Effects on Women's Power​

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The United Nations has rolled out 17 Goals, with Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in 5th place.  Violence against women is a global problem which is directly linked to the oversexualization of women.

 

When women are held to unrealistic expectations and standards, they lose their sense of power; they feel the need to act a certain way to appeal to, or fit in with, society regardless of their true values or desires.

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Women can't look like or dress like normal women. There are expectations that women need to be something that they're not. This is seriously damaging to women and girls; the over-sexualization of women has been connected to problems like eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression.

 

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​​In an article written by feminist Christina Parrish, she says, "Women in games are so sexualized, that now it’s just drilled into the heads of gamers that they’re supposed to look like that! And it’s ridiculous. Because the 'style' of girls in games is no different than the expected style for girls in today’s world; if a girl doesn’t show enough skin, she's not seen as sexy at all -- she's insignificant."

 

Never being able to live up to unrealistic expectations leads to negative psychological effects, and physical effects​, such as eating disorders and the perceived need to have plastic surgery.  Breast implants, which are most often a result of women trying to conform to the oversexualized stereotype have, in recent years, been linked to a specific type of cancer and an autoimmune disorder called Breast Implant Illness. 

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The over-sexualization of women in the media supports the idea that women are simply objects of sexual desire, promotes sexual violence against them, and causes gender inequality. When women are advertised as sexual objects, they will be treated as sexual objects. Because of this objectification, women are seen as weak and for others' use. These ideas create the stereotype that women should look and/or act sexy. When women are set to these expectations and standards, they lose a sense of power; they feel the need to act a certain way to appeal to, or fit in with, society. The over-sexualization of women has been connected to problems like eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression. When men see these ads, they could assume that women want this type of sexualization or, in some cases, justify violence or rape. 

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