Have you seen those ads that are cut off at the head and just show a women's large chest, impossibly lean torso, and long, too slender leg? Oh, and don't forget that she is fried to a very tan color. Doesn't she look anorexic, as though she's been ill? Is the ad almost to the point of being grotesque? Of course you've seen this image. It's everywhere. Women's bodies are used shamelessly in the media: on television, in advertisements, in magazines and books, and don't forget the hundreds of thousands of porn sights.

Objectification of women's bodies mean just that: women's bodies become objects and playthings, like little barbies for men to play with. These fashionable women, if seen in a male model's arms, stand or sit in such a way that they are submissive. All of these ads stereotype feminine beauty and the female role in the man's world. Sex is being sold in these images. These women seem so inert and complying, as though they would enjoy a forceful, violent man's embrace.

Standards of feminine beauty are becoming more sick and frightening every year as fashion advertise overly thin women. These women emphasize the unhealthiness of our society and our national obsession with diets and eating disorders.

If we do not protest these types of ads, then we are complying with these ideas of women's grotesque bodies and submissive demeanor. The ramification of the objectification of women is that women, young and old, have to endure unrealistic standards of feminine beauty. Healthy, real women grow up in a society where they are considered unattractive if they carry a healthy weight and if they refuse to bow to the wishes of their male counterparts.

Learn more about this author, Minh Phuong Nguyen.
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