In my observation of Humans in the media I have often found that most ads and shows focus on the woman as the attractive 'object of desire' rather than the man. Is this normal in society or is it that men are more fanatical about women than women are about men?
I think there is an entirely different reason for this.
First, in general it is men who control these large corporations and in fact it is men who control media and advertising. So, it is natural that we would see more of what attracts them.
Second, and the larger reason, in my opinion, is that traditionally, men have been the ones to command larger paychecks. So, the advertisers are targeting men to make the large purchase decisions.
Also, I don't think it has occurred to men, that women too can be attracted visually to a good looking human male. This trend really is beginning to change. More and more women are in advertising positions and leadership roles at companies. They know, we too, can find a man attractive and some of their advertising shows this. There was a recent Pepsi (few years) commercial where women gawk at a very well built man. I loved it!
Finally, I don't think women are as visually stimulated as men are. To us attractiion often begins in the way we are treated not in the way you look. Not really as true for men. For example, many women are turned on by their man helping them clean the house. Few men would find this a turn on, in my opinion.
Edited: tenaheff on 9th Jan, 2004 - 7:30pm
I agree with Tena, it is all a matter of money and who is the one who gets the bigger paychecks and who is the one that can invest the most = men.
I personally find it annoyning that women are used in such a poor way in advertising, its all about looks but the fact that it works it shows you the mentality of the consumist of the product.
I suppose to capture a man's attention, may prove to be a challenge, depending on the product. I suspect that these advertisements appeal to the strongest sense in men that is, the sense of sight. Therefore, advertisers tend to focus on men's sight and weaknesses or temptations. By incorporating these glamorous women in the advertisements will force the men to focus on the product. However, sometimes, what is being sold, may be lost on the male consumer, due to the "distraction" from the model in the advertisement.
In today's society, some men regard women as inferior and believe that a woman's place is in the home or they (the women) are more suited for modelling jobs. Unfortunately, the advertisers assist in perpetuating this belief in their advertisements, by portraying the women as beautiful, mindless, sex objects.
I believe that the way women were raised long ago, they would not openly express their feelings, where men are concerned. However, times have changed. Women are no longer submissive or silent. They are recognized as a very important consumer and advertisers are intelligent enough to realise that "sex sells." Therefore, they use male models in a provocative way, (just like the female models) to sell the product.
Edited: Geenie on 22nd Apr, 2008 - 8:28pm
Neo's observation and question
QUOTE |
In my observation of Humans in the media I have often found that most ads and shows focus on the woman as the attractive 'object of desire' rather than the man. Is this normal in society or is it that men are more fanatical about women than women are about men? |
I think all men like to look at a nice looking woman. If they are scantily clad all the better to most men. Sex has been used in sales for the past few decades and it is working. Granted you are now seeing more commercials geared for women to go buy this or that. But it still comes down to the sex appeal of the model used. Whether it is a sexy woman or a very handsome male the commercials and the ads are geared for one thing...SEX. IF they appeal to their target audience and the product sells then the ad was a success.
I believe that this is going to get more interesting as the years go by on how far a ad will go.