.
Source of Web Site: Rebecca Zarchikoff

Title of Web Page: Sex and Advertising: Desirable, Delightful, Delicious Web Address: http://www.americanantiquities.com/articles/article13.html Brief Description: This web page delves deeply into the history of sexual images and stereotypes in advertising. It explains how advertising promotes patriarchy throughout its history, focusing on images of the sexy Marilyn Monroe and the Suzie Q. homemaker, among others.
Source of Web Site: The American Antiquities Journal

Title of Web Page: Promoting the Sexual Stereotypes of Women in Advertisements
Web Address: http://unr.edu/homepage/brad/teaching/rpapers/martinez.html
Brief Description: Although this is a research paper, I found it very informative and beneficial to my own research. This paper goes into great detail about the connection of sexual images and the inferiority of women in society. It also explores the differences in how women and men see the sex appeal advertising tactic. It is a very beneficial documentation to help understand this fairly complex issue, even for a novice.
Source of Web Site: Brad Lucas

Title of Web Page: What's Wrong with It? Explaining Media
Web Address: http://www.vurtified.com/media/skinny.html
Brief Description: This web site is very beneficial, not to mention interesting, because it explores how advertising is negative towards women and illustrates it through numerous photographic examples. Its purpose is to help the audience realize what is wrong with the images of women in advertisements. It explores images of violence against women, enslavement, gauntness, etc. It is a useful web site for a beginning researcher or simply an interested person. Source of Web Site: Vutrified.com

Non-Internet sources:

Barthel, Diane. Putting on Appearances: Gender and Advertising. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988. HF5827.B37 1988.

Brabbs, Cordelia. (2000, November 9). Advertising's Modern Woman?--Sexually Upfront or just Afront for Sexy Ads. Marketing. [Online], 932 words. Available: LEXIS-NEXIS [2001 May 26].

Figes, Kate. (2001, January 26). Naked Flesh Exposes our Silence over Sex. The Times Educational Supplement. [Online], 762 words. Available: LEXIS-NEXIS [2001, May 25].

Kilbourne, Jean. Killing Us Softly III. Produced and directed by Sut Jhally. 34 min. Media Education Foundation, 2000. Videocassette. 65-V7957.

LaMeres, Anna Clare. "Images of Women in Advertising." M.A. thesis, California State University, 1982a. HF5822.L264 1982a.

Essay: "No Excuse for Just Looking: Virtual Child Pornography"

In 1996 Congress expanded the federal child pornography law to cover the virtual variety. Virtual child pornography was judged to be any image that looks like children engaging in sexual conduct, but is created with computers without using real children. The Child Pornography Law Act of 1996 banned any image that "appeared to be" sexually explicit conduct by an actual child. Congress found not only that pedophiles use these images to lure children into sexual activities, but that virtual child pornography can "desensitize the viewer to the pathology of sexual abuse or exploitation of children." (1)
Early this year, the Supreme Court agreed to review this case and decide whether there is a substantial difference between child pornography involving real children under the age of 18 and computer-modified versions that produce similar images using adult actors. The Ninth Circuit's two-member majority said this case was about free speech rights. It was questioned whether a whole class of child pornography should be given the protection of the First Amendment. (2) The coalition's attorney, H. Louis Sirkin, said, "If you're not using a real minor, how can you have a crime? If it's a computer image and it's virtual reality, it's still not a real minor, it's not a child engaged in anything." In appeal, government attorneys said the government's interest in fighting child pornography extends to all children who may be abused as a result of the dissemination of visual depictions of child pornography. The government had a compelling interest in preventing the sexual abuse of children because pedophiles often use pictures to seduce other children into sexual activity. The government attorneys said because it is hard to distinguish computer-generated pictures from those actually portraying children involved in sex. Thus, they reasoned, such images can be powerful enough to persuade children to have sex. (3) Virtual child pornography remains illegal.

NOTES:
(1) Associated Press, "Editorial: Virtual Pornography," The Denver Post, 26 January 2001, sec. B, p. 6. Also Available [Online]: LEXIS-NEXIS [Accessed: 28 May, 2001].
(2) Associated Press, "Supreme Court will Review Law on 'Virtual Child Pornography,'" St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 23 January 2001, sec. A, p. 3. Also Available [Online]: LEXIS-NEXIS [Accessed: 27 May, 2001].
(3) Clemetson, Lynette and Taylor, Stuart, "Is it Sexual Exploitation if Victims are Virtual," Newsweek, 19 March 2001, v137 p.51. Also Available [Online]: Academic Search Elite [Accessed: 27 May, 2001].

Title of Web Page: "Virtual' Child Pornography Poses Equal Threat to Children"
Web Address: http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0426-144.html
Brief Description: News Item exploring NCMEC's view on how the effects of child pornography harm children regardless of whether the images depict "real" or "virtual" children. Also provides links to download the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's briefs.

Title of Web Page: Reports, News, Articles on Child Pornography
Web Address: http://www.preda.org/research/childpornography.html#reports
Brief Description: More general web site about child pornography with links to beneficial articles for research. Also, worthy frequently asked question page available.

Title of Web Site: Virtual Child Pornography raises prospect of federal thought police
Web Address: http://detnews.com/1999/religion/9910/01/09290007.htm
Brief Description: News item exploring the dangers of virtual pornography.

Last Updated: June 13, 2001