FREE ESSAY ON WOMEN'S STUDIES: SEX IN SOCIETY

WOMEN'S STUDIES: SEX IN SOCIETY

Women's Studies on Sex in Society
Sex plays a major role in today's society. From television advertisements and violence
within society, all forms of media use sex to help sell their products. With the public
being exposed to so many different types, the overuse and exploitation of sex is common.
Is sex a useful tool, or a ploy to get the attention of the public? In some instances, it
even encourages violence. 
The world we live in today is still man-made, no less now then in the nineteenth century.
As Englishmen began to develop an identity in 19th century society, they mirrored the
ideals for women of the Victorian period: gentility, weakness, ignorance and
submissiveness. Opposing Viewpoints as the relationship of a man or woman to
Society on the basis of gender became essential in shaping male and female attitudes
towards one another. Over the past twenty years remarkable changes in these traditional
male and female roles have been witnessed. The subsequent impact on men, women, and
families due to these changes is believed to be, by many social historians, caused by the
re-emergence of the women's movement.
Recent research has established beyond a doubt that males and females are born with a
different set of instructions built into their genetic code. Studies at Harvard
University and elsewhere show that marked differences between male and female baby
behavior are already obvious in the first months of life. Females are more oriented
towards people. Male infants, on the other hand, are more interested in things. Stanford
psychologists conclude that women are communicative animals while men are manipulative
animals. Some people believe this is hereditary, while others think that if 
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boys and girls were brought up in exactly the same way then all behavioral differences
between men and women would evaporate.
Beginning in early adolescence, children develop their own ideas of male and female roles
with the perception of the conduct and activities of his or her parents and other adults
in their world, including characters on television. Young people are exposed to
advertising from a very early age. The effect, especially of advertising on television,
has a significant bearing on girls' and boys' behavior, and their aspirations. To most
children the commercial message is another piece of information received from the
television set. It is often difficult for them to distinguish truth from fiction,
particularly when the fiction is packaged in compelling words. striking images, and
catchy music.
An overwhelming amount of the visualizations that young kids see are the stereotypical
images of women and girls. This almost makes it seem legitimized, as it is enforced and
perpetuated by the mass dissemination of these images in broadcasting. Children know in
their minds that women, like men, come in all ages, shapes, sizes, and colors, but they
do not see this represented in the broadcast media. The increasing diversity of women's
lives is also omitted in most broadcasting. For example, commercials and programming most
often portray women as mothers performing domestic tasks, as economically dependent
homemakers, or as sexual lures for products or decorative objects. Personally, I have
even seen movies that often have sexual violence in them, making it more like an everyday
normal thing. Such images constitute a limiting or narrowing of women's, men's, and
children's perceptions of themselves and their roles in society. 
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In an intensive study done on American programming, it was found that a sexual act or
reference occurred every four minutes on average during prime time. Sex Sells, the old
adage goes. Sexiness, as a component of the good life, is a staple for advertisers -
Coca-Cola decorated its drug-store posters at the turn of the century with coquettish
young women who male drinkers wished to date and female drinkers to emulate. Finnish
yogurt makers ran an ad with hot, young, well built Finnish boys holding containers of
yogurt, with the slogan Less fat, more taste.... Eat it. This aroused a scandal and
nationwide debate. A formal poll was conducted on these ads and some interesting
statistics were produced. Two-thirds of respondents were male, and two-thirds thought the
ad was sexist. There was a sharp contrast in the female contingent, as the vast majority
of whom thought the ads were sexy and quite acceptable. 
Many newspapers have recognized the attractiveness of sexual aggression as crime news,
and therefore as prime news, lately. While comfortably hidden under the cloak of
objective crime reporting, sexual violence can be endlessly exploited for its titillating
value, its crypto-pornographic quality and its sexist slant. As sexual violence and
sexual assault became a more serious social problem in the late 90's, this prime news
issue has helped many papers to sell more copies in competitive news market, while
creating an impression of responsive and responsible reporting. Newspapers are adept in
sensing issues that arouse general interest and they then subtly alter the terms of the
debate to achieve the end result of selling newspapers and making a profit. There is a
thin line when it comes to educating the public on a problem, or exploiting it for its
shock value. 
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Sex in advertising can be a useful and educational tool, when employed properly. If
people in the media offend just as much of society as they win over, then problems with
sexuality will never end. It is also important to keep in mind that all these sex issues
within the media also impact sexual violence. These are issues to take seriously, as we
are faced with them in the future.