Oversexualization in Online Advertisements

Feb 25, 20235 min read

Updated: Aug 27, 2023

Written by Andrelyn Izquierdo.

An opinion writing piece displaying advertisements that are being broadcasted throughout the internet promoting sexual abuse, assault, and objectification on women and children.

WARNING: This article contains sensitive content and may be found offensive or triggering to some people. Very graphic photos displayed in this article are real advertisements from companies that have been found on the internet. It is suggested for you to view this with a friend if you have experienced a recent sexual violence encounter for support. If for any reason you are not ready to see details of abuse, feel free to move on and come back when you are ready.

Image by OpenClipartVectors from Pixabay.

Something foul has gone rampant all over the place especially in media. Sex is being promoted everywhere. The expression on the dog's face is how mine is every time I seem to turn on my computer and do a google search. Our society is becoming so saturated in this indecent exposure and so-called "sharing" mentality that is Human Trafficking that it needs to be recognized for what it truly is. While all genders are featured in multiple areas, adult women are the primary targets and features as the stereotype of the female derogatory words, such as "ho" or "slut" are universal in describing women's attitudes being featured in sexualized material. More and more people are featured in less clothing or nothing at all. Here are some examples of things that I've seen that shouldn't be getting promoted to all ages and should be banned. It's especially uncomplicated to see in model poses for advertisements. Brace yourself as some of these photos look like they are promoting rape culture.

Screenshot capture from Marc Jacobs Website.

One would usually view platform heels in a strip club setting, but they seem to have taken over the runway this year at much taller heights. Are you also wondering where her clothes went as well? I'm curious as to how many people were actually working behind the curtain during this show since there's not much to redress or rearrange on the model with so much skin showing. Might I add how disturbing the complimentary shipping message looks next to naked model.

Screenshot capture from The Cut; Photo Source: Balenciaga

These two photos are displaying BDSM culture with children, which shouldn't even be allowed in the first place. The teddy bears are dressed in bondage material and the little girl on the left is posing with her legs open similar to the bear. The phases of the moon bed props featured behind the girl in the second photo (to the right) have a symbolism of all night or all year long.

Image from Ferragamo Online Ad.

Speaking of a sex fetish culture, this Ferragamo model is also posing with her legs open in another way. The heels on these shoes seem quite disturbing as they look like they match the large rings in front of a pick-up truck. These do not belong on shoes. Another woman shown below to the right is wearing another version of the same heel design. I do not think that latex is ideal for a work environment or anywhere else either being featured next to a woman in a suit.

Image from Ferragamo Online Ad.

Photo from social media meme image.

It's become a trend to call a beautiful woman a Milf that there's a television show now. While I haven't seen it nor heard of it, the title makes it obvious what it is about. This is a much different spin-around compared to the reality tv show Housewives Series.

Image from Branding in Asia Website.

An article spreading awareness about a campaign to help stop sexualization of women in advertisements showed an example of a Burger King online Ad featuring a woman with her eyes widened and her mouth open. This symbolizes a woman's facial expression during oral sex with the sandwich described as a measurement being inserted into her mouth.

This particular image is sickening as it represents a woman dressed in all black in an unconscious state as it is visible that her eyes are closed with a snake tattoo and heels crisscrossed at an x. The objectification of this woman in this picture is obvious as she is on the floor and her legs are open at shoulder width displaying her as ready for sex. This ad should be banned.

Image from Dolce & Gabbana.

Another close-eyed model in a photo that doesn't really need additional explanation on what is happening. Why are people allowing advertisements like this that prefer a bunch of men to take turns on manhandling an individual woman?

There's a whole bunch of inappropriate, gruesome oversexualized advertisements launched by Peta. Here are some examples.

A woman can choose to not wear fur and be clothed in another type of clothing. But instead, it was chosen for this model to pose naked.

Not sure how bounding a woman to her bed with chains has anything to do with a commitment to not eating meat, but this is what PetaIndia chose to advertise. People really should stop promoting sexual abuse in marketing.

Another woman put in chains, but this time in a different setting on a brick floor. Did they forget to remove the fur from her top for this advertisement as well?

There's already so much violence in the world. I'm not sure why people are still trying to place women as bound and beaten animals. We are human beings.

There were so many disgusting photos that I had to stop here. The number of examples used in this article is still broad enough to display that this oversexualization is not only over-the-top, but is doing a lot more damage in encouraging bad behaviors towards women and children. If you come across more images like these, do try to speak up against them as the promotion of abuse continues to increase sex crime violence numbers. An upcoming article will be posted soon about how to successfully report these types of ads from their origins to help get rid of them and make the internet a safer place. I'm still trying many methods of reporting to see which ways are more successful so I will get back to this soon enough.

Please #becareful and do try to #besafe.

#LearnTheSigns

#GetEducated

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