We all know sex sells. But what type of sex is being sold, and what are the implications for women and girls?

The clamor surrounding Kim Kardashian’s full frontal nude has finally started to subside, and my news feed, haggard and tired, can take a well-needed breather. There were many tweets about choice and empowerment. The heated (and old) debates about “slut shaming” and women’s sexual freedom resurfaced. There was even another nude, though this time Kim was accompanied by another young, it-girl.

“Sex sells”, so why not flaunt it? Yes, sex certainly does sell, and Kim’s nude is a good case in point. But this nude is just one of many images that exist on a broader trajectory of exploitation, in which women are stripped bear, consumed and discarded, until another nude appears on social media grapevine. The sexual exploitation of women through visual media is not a new phenomenon. In fact it is so ubiquitous that we rarely pause to ask why these images continue to be so pervasive. By accepting the objectification of women or simply looking the other way, we not only fail to question the broader systems of power these representations speak to – we actively sustain them as well. 

Update: Sign Petition to PETA

PETA is a not-for-profit organization that aims to establish and protect the rights of all animals. PETA's website states that it operates under these principles:

Earlier this year UltraTune launched its new series of television commercials which attracted substantial criticism from the broader community. 

24 year old Brisbane resident Courtney Deagon has started a petition to Napoleon Perdis regarding their latest ad campaign. 

Join the conversation.
#WomenNotObjects

Nancy Sinatra once famously said that boots were made for walking but shoe brand Windsor Smith’s advertisements have instead raised concern amongst consumers. These ads specialise in the sexual objectification of women and sexual violence against women.

"I find it deeply offensive that a company has to resort to objectifying females in order to sell a service" 

Fashion designer Tom Ford has a long history of sexually exploitative advertising. Ads for the label sexually objectify women, reducing them to a series of sexualised body parts, or depict naked women alongside fully clothed men.

Car parts and service chain Ultra Tune are facing a flood of complaints on social media in response to its sexist ‘We’re into rubber’ TV commercial. The BDSM themed ad for car tyres depicts two rubber-clad dominatrix women brandishing a whip and feigning sexual arousal as they caress the tyres, while a male employee smiles and nods to himself, signifying his enjoyment.

Ultra Tune’s Facebook page has become overrun with complaints by men and women who have seen the commercial, pledging to not have their car serviced at Ultra Tunes while women are depicted as “fetish objects” to sell products and services.

Dr Caroline Heldman at [email protected]

What is sexual objectification? Is it empowering? Watch and learn.

Chair of the politics department of Occidential College in Los Angeles, Dr. Heldman appeared in the acclaimed documentary, Miss Representation, and is co-editor of "Madame President: Are We Ready for a Woman in the White House?" She is a frequent commentator on radio and television and a regular contributor to Ms. Magazine.