Crazy, Sexy, Not Cool – Texas State University

Sex sells and we see evidence of this in everyday life.

Sexually objectified women that appear in the many magazine ads, billboards and commercials sell products and fantasies at an even heftier cost. Companies like the infamous Playboy have prided themselves for years on beautiful women posing in sexually suggestive positions, adorned in designer lingerie.

With its readership being men, the magazine satisfies the appetite for a lusty crowd of businessmen, dads, police officers, teachers and college students who are willing to blow money on each issue.

While the big dollars are rolling into the corporation, a huge tidal wave of problems comes splashing down. Like in every profession, there is an even shorter-lived time in the career of modeling—especially models who book nude or lingerie shoots with companies like Victoria’s Secret.

When these women do retire and turn to other employment opportunities, they are often left with little wiggle room when choosing a profession due to their past experiences as models.

It is not okay for people to overlook the skills these sexually objectified women obtain simply because they have a picture in a magazine with their rear poked out in the air or their breasts barely covered.

Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but in this case there is only one word to describe the label pushed on these women, and it is “unrealistic.” The popular belief of the general public is sexually objectified women act the way they present themselves in magazine covers, and that is wrong.

Being a model is a job, just like that of a police officer, teacher and businessman. These women deserve the same respect as any of us. They should not be judged for making a living or looking to find employment outside of the misogynistic modeling and entertainment realm.

Being a glamor model is not easy, but being an ex-glamor model is even harder. Ask former Playboy model Amy Christophers, who has a hard time getting employed due to her past as a Playmate.

Frequently, male empoyers do not take Christophers seriously. Even though she has valuable insight and the qualifications for the respective field, people cannot seem to get past her bunny pictures.

By judging these women and buying magazines such as Playboy, we are supporting the objectification of women for profit. Then, after our pockets are full and sexual cravings have been satisfied, we throw them away like garbage. These women are crucified for making a living and ridiculed for searching to obtain a “modest” or “respectable” profession afterward.

Just because you find a woman in a sexually provocative pose does not mean she deserves to be reduced to a picture or object for glancing pleasures. People should not have to be reminded of how these women are intelligent and complex beings as well, who can do more than stand around and look pretty.

The cost of being one of these sexually objectified women should not include discrimination from a profession she is qualified for just because she was a nude or lingerie model. It is okay to view them as a little crazy and a little sexy as well as how my new and improved 21st-century definition defines it. It is not cool to sexually objectify these women and undermine them because you have a narrow-minded, sexist view about the character of the model.

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Are plus-size models making women more obese?

The use of plus-size or ‘realistic’ models in advertising, such as the women seen in the recent Australian Target catalogue or Dove commercials, are being linked to poor health choices and rising obesity rates among consumers.

According to a study out of Simon Fraser University in Canada, and published in the American Marketing Association’s Journal of Public Policy Marketing, advertising campaigns that lean towards using ‘plus-size’ models are having a “detrimental” effect on the public’s lifestyle and eating behavior.

Speaking to news.com.au, lead author and associate professor of Marketing at California State University, Dr Lily Lin said the reason for the poor health choices are because of the use of reassuring slogans such as ‘real’ and ‘normal’ next to ‘plus-size’ models.

“We were noticing more and more of these types of ads being used in the marketplace. At the same time, we continued to hear about the rising rate of overweight and obese people in much of the western world,” Lin said.

“In one of the experiments, participants were given 3 advertisements. One ad had a plus-size model with an accepting slogan, one was just an image of a plus size model and the third had no model at all.

“Participants filled out questions about their evaluation of each ad, including how they felt about exercise and food choices based on what they saw in the advertisement. The participants were required to select food items in response to each variant of the ad, and when we summed up the number of foods selected by the groups, the women who saw the ad with the ‘normal’ or ‘real’ body slogans made higher calorie and poorer exercise choices.”

The study had a total of 1,032 participants across the five studies that were conducted for the research. The participants were randomly assigned to different conditions in each of the studies, so there was no difference in BMI between the different conditions. Dr Lin said that the participants’ own BMIs also did not have significant effects on the results.

Titled ‘The Dove Effect: Usage of Acceptance Cues for Larger Body Types Increases Unhealthy Behaviors,” Dr Lin said the instigator for conducting the study stemmed from an increase in ‘realistic’ models in advertising campaigns, paired with ‘acceptance’ or ‘reassuring’ slogans, such as the Dove ad using the term ‘real,’

“We already knew that ads that stigmatized larger bodies can be harmful, but were somewhat surprised to see that people’s motivation decreased further when they saw the acceptance ads.

Harnessing my inner spanish dancer and churros lover…. ��#angelinalegpose #chacha

A photo posted by Laura Wells (@iamlaurawells) on Dec 6, 2015 at 11:37am PST

American Eagle #aeriereal campaign was also mentioned as, with Dr Lin advising that advertisers need to be careful about “what they are communicating to consumers”.

“Based on this work, we believe that statements that place a value judgment on any body type could have implications for consumers,” she said.

Speaking to news.com.au, Australian ‘plus-size’ model Laura Wells said despite not agreeing with all results from the study, she understood the problem around the use of words such as ‘real’ or ‘normal’ in advertising.

“I understand the problem when using the world ‘real’ and ‘normal’ on images, regardless of the models size,” Laura said.

“Everyone is real. Normal comes with what you choose is normal, so I understand that part of the study.

“My job and title is plus size. I’m 23 BMI and size 14. To identify a ‘plus-size’ model as encouraging obesity is where I don’t agree with the study.

“Throughout my career, the amount of messages I receive from people who have used images of me to lead a healthier life, and love their body. I’ve seen people accept who they are and be the best they can,” she said.

Today we celebrate the perfect REAL body and all the women who have said “#IAmPerfect the way I am.” #TBT pic.twitter.com/CFD2GfokGE

— Dove (@Dove) October 30, 2014

“I encourage people to drop those terms, like ‘real’ or ‘curves,’ because for me everyone is different and that’s the beauty of the world. We don’t and can’t all look the same,” she said.

In terms of the participants who took part in the study, Laura questioned what their usual food and lifestyle choices were outside the focus group.

“My body, being a size 14, is not something people look at and think they don’t want to work out.

“I tend to think about the background of the people who took the study and what their choices would normally be,” she said.

“We definitely need diversity in the industry. I hate being called a ‘real woman’ because everyone is real.

“Being labelled something like that shouldn’t exist. Everyone is real and normal. The part of the study that talked about what people are ‘choosing’ to eat, it comes down to peoples perception of themselves.”

Catherine McGill, General Manager of Vivien’s Model Management, was surprised by the study, saying the use of a ‘real’ sized women had been a welcome change to the industry over the past few years.

“I find it very pleasing when advertisers use different size shapes,” Mrs McGill told news.com.au.

“I prefer to see a retailer or advertiser, like Target or Myer, use a range of models. Earlier this year, The Upside activewear did the same thing and I think that’s really good. Either extreme isn’t a good thing, but a range of normal body shapes is representative of the community,” she continued.

“The use of the words ‘normal’ or ‘real’ is accurate and factual. So that’s what surprises me, and is what I find hard to understand a link between the two [bad health trends and accepting slogans]. I think there may be other factors that play in to it.

“Skinny models encourage anorexia, and now using ‘real’ and ‘normal’ models encourage obesity. You can’t win,” she said

MORE: WHAT A SIZE 12 LOOKS LIKE

In response to the study, Australia’s The Butterfly Foundation said the focus needs to be shifted away from weight, and refocused on health and physical well being.

“At a time when eating disorders are affecting close to one million Australians, The Butterfly Foundation feels there needs to be a strong focus on health, not weight and that equal consideration should be given to the social, emotional and physical aspects of health,” the foundation’s CEO, Christine Morgan told news.com.au.

“Our environment is currently filled with subconscious messages about idealized beauty, body shape and size. People of all ages are bombarded with images that often promote unrealistic, unobtainable and highly stylized appearance ideals which have been fabricated by stylists and digital manipulation and cannot be achieved in real life.

“Those who feel they don’t measure up in comparison to these cultural ideals can experience intense body dissatisfaction which is damaging to their psychological and physical wellbeing. “These high levels of body dissatisfaction and weight concerns are also leading to an increasing number of men and women engaging in disordered eating behaviors,” she said.

MORE: LOVE YOUR BODY

“From the study, our recommendation is that advertisers and marketers should use a range of body types and sizes in their campaigns,” Dr Lin said.

“Using a variety of sizes, that doesn’t place value or judgment on a certain body type means people won’t have their attention and focus on a particular body size.”

This story first appeared at news.com.au.

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