Advertising image from a Magazine: Guess who is sexy?

What are the goals of advertisements? Quite obviously to sell their products. However, I believe that their goals extend beyond the act of selling products it appears that advertisements want individuals to conform to a certain idea or stereotype for what defines masculinity, femininity and what sexually appealing should be. It’s been said that sex sells, and naturally the provocative clothes that are worn on these Guess Jeans models bare nothing but the truth. No pun intended. Clothes have become sexualized, and much of the content on fashion advertisements indicates that the role of provocative clothing and sexual poses are the norm. We have been habituated to the exposures of sexual images. I for one did not realize the extent of the sexualisation in advertisements until I analyzed and depicted the segments of the picture.

For instance, if one were to flip through the pages of an Elle or Vogue magazine, I can assure you that most of the models are positioned in sexually provocative ways. For instance with these Guess Jeans models, their poses are not an act you would witness out in the public sphere. The male model is half naked, and although the female still has clothes on, the fish net implies that the advertisement does not want to cover her up. The designers of the product want you to see that this is alluring, everything from the pose, the clothes, the models it’s all sexualized.

Although I am not entirely against sexualized images, I do believe that there are harmful messages that are implicitly present. The image transmits a message of what “sexy” should be, and what is expected of you and me. The image is much more than a sexy advertisement, it is indicative of what consumerism is all about. It delivers harmful messages regarding body shapes, the women are expected to be slender and beautiful and the men are masculine and strong. These social constructs are unfortunately dominant and harmful to the individuality and uniqueness of others.

Yu Tsai. 03 Oct. 2008 <http://www.calikartel.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/guess_08_01a.jpg>.