Sex Differences and Their Responses to Erotica Research Paper

Sex Differences and Their Responses to Erotica - Research Paper Example Also true. However, the media has reported less on whether the converse is true, in that men are adversely affected by idealized images of male bodies and penis sizes. The conventional wisdom there is that men probably are not affected by these images. This is partially true – men widely believe that their penis size is average or large, so media images of penis sizes do not affect how men view their genitalia. However, at least one study has shown that men do feel worse about their bodies after viewing other men with idealized bodies, so, perhaps, there is less of a gender inequity in this regard then was previously thought. This paper will explore all these topics in greater detail. How Media Environment Has Changed in the Past 50 or 60 Years The past 50 or 60 years has been marked by a changing standard of ideal beauty in society. According to Calabrese et al., the ideal has changed towards a thinner female body type, one that is unattainable by most women. This is seen in Playboy Magazine centerfold models, Miss America pageant winners and fashion models. As stated above, these ideals are impossible for many women to attain, which makes the average woman have dissatisfaction with their body and overall appearance, and poses risks to the female’s mental and physical health. Moreover, there has been a changing ideal of genital appearance, as viewed through pornography websites and the like. Females are increasingly exposed to these images through these websites. However, the pictures of the female genitalia have been increasingly digitally enhanced, rather than naturally occurring, which causes women further despair that their physicality does not match that which is ideal (Calabrese, et al., 2011). Calabrese et al., examined the impact on the evolution of both ideal body types and the depiction of female genitalia on how women think about themselves. They examined Playboy models from 1953 to 2007 to look at these changing ideals. 647 Playboy centerfold models were the subjects of this research. They found that a Barbie-like thinness has become the norm with the Playboy models and that, in fact, the female genitalia in these magazine spreads have been enhanced and perfected. Larger breasts, as displayed on both Barbie and the Playboy models, is another attribute of this new feminine ideal. Because of this changing ideal, Calabrese et al. states that the image of perfection and definition of physical beauty have changed, and what heterosexual men seek in their partners have also changed. Young girls are also affected, in that they gain a warped perception of the ideal female body type with they receive their first Barbie, and this perception of reinforced by these Playboy images (Calabrese et al.., 2011). Advertising The basis of advertising is simply drawing one's attention to something, or, on the other end, notifying or informing somebody of something (Dyer, 1989, p. 2). This is the basics of advertising. The way that this is accomplished is that the advertiser "magically induces" the consumer to buy the advertised product by selling a fantasy. This is because "we have a cultural pattern in which the objects are not enough but must be validated in fantasy by association with social and personal meanings which in a different cultural