Every feminist who has ever seen an advertisement containing women wearing skimpy clothes, drooling over a man, who otherwise isn’t worth a dime, but is wearing a deodorant, has publically ridiculed the idea of female objectification. And not to forget, advertisements showing women emerging from the sea wearing a swimsuit that barely leaves anything for imagination, selling cement!!!
Although objectification essentially implies treating a human being like an object, oblivious to his feelings and dignity, it is often related to sexual objectification- thinking of a person as the satisfier of a fantasy without any personal attributes. Sexual objectification is merely a scintilla of objectification. Yet, being the most widespread and easy to recognize, it is often likened to treating a human being as a sex object. And like everything else, the woman has to bear the brunt of insatiable male libido. From the so called ‘item numbers’ to magazines, women are running many businesses on the fastest selling commodity- sex. The fact that women are reduced to plastic dolls to fit into the ever narrowing definitions of beauty is no secret. And a lot has been said and argued about.
But what about the man- the weaker sex with the stronger ego? The idea of male objectification isn’t as hotly debated as his female counterpart, but that doesn’t subdue the fact that a lot of female fantasies are thriving on the definition of the perfect man. From actors and models to strippers, the man has joined the bandwagon. When an actress wears a bikini for an unnecessary song, much is said. But when her counterpart drops his towel or takes off his shirt, no one bats an eye. Breaking of traditional role boundaries and a realization to cater to the needs of the empowered female has placed the shirtless man right next to the bikini-clad woman. To sum up, here are a few characteristics of male objectification:
- The Finances: The number of unrelated products a half naked man sells is truly alarming. From air freshener to magazine covers to saloons, they have covered it all.
- It is a safer bet: If you have a generic product, an unnecessarily ‘sexy’ woman might not be taken as well as a man. (We are a little more accepting that ways. But don’t push it, we too take offence)
- The Need of the hour: A man is as appealing for selling to a woman and a woman is to a man. With so many woman pulling in six figures (or more), the companies don’t really want to forgo those large purses.
- In the name of attention: A lot of times, the only reason of using sex as a symbol to sell something as platonic as biscuits is to grab the readers attention. Evidently, a sexually provoking male does it as well as a female.
Image Credits: www.downmagaz.com
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