Hyper-Sexualization Of Women In Film Essay

Pop culture has idealized the way women are presented in film. We have come to expect that women can be presented as and it is acceptable to portray them as passive, sexual objects in film, which revolves around the male gaze, meaning it is portrayed through the eyes of men and their desires. (Haslam 187-190) “Babylon” the sixth episode of Mad Men reinforces this focus on women through the ‘male gaze’ as argued by Laura Mulvey and ‘hyper-sexualization’ argued by Phillips & Strobol. There are two examples in “Babylon” that I am going to discuss that both support Mulvey’s concept of the male gaze and Phillips & Strobol’s concept of hyper-sexualization and its implications for female roles. The first is how Joan’s character is dressed and acts in accordance to the male gaze and second is the way Peggy and the other secretaries are portrayed as passive characters. (“Babylon”)

The female body in “Babylon” is continually presented as an object surrounded by the dominant desires and pleasure of men. We are first drawn to this in “Babylon” by the detail and exaggeration of Joan Holloway’s character. Joan Holloway is the office manager of the Sterling Cooper advertising company; she
There needs to be a new standard for women in pop culture, where they can play dominant roles and carry the story line of films, without being subjected to idealistic and unrealistic expectations of how a woman should look and act in relation to male desires. With increased awareness and being proactive, it is possible to shift the culture from hyper-sexualization and objectifying the female body to having equal roles and standards for all. (Haslam 187-190) (Phillips & Strobol 161-165)(Dalke 1) (Hirtle Slide