Sex sales: Sex in Media and How it Matters
I’ve recently just noticed how horny people are. I never really paid attention to how sex-focused we are as a society and how sex is literally everywhere we go. From advertisements, to TV and movies, there’s a lot of sex and sexual topics. Hypersexuality is popular in media for both men and women. This then begs the question- why is media so obsessed with sex and how does that affect us as the consumers? I’m by no means conservative, but I do believe there is no denying that there is an unhealthy obsession with sexuality in American society.
One of the main ways we gather our information is through media. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that sex is literally everywhere. Sexual music, sexy ads, porn, sexual jokes, sex scenes in movies, etc. Make no mistake, sex didn’t just make its way into media. For a while in the past American society and its media were conservative, but that wasn’t always the case. One of the best (most shocking and funniest) examples I could find was a singer named Lucille Bogan who made explicit music about sex back in the 1930s. Many of her songs are so explicit you might compare them to modern-day female music artists. However, I consider her music even more extreme than that.
Hypersexuality is generally defined as being obsessed with sexual fantasies and urges, even at the expense of ruining one’s health, jobs, or personal relationships. It could lead to inappropriate behaviors like cheating on their partner, watching porn on the clock at work, or even being arrested for masturbating in public areas (I know it’s real because I’ve seen the arrest videos online).
As to why people like sex in media so much, the Oxford Research Encyclopedia has a theory. One of its articles discussed the positive reactions some people get from consuming hypersexual media, “First, the mere presence of certain topics in the content (e.g., casual sexual encounters) might convey an attitude about the behavior’s importance and relevance to people’s lives. At times, such inclusive depictions can empower audience members.” The piece also states, “ Sexual attitudes are often depicted in the media in the context of humor. Humor in its many forms may communicate a lighthearted, discomfort-easing attitude toward sex, but it might also trivialize the behavior and endorse a less serious attitude toward the decisions it entails.” All this is to say that when sex is used in media it is made to seem more valuable to the consumer. Also, consuming sexual media promotes the acceptance of sex and minimizes the discomfort and seriousness surrounding it.
The concept of Hypersexualization is when people, places, and things are labeled as sexual or arousing- even if these things have nothing to do with sex. You can see these in advertising with things like women’s legs or men’s arm muscles. However, from what I’ve noticed, most sexy advertisements show women. Given that ads are everywhere in public, that means we are usually exposed to sexualized women. This can warp the perspectives of consumers leading to negative and sexist outcomes. “The sexualization of public space habituates the public to stereotyped and unrealistic representations of women. Seduction and attention-seeking sum up the roles often attributed to them. Women are also under intense pressure to be sexually active and attractive,” states Gouvernement du Québec. “ . . .This trend increases tolerance of a certain kind of violence against women, which could even lead to a greater risk of sexual aggression.”
AI- generated example of common advertisements seen for men’s cologne
American media’s focus on sex can have negative outcomes for those who consume it. Unfortunately, it is easy to consume because it is in our everyday lives. These negative effects obviously are a sign that things need to change. One way to end these bad effects is to be aware of them and make a conscious effort to change our perspective. If men realize how sexual media plays a part in sexist behavior or thoughts, they could make a conscious effort to stop it. If women realize how sexual media objectifies them, they could realize not to take sexism personally and to choose not to play into such stereotypes. Unfortunately, this sexist and over-sexualized society is the one we live in. Again, I don’t consider myself a conservative person by any means, but when something is negatively impacting people, it has to be addressed. This information doesn’t mean people should feel bad for wanting to have sex or shouldn’t be aroused. It means we should all examine our subconscious thinking when looking at sexual images in media.
