Oversexualisation Of Women In Social Media

Over-sexualisation of women in media, is something which is not at all seen as an issue in our society. Over-sexualisation is one of the causes of the crimes against women. Over-sexualisation is defined as sexualising something excessively. If you watch a music video or any party song the most dominant thing in it will be women dancing in a very enticing way in tacky costumes. Such things are done as a means to gain popularity but the media does not realize what impact this puts on the minds of the audience who watch these videos. Not just music videos, even some of the advertisements for deodorants and other skin products portray women as highly sexualised beings. The female body is degraded to such an extent that this abusive sexualisation is considered normal and is accepted by the society.

Some years back, a mob of people attacked the set of a movie because they thought that the movie’s portrayal of their queen dancing in a court was offensive. But then how come this over-sexualisation is not considered offensive by the society? Such ads and movie scenes gives rise to pervert thoughts and eventually harassment. The female body is reduced to such a standard that now it is seen only as an object to satisfy men. In India, women who wear modern or western clothes are seen as a shame to the Indian society. But the people who make such comments seem to disappear when it comes to the issue of over-sexualisation of women.

Now one can say that, it is just a movie or it is just a video or ad, but in reality, it is the mirror image of the way the society views a woman. The women who are shown as overtly sexual are seen as a model by the common women and teen girls which raises the urge within them to be like that i.e. thin and enticing. All this puts a wrong idea in their mind and they start to question their body and their appearance and eventually lose their self-esteem and self-confidence. The girls start policing their body in vanity and start competing to get male attention as if it is the ultimate goal of their life and that they were brought into this world simply as accessories to satisfy the needs of men. These things are a cause of many teen girls falling prey to pornography and online sexual predators. At first there seems no harm in this but later on it shows up in the form of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, reproductive concerns, parenting issues or relationship crisis.

This is what we need to realize that the media does such over-sexualisation as a means of getting profit and they are continuing to do so. How can these people talk about women empowerment and women abuse when 75% of it is because of the way they portray a female in media? Media has the power to change the world, influence people no matter whatever form it is in print, digital etc., so, why not show things the way it is instead of exaggerating things for someone’s selfish means. It is a very major question we need to ask ourselves, that is, the people with the power to change and influence the world are they using the power given to them in a responsible way? Or are they exploiting this freedom for their own selfish needs?