Rodriguez 1

Andres Rodriguez
John Kubler
English 115A
27 October 27, 2014
Hyper-Sexualism? Eww.
We live in a society where being hyper-sexualized is portrayed as a positive manner.
More and more people are living the life style because it is trending all over the world. Imagine
how things will end up if the human population proceeds with the sexual behavior? Imagine how
erotic and sexual this world would be? The media has a huge effect on the way people live,
dress, act, and behave around others. It is becoming a custom to act like complete rebels, dress
inappropriately, and express ones LOVE in a provocative way. There is no way on earth that
this movement or trend is having a positive impact in society; therefore, I oppose the fact that our
society is becoming hyper-sexualized solely because of the social media and its evil ways of
marketing products to teenagers with insecurities. One can see this form of hyper-sexualization
in magazines, commercials, ads, movies, and as well as ads for kids. One can see this form of
living effecting women in their sexual behavior to become more dominant when it comes to
relationships, which is not entirely bad in some cases. I do believe that men should be the ones in
charge when it comes to relationships because men tend to express their emotions less and it
tends to be for the greater good whereas women often like to express their emotions in which
most cases comes to unnecessary arguments. We can view examples of this hyper-sexualized
societies impacting an individual, in this case the Marji, in the novel Persopolis by Marjane
Satrapi. One can also find very strong opinions on how being hyper-sexualized is having a
negative effect on society in the article Media, Empowerment and the Sexualization of Culture
Debates by Rosalind Gill, a respected cultural theorist. When it comes to women being the

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dominant figure in a relationship, one could see the movies Crazy, Stupid, Love directed by John
Requa and Glen Ficarra and Jerry Maguire directed by Cameron Crowe. This new trend of being
hyper-sexualized is giving our generation a negative and derogatory effect in our society and
generation because it displays no sense of respect, common courtesy, and a lack of discretion in
public.
Now a days one sees nothing but public displays of affection. It is becoming a social
norm in western civilization to be open about anything from making out in public to hardly
wearing any clothes. In the novel Persepolis by Marjane, she states, In Vienna, people preferred
to lie around and smoke. And then, I was turned off by all these public displays of affection
(Satrapi, 185) and what she was referring to, was the party Marji attended with Julie that had
teenagers making out everywhere. Obviously, Marji was not comfortable around it since she
came from a traditionalist country, but it comes to show how western civilization is completely
different from others in terms of what you do in public. Later on in the novel, Marji proclaims,
Unfortunately, the next morning I was as much a virgin and as timid as the night before
(Satrapi, 213) as she was desperately trying to have sexual relations with Enrique, but nothing
happened between them. This comes to show how much the western civilization had affected or
influenced Marji to even consider having sexual relations with Enrique which is extremely
forbidden or frowned upon in her country or Tehran. In places like Vienna, much like the United
States, We have come to accept that sexuality is expressed freely amongst us.
There are no limits to what we say or do in public much like in the movie Crazy, Stupid,
Love when Jacob Palmer, the womanizer, seduces and sweet talks every attractive woman he
sees in the bar. This scenario precisely depicts what society has come to. One no longer has

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respect and self-control to show some class and respect a woman and a woman to respect herself
as a person. We see male figures like this all the time at bars, clubs, and even weddings.
Another thing one can see in our society would be the affect media has on teenagers. I
remember back in 2000 when you would see women in overalls and cute clothing, but all they
wear now are dresses that barely cover up their behinds and shirts that look like bras and this
would all be due to all the female stars that wear nothing but provocative clothing. In a teenage
boys eyes that is heaven, but do we really want to accept what teenage boy desires sexually?
Some people might think that the way they dress all provocative is a form of empowerment, but
Rosalind Gill thinks otherwise. In the article, Media, Empowerment and the Sexualization of
Culture Debates Gill states is it really empowerment if a girl is inspired by highly
sexualized media representations?(Gills, 738) which depicts the fact that the media has a huge
impact on the way someone dresses. Teenagers become hallow minded and brainwashed by what
they see in ads and TV. Their minds become dull and they cant really think for themselves.
They depend on what the media thinks of them and how they should act around people. I know
this because I am a teenager that just wants to fit in society. I buy clothes that looks cool, I act
somewhat similar to characters on TV, and I desire almost every girl I see in television because
they hardly have any clothes on. I feel guilty when I think that, but now that peoples thoughts
have changer at large, its becoming more of a norm for me.
In a way if a girl wears all this provocative clothes, they can feel empowered. They could
feel that they could wear whatever they want and they still have the choice of denying every man
that looks at them. One can look at it that way, but if we refer to the music video These Boots
Are Made For Walking by Jessica Simpson, one could say she is being empowering, but is she
really if shes working at a bar as a waitress? Wouldnt that be considered a form of degrading

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herself? I think so. Especially if shes wearing short shorts and a flannel shirt that shouldnt even
be considered a shirt. What kind of message does that send to teenage girls?
The last topic that will be addressed is that women are being more dominant in modern
day relationships. I am all for female empowerment. I do believe that women and men should be
equal in every single way, but when it comes to relationships, I think it is better if men stay in
control. I saw the same thing happen twice in two different movies in which the women is in
charge and all comes to fail. The movies in which the scenarios happen are Jerry Maguire and
Crazy, Stupid, Love. In the movie Jerry Maguire, Jerry Maguire had a fiance who was dominant
and tried to control everything he did. Later on in the movie everything falls to pieces and their
relationship doesnt work out because she was in charge. In the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love Emily
Weaver, the wife of Cal Weaver, decides to get a divorce because she felt like he wasnt trying
being the man he used to be. She wanted someone dominant and Cal had to step it up to get her
back. Not only is it better for men to be in control, but in way girls like it when they have
someone dominant to take care of them.
To make a brief and final statement, I sincerely believe that this society is falling apart
with all these bursting hormones raging. People need to conceal their thoughts, display proper
affection, and respect themselves as a human, not an object. Our generation deserves better or
should act more appropriately towards others. One should not be influenced by what others do,
but by what that person wants to be treated like. Sure it might seem empowering express ones
sexuality, but it just shows the lack of respect you have for yourself. Be yourself and dont let the
media decide what you wear and how you behave. Stay true to yourself and behave well in front
of others.

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Bibliography

Satrapi, Marjane, and Marjane Satrapi. The Complete Persepolis. New York: Pantheon, 2007.
Print.
Gill, Rosalind. "Media, Empowerment and the Sexualization of Culture Debates." Sex Roles
66.11-12 (2012): 736-45. Web.
Crazy, Stupid, Love. Warner Bros., 2011. Web.
Jerry Maguire. Dir. Cameron Crowe. TriStar, 1996. Web.
Simpson, Jessica, Stevie Ray. Vaughan, and Willie Nelson. The Dukes of Hazzard Music from
the Motion Picture. Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax, 2005. MP3.