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Cheesecake and Beefcake: No Matter How You Slice it, Sexual Explicitness in Advertising Continues to Increase
Tom Reichert, Jacqueline Lambiase, Susan Morgan, Meta Carstarphen and Susan Zavoina Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 1999 76: 7 DOI: 10.1177/107769909907600102 The online version of this article can be found at: http://jmq.sagepub.com/content/76/1/7

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CHEESECAKE AND BEEFCAKE: N o MATTER How You SLICEIT, SEXUALEXPLICITNESS I N ADVERTISING CONTINUES TO INCREASE
By Tom Reichert,JacquelineLarnbiase, Susan Morgan,Meta Carstarphen,and Susan Zuzwirn Previous research revealed that sexually oriented appeals in American advertising had become increasingly explicit through the mid-1 980s. This study updates earlier research by assessing images of women and men in magazine ads in 1983 and 1993. Results show that both genders were portrayed more explicitly and through more sexually intimate contact in 1993. Women were three times more likely than men to be portrayed explicitly, but for thefirst time, images of men were shown to be more explicit in the 199Os, albeit in smaller numbers than women. Portrayals of women and men were most explicit in womens and mens magazines.
Sex is certainly a staple in Americas advertising diet. It is common for visual artists to use nudes and suggested sexuality to attract a viewers attention,and advertisershave used sexual stimuli since the mid-nineteenth century for the same end. In TV Guide, for instance, more than 35 percent of network promotional ads contains some type of sexual reference? An analysis of Clio award-winning television commercials revealed that 29 percent containsa seductively dressed model, and 27percent containsat least These studies and others reveal a trend, at least a hint of sexual s~ggestion.~ into the mid-l980s, that sexually oriented appeals were not only prevalent within the advertising milieu, but increasing as well. Previous research for magazine advertising has documented that sexuallyoriented appeals are widespread, commonplace,and increasingP In the 1980s, these researchers argued that this development reflected societal trends of increased sexual freedom and liberalism. Since that time, however, cultural trends that might counter this liberalism-namely the family values of conservative politics, aging baby boomers, and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases, especially AIDS-may have had a mitigating effect on perceptions of sexual f r e e d ~ m .In ~ addition, awareness of sexist images within the advertising industry has added pressure to clean it up.6 Advertising researchers and numerous advertising studies suggest that inappropriate or excessive use of sexual content can have negative effect^.^ According to Courtney and Whipple: advertiserswould be well advised to . . . avoid overtly seductive, nude, or partially clad models. While studies have shown that overt sexual portrayals attract attention to the ad? evidence suggests that the sexual material in ads may reduce the opportunity for the processing of brand information.1 Further, other studies suggest overt
Tom Reichert, JacquelineLumbiase,Meta Carstarphen,and Susan Zavoina are assistant professors in the Department of Journalism and Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalismat the University of North Texas. Susan Morgan is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Kentucky.
CHEESECAKE AND BEEFCAKU No MATTER How You SLICE IT, EXPLIUINESS INADVERTISING CONTINUES m INCRFASE
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Introduction

p~c~unrterly V01.76,No.l
7-20

Q1999AElMC

sexual appeals may even have negative effects on attitudes toward the ad and brand" and purchase intention.12 One could argue that the results of these studies may have influenced practitioners to be more cautious when using sexually oriented messages. In spite of these social trends and research findings since the mid1980s, other factors seem to indicate that companies will advertise in a way that most effectively moves the product, and this may mean increasing that steady diet of sex in advertising. Reports suggest that sexual content in mainstream media was increasingly prevalent up through the early 1990~:~ and a recent Calvin Klein advertising campaign-using young teens in sexually provocative situations-was based on the idea that sex sells, but only if it is more shocking and more graphic than preceding ~ampaigns.'~ Behaviorally, Americansare reporting an increase in their sexualactivityand are having sex at an earlier age.15 And FrazieP argues that while politics and sexually transmitted diseases may have partially retarded the sexualrevolution, other forces propelling it are unstoppable: female empowerment, the Internet, divorce, contraception, and wider dissemination of sexualinformation due to HIV/AIDS education. Unfortunately, few studies exist that quantify sexually oriented appeals in the 1990s. The purpose of this study is to address this inadequacy by assessing the prevalence and nature of sexually oriented appeals in advertising by analyzing and comparing images of women and men in magazineads in 1983and 1993. This is important for severalreasons. For one, it provides a needed indication of the prevalence of sexual content in mainstream magazine advertising. Second, it allows comparison of depictions of both women and men and examinationof changes in those depictions over time. Relatedly,it provides empirical evidence of the supposed increase in so-called "beefcake" advertising, in which male models are portrayed in a decorative manner. Last, it is hoped that this analysis will provide support for policy debate and stimulate critical discussion related to sexual content and to gender portrayals in advertising.
v

Literature Review

Sexually Oriented Appeals in Advertising. Sexually oriented appeals are generally defined in terms of nudity or sexual expli~itness.'~In this case, nudity is generally referred to as the amount and style of clothing worn by models in ads. Usually, this type of stimuli is operationalized as models (usually female) wearing progressively less clothing (e.g., demure, suggestive, partially-revealing, or nude).l8 For example, suggestive dress is represented by open shirts which expose cleavage, tight-fitting clothing which accentuates the body, or mini-skirts. "Partially-clad" would include males with their shirts off or models in their underwear or bathing suits, and nudity ranges from either the implication that the model is not wearing clothing to displays of full-frontal nudity. Effects research in this area typically compares ads with models clothed at one of the three levels of nudity to ads with either demurely dressed models, or no model at all (pastoral scenes).19 Soley and Reidz0 hypothesized and found support for sexual explicitness in advertising-as measured by what models were wearing-being reflective of increasinglypermissive sexual attitudes and norms of the sexual revolution. They reported that women, and to a lesser extent men, were dressed more provocatively in ads in 1984 compared to 1964. In a related study, Soley and KurzbardZ1 found a similar trend for verbal referencesto sex
~OuRNhUsM 6MASS COMMUVICATION Q W R L Y
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and depictions of heterosexual couples in sexual contact. This trend is evident in other areas of media as well. During the 1980s, the incidence of sexual content on prime-time television became more explicit.22Research indicates that a sizeable proportion of women in music videos wear revealing clothing and act in sexual ~ a y s . 2 Research ~ in sex-role media research and related criticalanalyses suggeststhat men are portrayed in more decorative and alluring ways than in the past.24 Women invariably are portrayed in more sexually explicit ways than men, and there is evidence to suggest that both genders are portrayed in more sexually explicitways in the media. In sum, these findings show that sexual content in mass media, specifically in advertising,has increased over time. An underlying assumption of research is that increases in sexual content reflect the cultural attitudes and values of sexual freedom and permissiveness sparked by the sexual revolution in the 1960s. Whether mass media reflect or mold culture has been a largely unresolvable debate beyond the scope of this re~earch.2~ Advertising is, however, an important historical record not only because it presents a picture of the way people idealize themselves but also because it is instructive. As such, advertising is often viewed as an important cultural indicator. As mentioned above, few studies have attempted to document the nature of sexually oriented appeals in advertising into the current decade. For this reason, it is important to determine what changes, if any, have taken place in the use of this type of appeal by advertisers. Since there is little evidence to suggest if the nature of these appeals has become more or less explicit into the 1990s, the following research question was posed: RQ1: Is there variation in the nature of sexually explicit images of women and men and sexually explicit images of physical contact in magazine advertisements from 1983 to 1993? Second, we sought to determine what influence, if any, the gendered readershipof the magazine (women's, men's, or generalinterest)would have on the previously mentioned relationship between female and male sexual explicitnessand physical contact. There is evidence that images of women and men in ads vary by magazine gender readership. For instance, Soley and Reidz6found that models were portrayed more explicitly in women's and men's magazines compared to general-interestmagazines. They also found variation in the proportion of these portrayals from 1964 to 1984. Similar variationsof female depictionshave been observed in sex role media studies as well. For instance, ads in men's magazines have been found to portray women more decoratively than other types of magazine^?^ Ads within women's magazines generally portray both men and women decoratively?* Of the three types of magazines analyzed in the research, generalinterest magazines contain ads that portray both men and women as less decorative and more progre~sive.2~ These studies suggest that ads in magazines differ depending on the target audience of the magazine. Investigating these differencesmay provide important information as to which magazines are propelling any particular changes over time. Therefore, the following research question is set forth:
CHEESECAKEAND BEEFCAKE: NO MATTER HOW Y O U SLICE IT,EXPLICITNESS I N ADVERUSINC (h"UES

Research Questions

ToINCREASE

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RQ2: Is there variation in the nature of sexually explicit images of women and men and sexually explicit images of physical contact by magazine type (womens, mens, and general interest) in magazine advertisements from 1983 to 1993?

Method

Following is a brief explication of the method utilized to answer the research questions in this study. Overall, 3 variables were coded in all fullpage ads in 3 systematicallysampled issues of 6 consumer magazines in 1983 and 1993: dress, sex of the model (female/male), and physical contact. The 6 magazines were stratified by gendered readership (womens, mens, general interest). Sample Selection. The 36 issues that were coded (3 issues of each of 6 publications for 1983 and 1993) yielded a large sample frame of 2,545 fullpage or larger ads. Within this frame, 1,338 ads contained at least one discernible adult model. Nine hundred and sixty-two females ( n = 962) and 726 males ( n = 726) were coded for a total sample of 1,688 ( N = 1,688). In addition, 350 (n = 350) ads contained at least one femaleand one male model. As the unit of analysis, only discernible adult models were coded, thereby eliminatingads with only hands, feet, illustrations,or sketches?OFurther, ads with child models or a product alone were not included in the sample. The 6 magazines included in this content analysis were selected based on circulation and gender readership categories. In addition, these magazines have been included in previous related research.3I Three gender readership groups were identified based on primary readership. Mens and womens magazines are primarily read by men or women, respectively,and general-interestmagazines are read by a similar proportion of both men and women. General-interestmagazines included Newsweek and Time, womens magazines included Cosmopolitan and Redbook, and mens magazines included Esquire and Playboy. As a means of increasing generalizability over previous studies, 3 issues of each magazine were analyzed each year. Systematic random sampling procedures remained constant for all magazines. March, July,and November were selected for analysis. This method of samplingwas utilized so as to achieve a valid sample, which adequately represents the seasonal variations in advertising that occur over a year. A similar procedure was implemented for the weekly magazines. This analysis also included duplicate ads because the incidence of duplicate ads was limited. In addition, the inclusion of all ads sampled, including duplicates,best representsthe overall incidence of such portrayals. Coding Procedure. The dress content of each model and the physical contact between heterosexual couples in ads were coded by two trained coders who worked independently. Training consisted of providing each coder with the content categories and definitionsand then having the coders independently analyze ads in a pretest sample. After coding these ads, the coders compared results and discussed potential problems. This procedure was repeated until high intercoder reliability was obtained. Both coders analyzed 100%of the units of analysis. All discrepancies were discussed by the coders until agreement was reached. Following this analysis, a Cohens Kappa was calculated for each of the coding categoriesto evaluate the coders reliability. F l e i s has ~~~ described a Kappa rating of .4 to .6 as fair, a .6 to .75 as good, and a Kappa rating above .75 as excellent. IOURNAUSM 6 MASSCOMMUNKATION QUARITRLY
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10

Reliability achieved for both femaleand male dress was Kappa = .91. Coders' reliability on the physical contact category was Kappa = 34. Variables. For the purposes of this study, 5 variables were employed: (1) sex of the model (female/male), (2) year (1983/1993), (3) gender of magazine readership, (4) dress, and (5) physical contact. The first 3 variables were discussed above. Following is a brief description of dress and physical contact category distinctions. Each discernible adult female or male model was classified into 1 of 4 ordinal categories of dress. Dress differed depending on the style and amount of clothing worn. This variable was operationalized in accordance with Soley and and comprised the following levels: (1)demure, (2) suggestive, (3) partially-clad, and (4) nude. Demure dress was defined as "everyday dress." This category included walking shorts, but excluded short-shorts, or underwear. Suggestive dress included clothing which partially exposed the upper body, such as unbuttoned blouses or muscle shirts. This category also included very short shorts. Models were considered partially clad if they were shown in underwear or bathing suits. If the suggestion of nudity was present (models were holding only a towel or if the photograph was composed so that genitals were concealed) or if models appeared to be nude but in silhouette, models were coded as nude.% When at least 1 female and 1male model were present in an ad, the level of physical contact between them was classified into 1 of 4 ordinal categories: (1) no contact, (2) simple contact (e.g., holding hands), (3) intimate contact (e.g., kissing and embracing), and (4) very intimate contact (e.g., the depiction or suggestion of sexual intercourse or behavior). The first research question (RQ1) sought to determine if advertising in magazines was as sexually explicit in 1983 as in 1993. Both female and male dress and physicalcontact wereanalyzed. For this analysis,dress and contact were considered ordinal variables. Controlling for sex of the model, a Wilcoxon rank sum test was applied to the ranked data. For an alpha level of .05, the mean ranks between year and female dress (454.20for 1983; 513.89 for 1993) were significantly different, z = -3.96, p < .001. The strength of the relationship, as indexed by the Glass rank biserial correlation coefficient, was .12. Women were more likely to be dressed in a sexually explicit manner in 1993 compared to 1983. There was also a significantdifference for male dress, z = -2.70, p < .01 (354.28 for 1983; 380.22 for 1993). The strength of this relationship was .07. Men were also likely to be dressed more explicitly in 1993. Last, the mean ranks between year and physical contact between models in the ads (150.54 for 1983; 219.33 for 1993) was also significantly different, z = -6.59, p < ,001. The strength of this relationship was .39. Clearly, physical contact between women and men was more sexually explicitin 1993compared to 1983. Table 1 describes the percentages of female and male dress by year, and Table 2 describes the percentages of physical contact by year. The second research question (RQ2)sought to determine the relationship between female and male dress and physical contact when year and magazine readership (men's, women's, and general-interest)were taken into consideration. To answer this question, two loglinear analyses were conducted: one which included dress but not physical contact and the other which included physical contact but not dress. Loglinear analyses were

Results

CHEESECAKE AND BEEFCAKENOMATTER How You SLICE IT, E x p u c m ~ sA sD ~~ ~ E ~ SCO~TNUESTO~NCREASE ING

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TABLE 1 Sexual Explicitness (Dress) by Year Controllingfor Sex of the Model

Female Year** Dress Demure Suggestive Partially Clad Nude Mean rank n
1983 72% 12% 14% 2% 454.20 522 1993 60% 18% 16% 6% 513.89 440 1983 89% 2% 9% 0% 354.28 468

Male Year
1993 82% 3% 13% 2% 380.22 258

Note: N = 1,688. Based on observed frequencies.

*p < .01; **p < .001.

conducted because (1)this type of procedure is suited for analyzing three or more categorical variables, and (2) this procedure allowed a test of the relationships of interest.% Loglinear Znterpretation for Dress. First, loglinear allowed consideration of the effects of dress (D),sex of the model (S),year (Y), and magazine readership gender (M)together (2 x 2 x 2 x 3). Because of the small number of representations for either gender at the most explicit end of the continuum, dress categories were collapsed into two levels: Not Explicit (demure dress) and Explicit (suggestive dress, partially-clad, and nude). The model of best fit was determined with a backward step-wise approach, LRx2 (8, N = 1,688) = 11.99,p = .15. This was accomplished by starting with a model with all the three-way interactions and working backward removing nonsignificant terms one at a time.% This approach yielded the model (DYM)(DS)(SM). This model fitting technique is consid-

TABLE 2

Physical Contact between Models by Year

Year** Physical Contact No Contact Simple Contact Intimate Contact Very Intimate Contact Mean Rank
1983 59% 20% 20% 1% 150.54 n=223 1993 30% 17% 36% 17% 219.33 n=127

Note: N = 350. Based on observed frequencies. * p < .001.

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TABLE 3

Observed and Expected Frequencies in the Four-Way Table in which Dress Is Cross-Classified by Year, Sex of the Model, and Magazine Type
Observed and Expected Frequencies-Dress
-

Odds Ratios Odds on NE:E

5.17 2.47 2.29 1983: 1993

Year
1983

Gender of Model Female (F)

Not Explicit Magazine Type (NE) General Interest Womens Mens

54 (54.8) 240 (254.2)
81 (78.7)
100

Explicit (E)
8 (10.6)
105 (102.9) 34 (34.4) 9 (6.4) 9 (11.1)
33 (32.6)

Total
62 (65.4) 345 (357.1) 115 (113.1) 109 (105.6) 103 (99.9) 254 (255.9) 45 (41.6) 331 (318.9)

FM

Male (M)

General Interest Womens Mens

(99.2) 96 (81.8) 221 (223.3) 42 (39.1) 191 (177.1) 30 (34.1)

68 (70.9)

15.50 7.37 6.85 15.60 1.25 1.07 47.30 3.74 3.21

0.33 0.34 0.34

1993

Female (F)

General Interest Womens Mens

3 (2.5)

140 (141.8)
34 (31.8)

64 (65.9)
69 (72.4) 60 (72.1) 129 (127.1)

Male (M)

General Interest Womens Mens

1 (1.5)
17 (15.2) 28 (30.2)

0.33 0.34 0.33

1.00

43 (56.9)

1.00

101 (96.9)

1.06

Note: N = 1,686. Unenclosed numbers are observed frequencies. Numbers i n parentheses are expected frequencies and the totals, odds, and odds ratios, derived from them under the preferred model for the table (DYMI(DS)(SM).

ered exploratory and was realized with the HILOGLINEAR procedure in SPSS. Table 3 contains all the factors, the observed frequencies, and the expected frequencies, totals, and odds, and odds ratios, derived from them under the preferred model generated by the loglinear {DYM){DS){SM). Table 3 also shows a simple four-way table in which female and male dress is cross-classified simultaneously by year and by magazine type.
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NO M A I T E R HOW YOU %ICE IT, EXPLICITNESS l N ADvuolsnuc CONTINUES m INCREASE

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TABLE 4

Observed Frequencies in the Three-Way Table in which Physical Contact Is Cross-Classified by Year and Magazine Type
Observed FrequenciesContact Not Explicit (NJ3
39 63 75 23
18

Odds Ratios Odds on NE:E

4.88 3.50 3.75 4.60 0.62
0.58 1.06

Year
1983

Magazine Type General Interest Womens Mens

Explicit (E)
8
18

Total
47
81

1983: 1993

20 5 29 33

95 28 47 52

1993

General Interest Womens Mens

5.65 6.47

19

Note: N = 350. Numbers are observed frequencies and the totals, odds, and odds ratios derived under the saturated model for the table (CYM).

Because sexual explicitness and sex of the model is a primary interest, our discussion will focus on the interactionwhich contained dress and sex of the model as factors (DS}.This interactionwas significant,which suggests that, overall, female and male dress was significantly different. For instance, the odds of a woman dressed in a nonexplicit manner compared to a man in 1983 in general-interest magazines is 0.33 (i.e., women were three times more likely to be dressed in a sexually explicit manner compared to men). This difference was very consistent across magazine type and year (0.33 in general-interestin 1983and 1993;0.34for womens in 1983and 1993;0.34and 0.33for mens in 1983and 1993,respectively). This suggeststhat consistently, women were three times more likely to be dressed in a sexually explicit manner than men across magazine types. In addition, this 3:lrelationship is similar in both 1983 and 1993.This relationship,taking the findingsfrom the first research question into consideration, provides some evidence that the significant increase in sexually explicit dress from 1983 to 1993 for women and men was similar. Other relationships will be highlighted in the discussion section. Loglinear Interpretation for Physical Contact. A similar technique was used to examine the relationshipbetween physical contact (C),year (Y), and magazine readership gender (M} (2 x 2 x 3). The 4 categories of physical contact were also collapsed into 2 categories: Not Explicit (no contact and simple contact)and Explicit (intimateand very intimatecontact). The backward step-wiseapproach revealed that the model of best fit was the saturated model which contained all 3 factors (CYM}, (N = 350). This interaction suggests that all 3 variables are related to each other. Table 4 describesthe observedfrequencies,totals, and odds, and odds ratios, derived from them under the saturated model (CYM). A simple three-way table in

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f i s s COMMUNIGUION QUARTERLY

which physical contact is cross-classified simultaneouslyby year and magazine type is also described in Table 4. Sexually explicit physical contact varied by magazine type and by year. For instance, the odds of the incidence of nonexplicit heterosexual contactcompared to sexual contact in general-interest magazines in 1983was 4.88: a reader was almost five times more likely to view nonsexual contact compared to sexual content in this type of magazine. In addition, generalinterest magazine readers were as likely to view a similar proportion of nonsexual to sexual contact in 1983 as in 1993 (1.06). The likelihood of nonsexual to sexual contact in ads in womens (3.5) and mens (3.8) magazines was somewhat lower than in general-interest magazines in 1983. This differencebecame much greater in 1993. For instance, the odds of nonsexual to sexual contact in womens magazines in 1993 was 0.62 a reader was 1.6 times more likely to view sexual contact compared to nonsexual contact. Ads in womens magazines were 5.7 times more likely to be nonexplicit in 1983 compared to 1993, while the ads in mens magazines were 6.5 times more likely to be nonexplicit during the period. Clearly, the increased proportion of sexual contact in magazines from 1983 to 1993 took place in gendered magazines (womens and mens), compared to general-interest magazines. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the degree of sexual explicitnessin mainstream magazine advertising from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. Overall,we found several strikingdifferences. The first research question sought to determine variation in the existence and prevalence of sexual images of both women and men, and sexual behavior over time. The results suggest that overall, advertising was significantly more explicit in 1993 compared to 1983. First, the findings show a significant increase in the sexually explicit portrayal of female and male models in ads from 1983 to 1993. For instance,28%of femalemodels were dressed provocatively in 1983 compared to 40% in 1993. Similarly, 11%of male models were dressed provocatively in 1983 compared to 18% in 1993-for the first time, a quantifiable increase in the explicitness of male images is shown. Because female models were more prevalent in the sampled ads and females were dressed more explicitly, the loglinear results suggest that women were about three times more likely to be portrayed explicitlycompared to male models in both 1983 and 1993. This means that while females are more apt to be portrayed explicitly overall,the shift toward increased explicitnesswas similar for both genders. When male bodies are portrayed in more sexually explicit ways, they become more masculinized-or more gendered-just as womens bodies have been feminized, stereotyped, and colonized for the ends of capitalism for centuries. Now, male images showing more skin are being added to advertisers long-time reliance on womens bodies. Beyond what the models were wearing in these ads, there was also a sharp increase in the proportion of sexually intimate behavior in magazine ads from 1983 to 1993. The analysis from this study shows that in 1993 ads containing a woman and a man, more than half (53%) was involved in sexually suggestive behavior. A decade earlier, only 21% of couples was engaged in sexually suggestive contact. These results provide an important extension to previous advertising and mass media research, which found that sexual content was becoming increasingly prevalent into and throughout the 1 9 8 0 ~ ? This ~ dramatic increase in physical contact may indicate that both women and men are being viewed more often in relation to one
CHEESECAKE AND BEEN o MATTER How You SLICE IT, EXPUUTNESS I N AD~ERJTSING CONTINUES TO INCREASE
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Discussion

15

anothersbodies, so much so that these images of sexualized couples may be signs for biological determinism along the lines of Freuds correlation between anatomy and destiny. In other words, physical contact and its suggestionsof sexual intercourselocate men in patriarchal activeroles and women in passiveroles of the sort envisionedin Femininity, in which Freud describes women in so far as their nature is determined by their sexual function.38These sexualized bodies then become more explicitlygendered consumers who are bound by old narratives of procreation, nurturing, and economics. When these gendered bodies touch, embrace, and engage in intercoursein advertising, they become even more encased within a female/ male dichotomy that privileges the male?9 The second research question sought to determine if sexual explicitness in ads varied by magazine type. Results suggest that the abovementioned increase in sexually explicit dress and physical contact was not consistent across the magazine categories. In general-interest magazines for instance, images of women and men were not sexually explicit compared to the gendered publications. This finding is similar to other findingsin related ad research?O In fact, ads in general-interest publicationswere less sexual in 1993 when compared to 1983 data. In addition, although both genders were primarily portrayed in normal attire, women were three times more likely to be dressed provocatively than were men. The increase in sexual explicitnesswas most evident in the gendered publications. For instance, femalesin womens magazines were almost twice as likely to be explicitly dressed in 1993 compared to 1983. The change of female explicitness in mens magazines was even more pronounced. Soley and Reid41detected a strikingly similar pattern of findings in their analysis of magazines in 1964 and 1984. Male models in womens and mens magazines were also more apt to be portrayed explicitly in 1993, compared to 1983. It appears that while both female and male models are increasingly explicit in mainstream magazine advertising, the increase has primarily occurred in gendered publications. In the past, both women and men have gazed at the femalebody in advertising;now they both are gazing more often at male bodies, too. Now that women have begun to exercise earning power, they also have begun to have more power as gazers, and as a result male images have become a commodity for femaleviewers. No longer do men fill the primary role of spectator/owner. While many studies have contrasted the male gaze of the female with the female gaze of the male, at least one scholar suggests that female gazing has increased, although it is still not as prevalent as male gazing?* However,both women and men gaze at gendered bodies sculpted to an ideal that is rarely matched by real-world readers of these womens and mens magazines. As a result, body-image studies by psychologists have found that 45% of men and 55% of women share a dissatisfaction with their own body a ~ p e a r a n c e . ~ ~ A similar pattern of findings to sexual explicitnesswas also observed for explicit physical contact. The loglinear revealed that the proportion of sexually explicit contact in general-interest magazines was similar in 1983 and 1993. However, physical contact in ads was predominately explicit in 1993 issues of womens and mens magazines compared to primarily nonexplicit contact in 1983. This finding is further evidence that ads in gendered magazines have become increasingly sexual since the early 1980s. Overall, increases in sexual explicitness and sexual contact-especially in advertising images of women and even men in the gendered

16

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magazines-reveal a growing reliance on sexual images, so much so that there is a hegemony of theseimagesin advertisingcontent.When advertising images use a sexualized frame, power and gender issues are negotiated and interpreted; Goffman4 portrays any type of frame as a key component in the construction of discourse. The data of this content analysis reveal that sex serves as a dominant framewith ever-increasingprevalence, a hegemony that defines how male and female bodies are objectified and gendered to audiences. In fact, even theaudienceis transformedby thissexualized frame, because viewers become voyeurs. As this and other studies suggest, advertising is a sexualized landscape in which gendered bodies of women, and increasingly, gendered bodies of men, are thriving. Further research can continue to assess this sexualized advertising landscape and its role in American culture. Few studies have quantified the prevalence and nature of sexually oriented appeals in the current decade. The analysis of media content is an important tool for providing support for public policy debate, stimulating critical discussion, and providing information to experimental research. Content analysis is certainly an integral voice in the dialogue of informed research programs and agendas. The purpose of this study was to contribute to this dialogue by assessing the prevalence and nature of sexually oriented appeals in advertising by analyzing and comparing images of men and women in magazine ads in 1983 and 1993. The findings suggest that there was a significantincreasein the proportion of sexually oriented appeals from 1983 to 1993. Both genders were portrayed more explicitly and in more sexually intimate contact in 1993. Overall, women were three times more likely than men to be portrayed explicitly,but for the first time, images of men were shown to be more explicit in the 1990s, albeit in a smaller proportion than women. Magazinetype was also an important factor,sincethe portrayal of both genders was more explicit in both womens and mens magazines, as was physical contact, compared to the opposite trend in general-interest magazines. NOTES
1. Charles Goodrum and Helen Darymple, Advertising in America: The First 200 Years (NY Harry N. Abrams, 1990). 2. Lawrence C. Soley and Leonard N. Reid, BaitingViewers: Violence and Sex in Television Program Advertisements, Journalism Quarterly 62 (spring 1985):105-110,131. 3. Leonard N. Reid, Charles T. Salmon, and Lawrence C. Soley, The Nature of Sexual Content in Television Advertising, in 1984AMA Educators Proceedings,ed. R. W. Belk (Chicago: American Marketing Association,1984),

Conczusion

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Of Gender DifferencesIn Arousal And Ad Response, Psychology and Marketing 7 (spring 1990): 65-81; Severn, Belch, and Belch, The Effects Of, 14-22; Soley and Reid, Taking It Off, 960-66. 18. Soley and Kurzbard, Sex in Advertising, 46-54,64; Soley and Reid, Taking It Off, 960-66. 19. LaTour, Female Nudity, 65-81; Belch, Belch, and Villarreal, Effects Of Advertising, 59-117. 20. Soley and Reid, Taking It Off, 960-66. 21. Soley and Kurzbard, Sex in Advertising, 46-54,64. 22. Barry S. Sapolsky and Joseph 0. Tabarlet, Sex In Primetime Television: 1979 vs. 1989, Journal ofBroadcasting b Electronic Media 35 (fall 1991): 505-16. 23. S. A. Seidman, An Investigation Of Sex-Role Stereotyping In Music Videos, Journal o f Broadcasting b Electronic Media (spring 1992): 209-216; R. Sommers-Flanagan,J. Sommers-Flanagan,and 8.Davis, Whats Happening On Music Television? A Gender Role Content Analysis,Sex Roles 28 (June 1993): 745-53. 24. Fred Fejes, Masculinity As Fact: A Review of Empirical Mass Communication Research on Masculinity, inMen, Masculinity, and theMedia ,ed. S. Craig (Newbury Park, C A Sage 1992), 9-22; G. U. Skelly and W. J. Lundstrom, Male Sex Roles in Magazine Advertising, 1959-1979, Journalof Communication31 (autumn 1981):52-57; Denise Kervin, Advertising Masculinity: The Representation of Males in Esquire Advertisements, Journal of Communication Inquiry 14 (summer 1990): 51-69; A. Wernick, From Voyeur to Narcissist: Images of Men in Contemporary Advertising, in Beyond Patriarchy: Essays by Men on Pleasure, Power, and Change, ed. M. Kaufman (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1987), 227-97. 25. R. W. Belk and R. W. Pollay, Images of Ourselves: The Good Life in Twentieth Century Advertising, Journal of Consumer Research 11 (March 1985): 887-97. 26. Soley and Reid, Taking It Off, 960-66. 27. Linda Lazier-Smith, Advertising: Womens Place and Image, in Women in Mass Communication: Challenging Gender Values, ed. P. J. Creedon, (Newbury Park, C A Sage, 1989), 247-62; Skelly and Lundstrom, Male Sex Roles, 52-57. 28. L. J. Busby and G. Leichty, Feminism and Advertising in Traditional and Nontraditional Womens Magazines 1950~-1980s, Journalism Quarterly 70 (summer 1993):247-64; J. H. Ferguson, P. J. Kreshel, and S. F. Tinkham, In the Pages of Ms.: Sex Role Portrayals of Women in Advertising, Journal of Advertising 19 (1,1990):40-51. 29. Busby and Leichty, Feminism and Advertising, 247-64; Skelly and Lundstrom, Male Sex Roles, 52-57. 30. Soley and Reid, Taking It Off, 960-66. 31. Busby and Leichty, Feminism and Advertising, 247-64; Kervin, Advertising Masculinity, 51-69; M. L. Klassen, C. R. Jasper, and A. M. Schwartz, Men and Women: Images of Their Relationships in Magazine Advertisements, Journal of Advertising Research 33 (March/Aprill993): 3039; Lazier-Smith, Advertising,247-62;S. Pingree, R. P. Hawkins, M. Butler, and W. Paisley, AScaleforSexism,JournalofCommunication (autumn 1976): 193-200; Skelly and Lundstrom, Male Sex Roles, 52-57; Soley and Reid, Taking It Off, 960-66; Soley and Kurzbard, Sex in Advertising, 46-54,64. 32. J. L. Fleiss, Statistical Methodsfor Rates and Proportions (NY: Wiley, 1981).
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33. Soley and Reid, Taking It Off, 960-66. 34. Soley and Reid, Taking It Off, 960-66. See for a detailed description of each level. 35. Douglas Sloane, and S. Phillip Morgan, An Introduction to Categorical Data Analysis, in Annual Review of Sociology, ed. J. Hagan and K. S. Cook (Palo Alto, C A Annual Reviews, 1996), 351-75. The authors provide an excellent, nontechnical discussion of the concepts behind loglinear analysis. 36. Thomas D. Wickens,Multiway Contingency Tables Analysisfor the Social Sciences (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1989). 37. C. C. Hall and M. J. Crum, Women and Body-ismsin TelevisionBeer Commercials,Sex Roles 31 (September 1994): 329-37; Nancy Signorielli, D. McLeod, and E. Healy, Gender Stereotypes in MTV Commercials: The Beat Goes On,Journal of Broadcasting b Electronic Media 38 (winter 1994):91-101; Soley and Kurzbard, Sex in Advertising, 46-54,64;Soley and Reid, Taking It Off, 960-66; Sommers-Flanagan, Sommers-Flanagan, and Davis, Whats Happening, 745-53. 38. Sigmund Freud, Femininity, in The Women and Language Debate, ed. Camille Roman, Suzanne Juhasz, and Cristanne Miller (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994), 20-36. 39. See Helene Cixous, The Laugh of the Medusa, in The Women and Language Debate, ed. Camille Roman, Suzanne Juhasz, and Cristanne Miller (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994), 78-93. It is this male writing of the body that this French feminist resists through her own writing of the feminine. Let nothing stop you, she asserts, not man; not the imbecilic capitalist machinery, in which publishing houses are the crafty, obsequious relayers of imperatives handed down by an economy that works against us and off our backs; and not yourself (79). 40. Busby and Leichty, Feminism and Advertising, 247-24; Soley and Reid, Taking It Off 960-66. 41. Soley and Reid, Taking It Off, 960-66. 42. S. Moore, Heres Looking at You, Kid!, in The Female Gaze, ed. L. Gaminan and M. Marshment (London: The Womens Press, 1988);See also C. Steinman, Gaze Out of Bounds: Men Watching Men on Television, in Men, Masculinity, and the Media, ed. Steve Craig (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1992), 199-214;Margaret Olin, It Is Not Going To Be Easy To Look Into Their Eyes: Privilege of Perception in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Art Histoy 14 (March 1991):92-115. 43. J. Neimark, The Beefcaking of America, Psychology Today 26 (November 1994): 32-42. 44. Erving Goffman, Frame Analysis-An Essay on the Organization o f Experience (Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press, 1974).

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