Youth debate: Sexual objectification of women

In the world of advertising, companies use images to convey a message about their brands by trying to grab people’s attention for brand positioning. This is basically what marketing is all about. However, over the years, the image of women – whether scantily clad or not – has played a pivotal role in advertising campaigns. During recent times, women organisations and champions of gender parity have admonished this practice which in essence portrays women as a sexual objects for advertising purposes. In this week’s edition of Youth Debates, we discuss whether the use of the female image in commercials is justifiable.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"19700","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-34014 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"250","height":"402","alt":"Nishal Purbhoo"}}]]Nishal Purbhoo: “The female image in Mauritius is not exaggerated”

Art & Design Educator in a private college, Nishal states that as we are living in a multi-cultural country, where cultures, norms and ethical issues are taken into consideration, we need to adjust ourselves within this given context to promote any product. “It is in fact a practical mix of the sense of Mauritian culture and that of the female image in the world of advertising. The female image in Mauritius is not exploited in an exaggerated way when it comes to advertising.” He recalls that contemporary women can work in any field. “There is nothing wrong in participating in commercials, however, over exaggeration of nudity could be avoided in order not to create controversies. The focus needs to be on the product and not on the female body. In places where dress codes, religious influences and the likes are promoted, then people might find it ethically wrong to use women in marketing. Yet, in countries where people are more open to advertising, then women and men are certainly the right instruments to promote advertising.” According to him, advertising should be privileged for creativity and originality rather than using women as sex objects. “The key word is ‘respect’. In my humble opinion, as the world is getting global, the use of women in the world of advertising would continue but each culture should adapt its style and by adhering to its cultural values.”

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"19702","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-34016 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"250","height":"341","alt":"Veetasha Jhummun"}}]]Veetasha Jhummun: “Magazines sends mixed messages about gender ideals”

25-year-old Veetasha is a student at the University of Mauritius. She highlights that in the contemporary world of advertising, women have often been portrayed as sex objects or maternal figures. “Women appear as purely decorative objects in men’s magazines compared to women’s magazines. The term ‘sex sells’ has reached epidemic proportions and is influencing our daily purchases, be it alcohol, beauty, groceries and even banking services. The more nudity or sexual reference, the greater the appeal for a profit-driven industry. Women are moving up in society, are educated and have joined careers traditionally dominated by men.” She hypothesises that the persistent use of highly sexualised images of women, owes its existence to “maintaining men’s dominance by designating women’s bodies as property that can be evaluated, looked at, and touched at the impulse of men’s desire.” For the young lady, magazines tend to send mixed messages about gender ideals as well as body image, which affect the way women view themselves. “Many magazine articles are targeted towards younger women who often emphasize the importance of looking sexy, acting sexy and attracting men. Both genders are given different editorial treatment. Women are shown as beautiful, thin and sexually skilled.” These images, she says, are destroying the self-esteem of many women as they create unrealistic expectations of the female body, such as being slim, beautiful and wearing designer clothes, make-up and other accessories. “The sexualisation of women causes eating disorders, low self-esteem, depression, and negative feelings regarding sexuality. When men view images of sexually objectified women, it has been shown to increase men’s acceptance of rape and violence,” she concludes.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"19701","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-34015 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"250","height":"268","alt":"Zayd Domun"}}]]Zayd Domun: “Women are often portrayed in subservient roles compared to men”

23-year-old Zayd avers that in Mauritius, advertisements have encouraged women to be submissive and dress provocatively for decades and decades. “The reason for this is because these types of commercials not only catch the eye of the opposite sex (or same sex) but while doing so, has a negative effect on women as well. These types of commercials lead to young girls, teenagers, and women in general, to feel bad about their appearance. It is safe to argue that women are often portrayed in subservient roles compared to men in ads. Moreover, women are commonly portrayed as vulnerable objects.” He believes that in today’s business world, the female body is used as an attention-grabber. “There should be laws to discourage such types of ads because many children and teenagers are being misled by these. Ads should not lead women developing an inferiority complex because each and everybody is equal, no discrimination. Furthermore, ads should be done intelligently because sometimes you fail to understand its purpose.”

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"19698","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-34012 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"250","height":"397","alt":"Emmeline Poti\u00e9"}}]]Emmeline Potié: “Advertising should be a representation of real human beings”

Emmeline, 20 years old, a student at the University of Mauritius, argues that women are still twice as likely to feature in adverts for domestic and cosmetics products. “Women are being told that their natural beauty is not enough and that their place is in the kitchen. They need to conform to a certain image of beauty. It is not ethical to use women as a marketing instrument, as it turns women into sexual objects and pressurises them to meet subjective standards (such as a well-toned body).” She further adds: “The female body is used in advertising regardless of the product or service, displaying youth, good looks, sexual seductiveness and perfection. However, there is an evolution happening, women are now portrayed in some adverts as being busy, confident and in control of their professional and social life as well as not being kitchen slaves to anyone. Mauritian women should be portrayed as they really are. Advertising should be a representation of real human beings with purpose and it must not merely promote false ideologies about gender roles in society. Advertisers should learn that it is not good business to use sexist stereotypes.”

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"19699","attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-34013 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"250","height":"296","alt":"Humaira Kayamdy"}}]]Humaira Kayamdy: “It is not ethical to use women as a marketing instrument”

Humaira, 22, final year student at the University of Mauritius and French educator in a private school, recalls that be it on billboards, TV or in newspapers, ads continue to portray women as sex appeal symbols. “For advertising a new car, for example, we present the vehicle along with girls in a provocative pose, wearing tight-fitting dresses with her breasts in the limelight. In a sense, we are promoting a patriarchal society. People on viewing such adverts tend to believe that luxury is not only about owning an expensive car but also ‘owning’ a sexy lady. How fair is it to portray woman as an object? It may sound stupid, but it exists, because of such ads, women start having body image problems.” For her, it is not ethical to use women as a marketing instrument. “We want to market a product, present it in the right way! Show the parity which exists between men and women. To market a perfume, we do not need to see a woman spraying perfume and luring men; we can see a man spraying perfume and being classy going to work.”