How Do Sexualized Advertisements Affect Women

Advertisement exposure has increased throughout the years. Smith (n.d.) points out that even though we cannot pinpoint the precise number of exposure that the average person experiences through auditory or visual advertisements, the theoretical number of 5,000 ad exposures a day continue to increase each decade. The idea of the ever increasing ad bombardment is to market a product, increase economy and also allows some businesses to prosper such as the media. However, in the United States, advertisements tend to be more racy and sexualized. The industry needs to stop using sexualized ads because sex is not always an effective use to sell, there’s a psychological cost for both men and women and there are other effective ways to advertise to increase product …show more content…
There are cognitive and emotional consequences where sexualization and sexual objectification in advertisements debilitate a person's confidence within themselves and their body, causing a negative, unrealistic perception of a person’s image of themselves further resulting in shame, and anxiety. In other words, research finds that impractical societal and cultural expectations that are found in sexualized ads affect both men and women and result in higher levels of body dissatisfaction after viewing these advertisment and develops an unhealthy self perception. American Psychological Association reports that there are three most common mental health problems for women and young girls; eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression are associated and linked to sexual advertisements. It’s important to understand both men and women are harmed by sexualized ads and sexual objectification, not just women alone. It is also important to realize that with the increasing explicit content people are becoming more desensitized to skin exposure and nudity, and it takes more exposure to grab people’s