Sex sells is arguably the most well-known aphorism to come out of the advertising world.
These days, the quip that “sex sells” is a cliche that has been used in innumerable humorous Super Bowl advertisements. According to sex educator and author Cindy Pierce, in order to attract attention these days, marketers and performers need to go beyond the cliché that “sex sells.”
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Pierce stated, “We used to say sex sells, but now it’s sexual violence that sells.” It gets worse the more accustomed or desensitized we are to something.
The media, including TV, movies, music, and advertising, has been more sexualized than ever in the past 30 years. According to a 2011 University of Southern California Annenberg research, 39.8% of the 13–20-year-old female characters in the top 100 grossing films of 2008 wore sexually suggestive clothing, while only 6.7 percent of the 13–20-year-old male characters did the same. According to a 2006 Rand Corp. research, teenagers who listen to music with explicit sexual content typically engage in sexual activity earlier than those who don’t.
According to psychologist Rebecca Bigler of the University of Texas at Austin and Pierce, pornography is the principal cause of the sexualization of American mainstream media.
The mainstream media has been infiltrated by the porn business. Bigler stated, “You see it in thong underwear that we now sell to 10-year-olds and stiletto heels that come from porn.”
Because Internet pornography is so easily accessible and intense, more businesses—including Google, Hyatt Hotels, and even Playboy Magazine—are reconsidering how commonplace porn is in daily life. However, experts argue that the issue extends beyond pornography, as long as sexualized representations in media like music, movies, and television keep expanding the bounds of social tolerance.
Bigler expressed concern about how genuine porn is affecting children’s perceptions of relationships in addition to the pornification of our culture. Nowadays, it’s believed that even if kids haven’t seen porn, it still affects them.
The link between readily available pornography and popular entertainment media is complicated, as Pierce explains in her new book Sexploitation: Helping Kids Develop Healthy Sexuality in a Porn-Driven World, and the youth of today will pay the price in their future romantic relationships.
According to Pierce, when people acquire accustomed to the idea that sex is violent and emotionless due to porn, it permeates society and becomes the accepted norm. People are copying what they see in porn now that they can get it on their phones and laptops. And that’s when it really starts to eat away at someone when they don’t receive the outcomes they’ve grown to anticipate.
promoting pornography mainstream
In her book, Pierce notes that boys in particular may be exposed to porn earlier than in the past due to the Internet, which could cause them to associate normal adult sex with pornography at a much younger age than those of previous generations who had to make a lot of effort to covertly conceal magazines or actual photos.
According to Pierce, he has preconceived notions about how bodies should seem and react to sexual activity that are based more on pornography than on reality. “I’ve read “50 Shades of Grey,” so I know what women like,” is a common statement I hear. I find that to be alarming.
Author and assistant professor of sexuality at California State University Shira Tarrant is concerned that children are seeing porn at an earlier age than in the past, which makes it more difficult for them to distinguish between the violence and fantasy of porn and the proper way that sex should be.
According to Tarrant, my worries with pornography are that it gives the impression that sex occurs magically and that everything goes well. We have serious issues when young people are exposed to propaganda that distorts the ideal of relationships through media of any type and don’t discuss what they want their relationships to look like.
Although children who watch porn can be greatly affected by it, Pierce claims that other media, such as music, video games, and advertisements, can quietly reinforce the themes that porn conveys.
According to Pierce, it essentially adds a layer to the entire desensitization process. If your son is playing Grand Theft Auto, watching porn, and taking in all of these commercials, uncensored YouTube videos, and music videos, he’s ingraining in his mind the notion that women enjoy violence, that they enjoy being raped and roughed up, and that’s what sex is like, so that’s what I have to do.
According to Tarrant, the anxiety that permeates American culture about having an honest conversation about sex exacerbates the bad signals that come from sexualized media. She fears that not doing so would just make matters worse for the kids.
In addition to discussing relationships and sex with children, Tarrant suggested that we also talk to them about media literacy. If we get accustomed to seeing women’s bodies on exhibit for sexual consumption, what kind of message does it send? It conveys the idea that women’s bodies are meant for that purpose.
The impact of Lolita
Girls are likewise impacted by the excessively sexualized messages in the media, but not in the same manner. Bigler argues that females may internalize porn and sexualized entertainment media in a different way than boys do. Rather than viewing porn as a “how-to” for sex, Bigler’s study indicates that girls emphasize living up to men’s expectations of them.
Bigler and a colleague at Arizona State University discovered in a series of studies published in 2014 that girls between the ages of 11 and 15 who displayed indicators that they had internalized sexualized media messages—such as favoring skimpier apparel and entertainment media that emphasized becoming attractive or landing a boyfriend—performed worse on Texas standardized tests than girls who did not.
Researchers saw females in a different study of similar age groups who were given five minutes to get ready for a student-produced news show, even though the girls were unaware that they were being filmed. During their five minutes, the females who showed less interest in sexualized media studied the script, while the other girls fussed about their hair and cosmetics.
Bigler stated, “Girls are looking up to media models, and they can’t possibly measure up because images are so altered through manipulation like Photoshop.” “They are trying to be attractive, but because they are not going to look like Beyonce, their efforts will not be in vain.
Meenakshi Gigi Durham, a gender professor at the University of Iowa, first used the term “Lolita effect” to describe the internalization of these ideals in her 2008 book of the same name.
In its most basic form, the phrase suggests that modern girls and young women form opinions about themselves based on media messages that depict the ideal woman in restrictive, provocative ways: Typically, she is Caucasian, intelligent yet obedient, petite but voluptuous, and enjoys hard sex.
Pierce adds that individuals may find the message at the closest magazine stand without even having to look for it.
“When you combine them all together in fashion magazine advertisements, for instance, it almost seems aggressive. Pierce stated, “You see these stylized pictures of women in submissive positions, on their knees, with leashes.” “It’s gone beyond objectification now.”
According to Pierce, the impact of the heightened expectations is often the same for both boys and girls. Both have internalized unrealistic representations of sex and relationships that don’t always seem natural to them. When they start dating in high school or college, many turn to alcohol to help them deal with that sensation and let go of any residual inhibitions, according to Pierce.
There is a great deal of pressure and expectations on what they’should’ be doing. They believe, “I have to do things that my inner compass doesn’t say are right for me if I want to do this,” Pierce added. They detach from booze in order to do it.
beginning at an early age
Disney is frequently the first source of unrealistic ideals of behavior and beauty that can quietly seep into a child’s early years, according to Bigler.
Many parents believe that their 6-year-old just thinks crop tops or anything else are attractive and doesn’t know anything about sex. That is utterly incorrect, Bigler declared. Even while girls as young as five, six, and seven don’t grasp what sexual activity is, they are aware that it’s done to draw in guys. Disney films make a very strong point about it.”
Bigler asserts that parents do not have to steer clear of timeless films like “Cinderella” or “Sleeping Beauty.” Instead, parents ought to utilize them as springboards for discussions with kids about the differences between sexual actuality and fantasy.
Bigler advised, “Talking to your kids about it is the solution.” “Ask yourself, ‘Why does he like her?'” Is it that she’s intelligent, devoted, and kind? He wants to kiss her, but why? How should he proceed?”
Pierce also supports having candid conversations with kids about their bodies, sex, and the realities of it before peers and the Internet indoctrinate them with false information. According to Tarrant, it isn’t feasible to censor the abundance of media that is accessible.
Even though they are widely used, parental restrictions are ineffective. There’s usually a way around that, Tarrant stated. These won’t support children in developing a healthy sexuality. Speaking with others will.”
These days, kids are exposed to media (and maybe pornography) at such a young age that it is necessary to have a series of conversations with them at a far earlier age than most parents feel comfortable with. According to Pierce, discussions on body confidence should start at age three, but those regarding sex should wait until first grade.
“If you don’t address it at home, false information spreads via the playground and the Internet. Pierce remarked, “Those who believe they can shield their kids from exposure are gullible. “If you’re one more voice in their head rather than just their friends or the Internet, it will give them context that can help them land on their feet in adulthood.”