Imagine the sexual images you see every day on your TV, Computer, in magazines, and on billboards. Now imagine a child who has easy access to all the same things that you see. Can you imagine their confusion? Even a teenager who knows all about the techniques of advertisers could get the wrong idea about sex and even about their body image. The affects of advertising on children and young women are apparent if we could just open our eyes. Teen girls are more self conscious than ever before and even children begin worrying about their weight as early as elementary school. Advertisers have been using sex in the media to sell products for years and it’s completely legal. If it is not called attention to, nothing can ever be done. 

Women get the idea that their weight is a huge factor in their happiness. In one study, researchers found that 63% of high school girls are on diets (Rothblum, E. D.). Even more surprising is another study that found that the highest group at risk for suicide attempts was teen girls who believe they are overweight (Overlan). In another study, 70% of college girls said they were more dissatisfied with their bodies after reading women’s magazines (Kilbourne) This effects all ages and can even stay with us for longer than we expected. Sometimes people don’t even realize the effects of advertising on them.

 The same holds true for beauty products. The slogan “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline” means she couldn’t possibly be born with beauty and this model’s beauty is the result of a line of products (Kilbourne). These are just some of the techniques that advertisers use to dupe a consumer. From cosmetic products to fast food commercials to beer commercials,Commercials for cosmetic products, fast food, and even beer there is nearly always have a hint of sexual behavior from women. In a study done on 40 forty different beer commercials Christine C. Iijima Hall and Matthew J. Crum from Arizona  State University found that although men appeared twice as much as women in these commercials, women were shown much more often for their bodies. Men, however, were typically shown for their facial expressions or “face-isms” and women that wore bathing suits significantly outnumbered men who wore bathing suits (Iijima Hall). This shows the women were only in the commercial for the appearance of their bodies. 

Commercials are not the only ones who that contribute to women’s self- consciousness. In a study done on eighteen prime-time television comedies (two episodes each), researchers Fouts and Burggraf concluded that out of the thirty-seven female characters that were observed, underweight characters were the most common. These women were also significantly more likely to be praised by male characters than the heavier female characters. In fact, the heavier the character, the more negative comments they received. The negative comments were followed by laughter from the audience (Fouts and Burggraf). This shouldn’t be such a surprise to adolescents who see it the most. Not only is this attitude depicted on television, but quite frequently it exists throughout real life. Heavier people tend to be teased more and thinner people, praised. This is how adolescents typically develop ideas about how they are supposed to look and act.

Not only are women told to always try and achieve the perfect image, young women are also being told that their perfection through products will win them a man. The message is that women need a man to complete them. Again, this is only the beginning of the problem. Once young women set their goals to achieving a man, they begin to look for the best ways to get one. This is where advertisers all over the world come into play. Advertisers begin to reach out to their male consumers by using sex in their ads. Most of these ads portray women as sex objects and are widely exploited for their bodies (Kilbourne). Women then get the idea that they too, are supposed to act this way to get what they want.

Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, it is not only women who succumb to these kinds of stereotypes. A study done on male college students showed just how greatly TV influences the way men look at women. The study showed that after watching one episode of Charlie’s Angels the men judged their potential dates much harsher than those who did not view the episode. The study also found that men, who were shown centerfolds from Playboy and Penthouse, had a tendency to find their girlfriends less sexually attractive (Kilbourne, Jean). This means that not only are women judging themselves, but the men that are all around them are in fact judging them as well. Even though women should not have to worry that the way they look (or act) will attract a man or not, they are still being pressured to do so by the men themselves. 

The advertisers simply know that sex sells best. In fact, sex is used to sell just about everything, from toilet paper to coffee. In the recent Carl’s Jr. Advertisement, Kim Kardashian lies on a bed, takes a bubble bath and shows some (nearly explicit) parts of her body. The slogan for this commercial: Who says salads can’t be hot? (Castina).The advertisers, of course, are only considering their product, yet millions of teen girls are getting the wrong message. Furthermore, it’s not only a few revealing ads. Thousands of ads say sex is the answer to women’s problems. In an ad for Jeans there is a picture of a man pinning a women to a wall and it says “You can learn more about anatomy after school…” There are many more like this ad, one for sunglasses and another one for jeans. One study estimates that children and teens see two thousand sexual acts on TV per year. (Kilbourne) With this much information within reach young children it’s no wonder that America has the highest amount of teen pregnancies including abortions and miscarriages. (Teenage) Children should never have this much access to sexual images because of its particularly damaging effects. 

Sexual ads are being used more than in the past. At this rate, many children will be getting more comfortable with the sexual images around them. Elementary students will be using sexual references that they have access to everywhere. With all the access to this information, it is a mystery to how comfortable our society will become with sex. In addition, the more sexual ads there are, the more women will feel insecure about themselves, and at the same time will try to compensate with sexual behavior. In the future, sexual advertisements will perhaps be even more promoted. They may be on every billboard and in every magazine. The sexual ads will be even harder to keep away from children. The only way this downward spiral might change is if someone tries to put a spotlight on what it is doing to our children and our society. Then maybe there will be stricter laws on the use of sex in advertisements and when these ads are allowed to show. Advertisements also may get worse for women and more people might will become be negatively affected by it. At the same time it may go unnoticed. As more are affected without realizing it, everyone else may just brush it off. Before sexual advertising gets worse, something needs to be done, so that our world won’t plummet into sexism as it was before.society can become less sexually oriented.