The stereotypical image of sexually objectified women can be combated in many ways. One of the most obvious and important ways to combat this stereotypical image is for advertisers to stop conflating parts of women’s bodies with products. Using parts of women’s bodies, called dismemberment, creates a sexualization and fantasy of the body part and then associates the sexualized and fantasized body part with an alcoholic product (Greening). Although this is a very strategic way to appeal to white heterosexual males, it does not represent women in a fair way.
Advertisers can also combat this stereotype by not picturing women in such revealing clothing and sexual positions. These small advertising decisions attribute to the sexualization of women in these advertisements, and therefore add to her perceived sexual objectification as she is conflated with the product.
Advertisers should also stop portraying women’s bodies as actual parts of the product in order to stop the portrayal of women as objects.
Advertisers should realize how harmful such persistent visual representations are among people of society. They harm women, damaging their own perceptions of their self worth and image. They harm men, damaging their perceptions of what a woman is and making connections between alcohol and sex.
Furthermore, we have noticed particular sites and organizations that have worked to combat and enlighten the issue of media objectification of women, or women gender equality in general, that can be seen as key resources to advancing the cause to combat objectification in the media. Below are links to these sites:
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women