Question for the ladies regarding models....?

Question

We see women pose for pictures in magazines everywhere. Women model for men's magazines, they do it for products and for shows. They model even for women's magazines. Face it you go to the magazine section in your grocery store and you don't see that many men on the cover of magazines.

My question does it bother you that other women do this for men's magazines and products or for product advertising that usually cater to a male buyer?

To clarify further, on the cover of GQ a man is usually featured in a nice, sharp and impressive suit. Jessica Alba recently posed and she was in this gorgeous and sexy bathing suit.

What's your take on the differences? In other words do you feel offended or more empowered by this and why? If you were in charge, bearing in mind guys are still guys, would you change anything and if so what?

Please, feel free to tear this question apart as you see fit!

Answer 1

I'm sorry, I'm holding off on actually answering this question because I want to see what other people have to say first. But I just wanted to tell you that this is one of the most articulate and thoughtful questions I have seen on yahoo answers. Keep up the good work!

Answer 2

Media is an industry that is run by males and has been since it began. Our society is male based as well as the majority religion and media is a reflection of that. Men are visual and so the media is as well. They assume that since it is something that they like that all will. Women have put up with this since the beginning of time. Does it offend? Yes at times but it is a fact of life so being the accepting beings that we are, we simply adjust and move on. Do I hold that against the models who pose? No, I see them more as victims and in some cases I respect that they, like all of us are trying to survive in a world where what they look like matters more to the "powers that be" than what is inside. You might also ask the same question using the fact that the majority of the people you see on magazines and in media are young when our society is in fact percentagewise ,aging. As a 50 year old, I see that aging differences like sex differences are all directly dealing with our fear of growing older and death. I no longer fear it but that doesn't mean that I won't fight it as long as I can. Would I change it if I could? The hard reality is that as long as our culture, society or what ever you want to call it is male based then to sell to them means we have to use a male's visual weakness. It would be nice if it wasn't so but it is. So like generations of females before me accept what is at this time unchangable and hope that sometime in the future, men will mature enough to understand that how anyone looks isn't as important as what is inside. Thank you for the question.

Answer 3

It's quite annoying but something you unfortunately get "desensitized" of because it's all over the place starting from a very young age. It's the easiest form of advertising. I personally think it undermines women AND men. To me it states that women are sex objects and that's all that men want (isn't that just one of many parts of our natural being?) . It's the essence of today's society and that makes me very nervous for what the future holds. What is going to have to happen before someone comes up with another creative idea or concept that has just affective advertising to the masses; but doesn't have such adverse affects to our perception of society (especially for the young men and women growing up in this era)? It would be nice to think that we're moving in a more equal and progressive direction for the benefit of both sexes but when I see all the ways women are portrayed, which is the same and over and over and over again, it just makes me extremely disappointed of our media and that it still majorily a "man's world". I'm a very sexually libertated person but I certainly don't need the whole world to know that and I certainly don't need to be reminded everywhere I look of this fact either nor does my 10 year old stepson. There's good nudity and bad nudity - we just need to find a balance of them both when it comes to advertising and our social perception.