Promiscuity may run rampant in a world where sex is used to sell everything from Puma clothing to condominiums in New York, but in the 1950s sex in the media was unheard of. Nudity in films was indecent, literature was censored for anything “too racy” and even married TV couples were filmed climbing into separate beds at night.
In 1954, however, Hugh Hefner launched Playboy, an indecent entertainment magazine for men. Though Playboy was a shock to society at large, it was a welcomed shock. The infamous three-page foldout featuring a nude Marilyn Monroe, the sex icon of the decade, immediately flew off the stands. The magazine seemed to gain success overnight and is still in print today.
Hefner’s effective use of sex in the area of sales has not quite worn off. From body wash commercials to perfume promotion posters in department stores, young and old are still inundated with the reality that “sexy” is in style. The degradation of the human body that we witness daily has become so normalized, that instead of revolting against the system, we greedily take pointers for future reference. It is as if we watch television in a drunken stupor, no longer concerned with the thousands of advertisements that trigger our sexuality.
Every year the average adolescent will view nearly 14,000 sexual references. Studies have shown that these viewers are twice as likely to initiate intercourse afterward. This of course is no surprise, sex is everywhere; even music videos integrate licentious lyrics with scantily clad models for the enhancement of sexual allure.
Bratz have taken the spotlight as of late, as mothers revolt against the scandalous dolls. With magnified eyes and lips and makeup-laden faces, these playthings are often dressed in what has become the taboo term “slutty.” Even the halo above the “r” in the Bratz logo seems to portray the battle between angelic faces and perverse attitudes. These dolls even have music videos – a joy to children and disgust to parents. The dolls swing their hips vigorously and strut about on walkways with their flat tummies exposed. The idea of selling sex to kids has become a disgusting reality – no wonder mothers
are outraged.
The only reason sex sells so tractably is because it is constantly on our minds. In this highly sexualized culture it is hard to escape the reality that we are sexual beings with a longing for connection. However, I would argue that using sex to sell products and services does not benefit our longings, but rather cheapens them.
C.S. Lewis observed that humans have an “ever-increasing appetite for ever-decreasing pleasure.” Rather than attaining the deepest fulfillment that products seem to promise, we find that our cravings grow even more elusive. Instead of gaining satisfaction from viewing sex on TV or participating in the act with different partners ourselves, we find that fulfillment seems even more out of reach.
Perhaps we have set our sights too low, allowing ourselves to find trivial satisfaction with the things we see and do, when we are, instead, missing out on something greater. Sex may sell products, but it cannot buy our souls.
