Sex(ism) Sells. Photo Series, Feature Story, and Artist Statement
These images are copyright Callie Compton 2014-2015 and I reserve ALL rights to their use. High resolution images are available upon request. This project was nominated for the Dean's Creative Achievement Award at the University of Memphis as the Journalism Department's representative.
Gender and gender identity have always influenced my art and photography. I was raised around all men, and I never really knew about the construct of gender until somewhere in grade school when they started to separate children into “boy vs girl” groups. This starts to teach kids at an early age that men and women are different. My art comes from a place of need; a need to share things that I have no other way to express, to give a tangible voice to ideas, to explore things through the lens of my camera. Doing this project taught me a lot about why sex sells and why it has been used as an advertising technique, forever but is steadily increasing. It’s an incredibly lazy way to do a difficult job. The easiest way to sell something is to convince someone that it will make him or her sexier. I wanted to show how ridiculous it looks to swap those gender roles, and place men in the typically subservient position and poses of female models.
In this piece, I worked hard to include subtle nuances and symbolism in every single photograph. The closer you pay attention to the details, the more meaning you will notice. Everything from the expression on the models face, to the buttons opened on their shirt, was carefully chosen to make a statement. For example, the Vogue cover recreation uses models that are purposefully androgynous to highlight that sexism DOES affect all genders; however, the photo is the only one of its kind because it does not affect us all equally. All of the models I chose, except 2, are members of Greek Letter Organizations at the University of Memphis. I liked the idea of taking fraternity men, who are typically stereotyped as chauvinistic and sexist, and use them in a project that highlights sexism and promotes feminism. Many of the men already identified as feminists, and noted that participating in this project opened their eyes to objectification and made them realize how women feel all the time.
I began this project with the intention to highlight the ridiculousness of gender roles in print advertising. I didn’t realize that I was going to find something even bigger. The problem of sexism in advertising and media in general is widespread and dangerous. This practice of separating a woman’s body from her mind and making her into individual body parts to be used and sexualized is all too common in our society. I can respect that advertising is an art in and of itself, however; it is one thing to use the human body for art, and another to use nudity to exploit and demean an entire gender and sell products. Don’t get me wrong: there is nothing wrong with nudity. The human body is beautiful, and should be celebrated NOT sexualized. If any of these photos of sexualized men make you uncomfortable, then now you know how I, and many women, feel looking at billboards, magazine ads, TV commercials, and all kinds of media every day.
I don’t think I’ll ever be “done” with the series—because sexism will likely not be eradicated in my lifetime. There will continue to be ads that objectify women, and I will not be able to rest until we see equality in all industries. Long term, my goal is to have an entire magazines worth of ads to put together and display in print, as well as, a video interviewing the models about their experiences with sexism, objectification, and their feelings about the project and their participation in it.
In this piece, I worked hard to include subtle nuances and symbolism in every single photograph. The closer you pay attention to the details, the more meaning you will notice. Everything from the expression on the models face, to the buttons opened on their shirt, was carefully chosen to make a statement. For example, the Vogue cover recreation uses models that are purposefully androgynous to highlight that sexism DOES affect all genders; however, the photo is the only one of its kind because it does not affect us all equally. All of the models I chose, except 2, are members of Greek Letter Organizations at the University of Memphis. I liked the idea of taking fraternity men, who are typically stereotyped as chauvinistic and sexist, and use them in a project that highlights sexism and promotes feminism. Many of the men already identified as feminists, and noted that participating in this project opened their eyes to objectification and made them realize how women feel all the time.
I began this project with the intention to highlight the ridiculousness of gender roles in print advertising. I didn’t realize that I was going to find something even bigger. The problem of sexism in advertising and media in general is widespread and dangerous. This practice of separating a woman’s body from her mind and making her into individual body parts to be used and sexualized is all too common in our society. I can respect that advertising is an art in and of itself, however; it is one thing to use the human body for art, and another to use nudity to exploit and demean an entire gender and sell products. Don’t get me wrong: there is nothing wrong with nudity. The human body is beautiful, and should be celebrated NOT sexualized. If any of these photos of sexualized men make you uncomfortable, then now you know how I, and many women, feel looking at billboards, magazine ads, TV commercials, and all kinds of media every day.
I don’t think I’ll ever be “done” with the series—because sexism will likely not be eradicated in my lifetime. There will continue to be ads that objectify women, and I will not be able to rest until we see equality in all industries. Long term, my goal is to have an entire magazines worth of ads to put together and display in print, as well as, a video interviewing the models about their experiences with sexism, objectification, and their feelings about the project and their participation in it.
Feature Story
Callie Compton
Sex(ism) Sells
While flipping through a popular magazine, a reader is likely to see photographs of multiple topless women, a celebrity’s bare buttocks, and thin women used to sell products in advertisements.
“Women, in ads, are often shown as some type of sexual object,” said Rich Pence, a former ad editor for the Thompson Beickert video and advertising agency. “Sex sells and when men are your target audience, women will always be shown that way unfortunately.”
The average American views 3000 advertisements a day. In a 2007 study of Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and GQ magazine, 73% of the advertisements were directed at women’s appearance. This constant deluge of ads and images, according to some, is having negative affects on society.
“I think sexism in the media is extremely harmful towards young women. It desensitizes people to violence against the female body, and it also asks women to choose between beauty and brains, while simultaneously demanding we all be a conventional total package,” said Audrey Tetzeli, a 21-year-old model and actress for the Sullivan Agency in Memphis, Tennessee.
The question of sexism in the media has long been a topic of discussion among media experts, and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon, considering recent controversy over things like Kim Kardashian appearing nude in Paper Magazine, and the current Calvin Klein and Sports Illustrated plus-size model discussion.
“Calvin Klein is under fire right now for using a model in his latest ad campaign who is a size 10 and considered plus size, when the average woman is a 14,” said Pence.
According to Pence, fashion tells women that they have to be thin and perfect, although the new definition of perfect is unattainable since everything is so airbrushed and retouched.
Based on a poll by the American Center for Progress conducted in 2013, 30% of women have experienced sexism or discrimination in their line of work.
“I definitely feel that there is still sexism in the media, both in blatant and subtle forms. I have personally experienced sexism as a model, from patronizing comments about my assumed lack of intelligence to directors changing a script on the spot to hyper-sexualize my character,” Tetzeli said.
Models are not the only women in the media industry that experience sexism. Overall, men command 63% of bylines in newspapers, according to the Women’s Media Center, and only 6% of the top 100 grossing films cast genders equally.
“There is sexism in the media. Blondes on the sideline during NFL games, skinny women placed in front of the camera, and criticism casually meted out if a woman isn't perfect are examples. Fat old guys don't face the same scrutiny,” said Robb Zelonky, a playwright and local TV host from Los Angeles.
The gender gap in advertising and media, according to Zelonky, occurs in multiple arenas, and doesn’t apply to men in nearly the same way.
“I have observed that more often than not, female actors will be evaluated on their physical attractiveness, as well as their talent, in an audition situation,” said Slade Kyle, an actor and company member for the Tennessee Shakespeare Company. “You can bet if the script says a female character is beautiful, they will cast an attractive lady– almost without exception - but male characters written to be Greek Gods can be played by nearly any actor – with little regard given to his physical attractiveness.”
San Diego State University’s “Celluloid Ceiling” reported in 2013, that only 16% of the behind-the-scenes roles in film; such as cinematographers, editors, directors, and producers, were filled by women.
“As a young female photographer, I’ve been treated differently based on my looks than a male in my position would have been,” said Kimberly Hill, photographer and owner of KimbaWayne Photography from Memphis, Tennessee.
According to Hill, a woman could be posed in a very strong way and the ad would be just as effective as if it were a man. We just aren’t conditioned to see it that way.
All of this may make people wonder what the effects of sexism are on society, and especially on young women.
“Seeing women objectified in media also teaches both young boys and girls how one gender should expect to treat/be treated by the other,” Kyle said. “Boys see women depicted as objects, set-dressings, and playthings while girls are shown their role is to be subservient or an accessory to the main focus.”
Most models are 98% thinner than the average woman, who is a size 14. Most plus-size models are a size 10. The gap between how women are portrayed in media and how women actually look has been proven to cause self-esteem issues in adolescents.
“I think that the most prevalent problem with sexism is that it is clearly effecting the body image of women, how the average women views herself,” said Sarah Grisham, an actor and singer from Memphis, Tennessee. “If we’re constantly being subjected to objectification in ads, then we’re going to have negative views of ourselves.”
This problem isn’t going away without active changes in the industry. It’s something that society can’t keep young people from being exposed to, despite their best efforts.
“As a father of two small girls, I try my best to shelter them from the constant barrage of unrealistic images, but oddly enough they still come home talking about it because of their friends,” Pence said.
According to Kyle, this unrealistic expectation created by media, leads to unhappiness down the road for men and women: making women never feel good enough, and leaving men’s raised expectations unmet.
“In advertising, I feel that it pushes extremes on the masses as a method of indoctrinating people how to behave as their sex,” said Hamid Farzam, a 22-year-old actor from Memphis, Tennessee.
Despite differing views on the issue of sexism in the media, currently, sex sells, and advertising agencies are going to do what makes money. Studies show vastly different statistics on whether sex sells and for what products it actually works. A University of Wisconsin research study shows that people are 10% less likely to respond well to an ad that uses sexually suggestive themes to sell an un-sexy product. A study at the University of Georgia found that sexually suggestive ads in magazines were up 30% over the last 30 years, mostly exploiting women.
“I just have a problem with the fact that individual people are exploited and made into basic body parts rather than human beings,” said Terrell Harmon, a senior art major at the University of Memphis, and former nude model for the art department.
Sex(ism) Sells
While flipping through a popular magazine, a reader is likely to see photographs of multiple topless women, a celebrity’s bare buttocks, and thin women used to sell products in advertisements.
“Women, in ads, are often shown as some type of sexual object,” said Rich Pence, a former ad editor for the Thompson Beickert video and advertising agency. “Sex sells and when men are your target audience, women will always be shown that way unfortunately.”
The average American views 3000 advertisements a day. In a 2007 study of Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and GQ magazine, 73% of the advertisements were directed at women’s appearance. This constant deluge of ads and images, according to some, is having negative affects on society.
“I think sexism in the media is extremely harmful towards young women. It desensitizes people to violence against the female body, and it also asks women to choose between beauty and brains, while simultaneously demanding we all be a conventional total package,” said Audrey Tetzeli, a 21-year-old model and actress for the Sullivan Agency in Memphis, Tennessee.
The question of sexism in the media has long been a topic of discussion among media experts, and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon, considering recent controversy over things like Kim Kardashian appearing nude in Paper Magazine, and the current Calvin Klein and Sports Illustrated plus-size model discussion.
“Calvin Klein is under fire right now for using a model in his latest ad campaign who is a size 10 and considered plus size, when the average woman is a 14,” said Pence.
According to Pence, fashion tells women that they have to be thin and perfect, although the new definition of perfect is unattainable since everything is so airbrushed and retouched.
Based on a poll by the American Center for Progress conducted in 2013, 30% of women have experienced sexism or discrimination in their line of work.
“I definitely feel that there is still sexism in the media, both in blatant and subtle forms. I have personally experienced sexism as a model, from patronizing comments about my assumed lack of intelligence to directors changing a script on the spot to hyper-sexualize my character,” Tetzeli said.
Models are not the only women in the media industry that experience sexism. Overall, men command 63% of bylines in newspapers, according to the Women’s Media Center, and only 6% of the top 100 grossing films cast genders equally.
“There is sexism in the media. Blondes on the sideline during NFL games, skinny women placed in front of the camera, and criticism casually meted out if a woman isn't perfect are examples. Fat old guys don't face the same scrutiny,” said Robb Zelonky, a playwright and local TV host from Los Angeles.
The gender gap in advertising and media, according to Zelonky, occurs in multiple arenas, and doesn’t apply to men in nearly the same way.
“I have observed that more often than not, female actors will be evaluated on their physical attractiveness, as well as their talent, in an audition situation,” said Slade Kyle, an actor and company member for the Tennessee Shakespeare Company. “You can bet if the script says a female character is beautiful, they will cast an attractive lady– almost without exception - but male characters written to be Greek Gods can be played by nearly any actor – with little regard given to his physical attractiveness.”
San Diego State University’s “Celluloid Ceiling” reported in 2013, that only 16% of the behind-the-scenes roles in film; such as cinematographers, editors, directors, and producers, were filled by women.
“As a young female photographer, I’ve been treated differently based on my looks than a male in my position would have been,” said Kimberly Hill, photographer and owner of KimbaWayne Photography from Memphis, Tennessee.
According to Hill, a woman could be posed in a very strong way and the ad would be just as effective as if it were a man. We just aren’t conditioned to see it that way.
All of this may make people wonder what the effects of sexism are on society, and especially on young women.
“Seeing women objectified in media also teaches both young boys and girls how one gender should expect to treat/be treated by the other,” Kyle said. “Boys see women depicted as objects, set-dressings, and playthings while girls are shown their role is to be subservient or an accessory to the main focus.”
Most models are 98% thinner than the average woman, who is a size 14. Most plus-size models are a size 10. The gap between how women are portrayed in media and how women actually look has been proven to cause self-esteem issues in adolescents.
“I think that the most prevalent problem with sexism is that it is clearly effecting the body image of women, how the average women views herself,” said Sarah Grisham, an actor and singer from Memphis, Tennessee. “If we’re constantly being subjected to objectification in ads, then we’re going to have negative views of ourselves.”
This problem isn’t going away without active changes in the industry. It’s something that society can’t keep young people from being exposed to, despite their best efforts.
“As a father of two small girls, I try my best to shelter them from the constant barrage of unrealistic images, but oddly enough they still come home talking about it because of their friends,” Pence said.
According to Kyle, this unrealistic expectation created by media, leads to unhappiness down the road for men and women: making women never feel good enough, and leaving men’s raised expectations unmet.
“In advertising, I feel that it pushes extremes on the masses as a method of indoctrinating people how to behave as their sex,” said Hamid Farzam, a 22-year-old actor from Memphis, Tennessee.
Despite differing views on the issue of sexism in the media, currently, sex sells, and advertising agencies are going to do what makes money. Studies show vastly different statistics on whether sex sells and for what products it actually works. A University of Wisconsin research study shows that people are 10% less likely to respond well to an ad that uses sexually suggestive themes to sell an un-sexy product. A study at the University of Georgia found that sexually suggestive ads in magazines were up 30% over the last 30 years, mostly exploiting women.
“I just have a problem with the fact that individual people are exploited and made into basic body parts rather than human beings,” said Terrell Harmon, a senior art major at the University of Memphis, and former nude model for the art department.