Table of contentsIn chapter 1In chapter 2In chapter 3I chose to write an extended essay, to research, analyze, discuss and understand the obsession of Western societies with the beauty of women and the excessive sexualization of the female form in visual culture, and the problems that this manifests in today's society. I will identify problems with the objectification of women in modern visual culture, including; magazines, films, advertising, art and social media. I wanted to understand the nature of this hypersexualized media and how it got to this point. With the development of technologies and greater access to media than even 50 years ago, studies show that we consume approximately 8 hours of media per day. With the pornography, beauty and cosmetic surgery industries booming, this leads me to worry about the effects this will have on women and our society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In Chapter 1 (The Objectification of the Female Body in Western Visual Culture) I will discuss how women are objectified in art and photography throughout history and how this still applies today in more visual forms. I will then elaborate on the theory of the "male gaze", using examples from the films we know today and consider why there is an ever-increasing obsession in the media with sex and beauty. Then I will look into why there is such a strong influence of sex in advertising today and how this supports the profits of the industries that use these images. In Chapter 2 (Give Me a Reason to Be Beautiful) I will analyze the human importance of being "beautiful" using theoretical texts on evolution and science. I will touch on the role models that girls also aspire to, then I will support the points that beauty is subjective to each individual as opposed to the ideal image, going on to discuss how to show an unrealistic "perfect woman" and to show women in particular roles it can change a woman's perspective of themselves and alter their perception of what is important. In Chapter 3 (The Problems with Our Objectifying Visual Culture) Identify social, personal, and societal problems caused by the objectification of women in the media. From analyzing data from different web sources to books to primary research studies, conducted by me. I will touch on the topics of self-esteem, eating disorders and mental health and the problems related to violence against women. I conducted research on theoretical texts on visual culture, classic and contemporary feminist texts, I watched contemporary films and advertisements, I researched the scientific and anthropological study of beauty, I carried out statistical research on related issues, and I conducted my own research on the problems of people with themselves as far as the media is concerned. The objectification of the female body in visual culture. In the film and book "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger (first published in 1973), in chapter 3 Berger talks about how women are objectified in art and photography. Berger talks first of all about the presence of both men and women in visual culture. It talks about how a man's presence has a purpose, what he can do or do for someone, in comparison it talks about the presence of a woman who has to be introverted, constantly looking at herself. “He must examine all that he is and all that he does as it appears to others and, ultimately, as it appears to men.” (Berger 2008 p.46) It is discussed that when the woman observes herself, her 'inner inspector' is also male.Berger uses examples from European oil paintings, there is a strong theme of the woman as an object being observed, there are uses of mirrors showing the woman observing herself (see fig. 1 below) making eye contact with the viewer as if we were 'spying' on her (see fig. 2 below) also highlights that there is a common theme with a male 'lover' in the paintings however the women continue to present themselves to the viewer as her 'true lover', thus creating a romantic and enchanting desire towards the naked woman in the painting. "To be naked is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself. A naked body must be seen as an object in order to become a nude." (Berger 2008 p.54) This inevitably objectifies the woman in the painting, she is the object we are invited to look at. This idea of ​​the "nude" as an object to be looked at continues in our visual culture today. The female form is still used as an objectified image of fantasy and seduction, we see this in films, advertisements, television programs, billboards and magazines etc. (see fig. 3 below) all directed at the male fantasy idea of ​​the female body. We must ask ourselves why precisely the female form has been the victim of this objectifying and sexualized way of perceiving. “…because it is always assumed that the 'ideal' viewer is male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him.” (Berger 2008 p.64) understandably men who had more power and direction desired these images of female nudity, however, these ideas live on as we have adapted to a society with more equal rights. “This unequal relationship is so deeply rooted in our culture that it still structures the consciousness of many women” (Berger 2008 p.63). It must be considered that images aimed at women also objectify women. A few years later an essay 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' was published in 1975 by feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey shaped the term 'the male gaze', as Mulvey said “In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in watching was divided between active/masculine and passive/feminine...In their tradition; exhibitionist role, women are simultaneously looked at and shown. The theory describes how in films and media women are mere objects to be looked at through a male "lens". Although published in 1975, the male gaze lives on even more prominently (Mulvey 1975). A classic example of this is shown in a film called 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' (1946), the main female role, a girl named Cora, is shown to the viewer as the hero's desire and love interest, as stated by Budd Boetticher, a 1950s western director”; What matters is what the heroine causes, or rather what she represents, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or the concern he feels for her, which makes him act as he does in herself, woman doesn't have the slightest importance." As shown in the scene where Cora is introduced, she is first shown voyeuristic close-up camera angles, panning from her legs to her navel, to her breasts, and then a full shot of her wearing a scant amount of clothes with the male. the protagonist then gapes at her (see fig 4,5,6 below) We are introduced to this character as sexy and we have seen a good part of her body before she says a word or whatever her name is (Simmons 2016) In for example more modern than the male gaze, we have one of the last superhero films, "The Avengers". In this movie the main female role of the superheroine "Black Widow" seems to have more substance than that of the heroine, she has a main role like that of a heroine. a hero, a backstory and a part.