University of Maryland OTR: Video: UMD Students Raise Awareness About The Sexualization of Women

Video: UMD Students Raise Awareness About The Sexualization of Women

Posted by broseph 12/03/2008 11:00 AM
Category: Tags: objectification, women, sexualization, magazines

A group of students at the University of Maryland have created the following video to raise awareness about the growing sexualization of women in the media. This video, focusing on magazines in particular, displays various examples of this, its consequences and what we can do/where we can go to learn more and help put an end to it.

The Sexualization of Women in Magazines from Comm Comm on Vimeo.

For more information on the issue of sexualization of women in the media and how it affects women's lives, please visit About-Face or Media And Women.

Please use the comments section below this post as a discussion forum and place to raise more awareness on the issue.

+ 19 comments

Anonymous says,

sex sells... what are people supposed to do? Posted 12/03/2008 11:47 AMReply

Anonymous says,

these are just ads women who degrade themselves do it on their own Posted 12/03/2008 11:49 AMReply

Anonymous says,

nothing to do with ads.. Posted 12/03/2008 11:49 AMReply

Anonymous says,

some of these ads are actually really good/ funny Posted 12/03/2008 11:51 AMReply

Anonymous says,

We as a society should pay more attention to the consequences that these ads lead to. I wouldn't want my future child thinking that she must look a certain way in order to be excepted or to please men. Posted 12/03/2008 1:23 PMReply

Anonymous says,

yea, sex does sell, but there are other ways to make things sexy that don't turn women in objects Posted 12/03/2008 3:04 PMReply

Anonymous says,

some of those ads in the beginning are really disturbing... seriously, too far. when normal women look at those pictures, it makes them feel bad about themselves and lowers their self-esteem. Posted 12/03/2008 3:27 PMReply

Anonymous says,

From the standpoint of the advertisements, sexuality helps to sell the product or make it more visible to potential customers. I would not necessarily buy what they are advertising, but I would notice the ad more if there was an attractive woman pictured in it. From the standpoint of society, its terrible to use women as objects and to portray them this way. Posted 12/03/2008 3:29 PMReply

Anonymous says,

good video...it really shows how women are protrayed in the media. Our society shows these barely legal girls(or underage girls like Miley Cyrus) with little or no clothes on and then it goes on to prosecute men who have act on their sexual desires involving young women. If we say that sex with minors is wrong then we shouldnt have suggestive pictures of them pasted all over the place. Also, these magazines ofen have articles about feeling "beautiful in your own skin" right next to a picture of a half naked sized 2 model...not very effective. Posted 12/03/2008 3:32 PMReply

Anonymous says,

These pictures are doing nothing but ruining how women feel about themselves. Through magazines like Cosmo and various ads such as these (great choices by the way), women feel that they must adhere to what society has dubbed beautiful and healthy, which in some cases is neither. But, as someone said before, "sex sells", so there is no stopping it. America should castrate itself and these problems will no longer exist, metaphorically speaking of course. Posted 12/03/2008 3:45 PMReply

Anonymous says,

It's a good video that really displays both spectrums of the advertising world. If I am being honest, I would have to agree that sex sells and it is easier to look at an attractive thin naked person as opposed to someone who didn't have those attributes. But it is absolutely disgusting and horribly sad to look at what effect those ads have on girls in today's society. I think companies should come up with a different way to advertise so that young girls aren't constantly comparing themselves to other people. Other things sell besides sex like Funny. Instead of taking the easy way out and finding people who weigh 80 lbs. and taking pictures of them naked, these companies should actually use their brain and be creative. Posted 12/03/2008 4:01 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Sex does sell and it is apparent in some of these ads, but seeing the flip side in this video does really spur thought on the adverse effects sexualization has. It is something that when brought into the media spotlight could become more widely dealt with. Posted 12/03/2008 4:07 PMReply

Anonymous says,

honestly who cares. no one wants to see ugly people promoting items. cause they wouldnt sell. its a reality of life. associate something beutiful like women with items makes me seem better. i dont think theres any real claim that making women seem sexier is a bad thing. women can be sexy, smart and respected all at the same time. Posted 12/03/2008 6:19 PMReply

Anonymous says,

While I agree that a lot of these ads do facilitate sexulization of women, a lot of them are also a form of art. Of course I do not condone models starving themselves and weighing less than 100 pounds, I do recognize the aesthetic appeal of some of these ads, especially the ones featured in Vogue. As for the ads that are pure sexualization of women, I think that people don't realize how ingrained these images are in the minds of girls, teens, and young women. If the average woman were to count how many times she thinks about her appearance each day I think we would all be shocked. Now let's work on getting these unhealthy images of beauty out of women's minds and look towards the natural beauty that we are all born with. Posted 12/03/2008 7:27 PMReply

Anonymous says,

Great video! Very informative. It is a shame seeing women starve themselves over unrealistic images. Posted 12/03/2008 9:49 PMReply

Anonymous says,

there's definitely a problem here, but who's going to fix it? advertisers and marketing firms aren't going to just take a hit to their profits to make social change Posted 12/04/2008 12:49 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I agree that it is a shame, but as long as there are models will to subject themselves to this then it will continue. The marketing companies will never put and end to it. Posted 12/04/2008 12:56 PMReply

Anonymous says,

its horrible and shocking it has all come down to this Posted 12/08/2008 6:59 PMReply

Anonymous says,

I doubt these comments are a sampling of all perspectives, but this video skews reality in the same way that the ads do. You seek to make a point and then choose absolute extremes to represent an entire class of ads. For example the anorexia pictures you featured are exaggerated, yes the base image is shocking - but the photoshoped version defiantly conveys your statement better, so it was used. And the "healthy" extreme you portray is laughable. The age campaign ads worked, the athlete ads were strong, the full figured five standing together were healthy... but the obese yogurt ads not so much. With obesity as such a rising health problem it should not be encouraged in ads. Age is beautiful, I don't advocate plastic surgery or hiding anyone over the age of 55 in a closet, but set an example of the healthy medium - instead of condoning obesity. Anyhow the whole sex object phenomena, was defiantly interesting but I'd argue if seeing women as sex objects has increased or if society simply publishes more overt expressions... similar to how movie rating are a lot more lenient now a days. Posted 12/13/2008 1:40 PMReply