When sex doesn't sell: using sexualized images of women reduces support for ethical campaigns

Images of scantily clad women are used by advertisers to make products more attractive to men. This "sex sells" approach is increasingly employed to promote ethical causes, most prominently by the animal-rights organization PETA. Yet sexualized images can dehumanize women, leaving an unres...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2013-12, Vol.8 (12), p.e83311-e83311
Main Authors: Bongiorno, Renata, Bain, Paul G, Haslam, Nick
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advertisements
Advertising
Advertising as Topic
Animal Rights
Animals
Arousal
Consent
Dehumanization
Ethical aspects
Ethics
Female
Gender
Humans
Hypotheses
Male
Mediation
Medical ethics
Morality
Personality
Psychology, Social
Replication
Sex
Sexism
Sexual Behavior
Social psychology
Studies
Vegetarianism
Women's clothing
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Images of scantily clad women are used by advertisers to make products more attractive to men. This "sex sells" approach is increasingly employed to promote ethical causes, most prominently by the animal-rights organization PETA. Yet sexualized images can dehumanize women, leaving an unresolved paradox--is it effective to advertise an ethical cause using unethical means? In Study 1, a sample of Australian male undergraduates (N = 82) viewed PETA advertisements containing either sexualized or non-sexualized images of women. Intentions to support the ethical organization were reduced for those exposed to the sexualized advertising, and this was explained by their dehumanization of the sexualized women, and not by increased arousal. Study 2 used a mixed-gender community sample from the United States (N = 280), replicating this finding and extending it by showing that behaviors helpful to the ethical cause diminished after viewing the sexualized advertisements, which was again mediated by the dehumanization of the women depicted. Alternative explanations relating to the reduced credibility of the sexualized women and their objectification were not supported. When promoting ethical causes, organizations may benefit from using advertising strategies that do not dehumanize women.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0083311