Over sexualization of women

Winter-Marionberry91 · 2025-09-05T21:13:39+00:00

Yeah. This is always weird to me. I approach every human with the intention to see who and what they are about. Many women purpose introduced themselves with clothes literally designed to draw attention to their body... I, in good faith, was not going to sexualize them in any way.

They blame me for noticing their breast or midriff on full display... 🤔

Who is sexualizing here?

When it comes to media like OnlyFans, there is asaying that even Disney lived by. "Build it. And they will come"

If you don't, no one will come. Post on OnlyFans or IG half-naked images is the poster sexualizing themselves, and they have nothing to do with the viewer.

Rucs3 · 2025-09-05T21:31:26+00:00

it's very hard to have a discussion around this because the well is poisoned with puritanism.

For some people, the sexualization is wrong because anything sexual is wrong. They convetionally make their discuourse align with feminism, but they strategically keep quiet when it's women sexualizing themselves (they also dislike it, but they don't say anything) or they infantilize these women by saying some men made them do it.

AskingToFeminists · 2025-09-06T11:46:07+00:00

Don't talk like women have no agency. It is not capitalism forcing sexualisation on women. It is women sexualising themselves because their sexuality is a power they have and can exploit to get things.

Feminism likes to complain over "over sexualisation of women" because denying your own power and even claiming it is an unfairness to you is a classical move, particularly when a lot of your power comes from weaponised incompetence and victim status. There is also an aspect of intrasex competition, where women who can not exploit well that power seek to tear down the women who can exploit that power well so that they can climb the hierarchy.

PassengerCultural421 · 2025-09-05T20:52:01+00:00

When it goes right. It's female empowerment. When it goes wrong it's evil men with patriarchy.

I.E. music artists like Saberina Carpenter or Cardi benefit from the male gaze. And the same goes for actors like that woman from the 👖 commercial.

We still live in a society where sex sells. And feminists know that. So when it's convenient for them. The male gaze is good for them when it comes to profit, validation, and attention.

But if anything goes wrong. All of a sudden men are just disgusting pigs who don't view women as humans.

lorarc · 2025-09-06T03:26:30+00:00

Used to be teenage magazines addressed to girls were all about makeup and boys. The paranormal romance is a genre where most average girl scores a super handsome guy that is also a vampire/werewolf ninja. The romcoms in cinemas have two hot guys competing for a woman. The super hit movie addressed to women like 50 shades of gray border on pornography but are shown in movies and discussed on daytime tv. And all of those are extremely toxic.

Not let's ignore all above and say that man are bad for sexualising women. Because, you know, it's not like it's part of being human, women would never do that.

But seriously, go to a library and compare an old issue of Cosmopolitan and Playboy. Cosmo has a lot more pages dedicated to sex, looks, romance etc. Playboy had nude pictures and raunchy jokes but otherwise then that tried to stay classy.

sn95joe84 · 2025-09-05T20:54:35+00:00

It’s a good point, sex is monetized just like food is monetized…. Heck even water if you look at some of the gimmicky bottled water concepts.

It’s all harmful when you step back and look at it… it’s no more about ‘The Patriarchy😱👹™️” as it is just brutal capitalism.

Karmaze · 2025-09-06T02:40:36+00:00

Going to throw this link into the fray. It's not EXACTLY the subject, but I do think it's along the same lines. And please note, while this is studying women, I do not think it's only women.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0190272514521220?journalCode=spqc

The TL;DR is that we judge sexuality through the lens of status first and foremost. There's no actual objective standard. Things we see as high-status are generally seen as acceptable and things seen as low-status are seen as not.

So that's the problem with the topic of sexuality. What we're really talking about is who has the social status to express sexuality.

henrysmyagent · 2025-09-06T04:13:03+00:00

Kind of a "chicken or the egg" argument.

No one is forcing women to self-sexualize themselves on OF, but men are paying for it otherwise it wouldn't exist.

MathematicianNext132 · 2025-09-06T09:35:24+00:00

I actually worked for a website that targeted men this way. It was an internship. I didn't liked it, but I also didn't had a choice. What I realized is that the appraisal for all these women in magazines is inauthentic. Every author will say how amazing this woman looks, even when that woman isn't this type. That is because of marketing. A magazine wants to draw attention, and how can they get this? By sensationalizing the beauty of a celebrity. That's how you get readers.

It is a feminist thing to oftentimes blame men, even when women are the ones doing things. This woman CEO is a victim of internalized misogyny. She is raised in an environment in which she learned that women aren't seen as people. That is something that they might tell you. That is the difference between men and women. When women behave in a way that goes against feminisms moral codes, then it isn't about these women, it is about the system they grew up in. If a man does something that goes against feminisms moral codes, suddenly the system he grew up in doesn't matter. A man should be able to take full responsibility and accountability for his behaviour. According to feminism, you can not hold women accountable as a whole because of historical power dynamics.

Local-Willingness784 · 2025-09-05T22:09:12+00:00

i have a question for whoever has the time to give an oppinion about this, but is the constant sexualization a "red flag" or an unattractive trait for women you wanna date/are tryng to date? as in, knowing that she is selling nudes online, or practising sex work or has been an scort or striper bad for your attraction to a woman? is "hypersexuality" or "promiscuity" an unattractive trait for you lot?

ashfinsawriter · 2025-09-06T14:36:07+00:00

Also, women watch a lot of porn too...

I'm not sure it's okay to link directly since it's stats from the Hub, but if you look up the viewer statistics, the #1 most viewed category for women is Lesbian. In fact, several other categories explicitly sexualizing women are at the top of women's viewership, rather than watching men.

There's also several countries where the MAJORITY of the viewership is from women.

So the idea that women (especially unwittingly) provide the porn and men consume (or worse, demand) the porn is a myth anyway. Humans are sexual by nature (even though there's a lot of individual exceptions) and porn is sexual entertainment. Of course people- not just men- are drawn to it.

Personally I see nothing fundamentally wrong with porn (and honestly in combination with the myth that porn is for men, I genuinely see the demonization of porn consumption as primarily misandry as it's an attempt to villainize male sexuality), but just like anything pleasurable, it can be very addicting, so it should be consumed mindfully. And although unfortunately unethical practices in producing porn 100% happen, the fact is a LOT of people willingly produce porn, either for a paycheck, personal enjoyment, or both.

I also think that sexualization itself is overly demonized. I've come to realize sexualization isn't synonymous with objectification. Consensual sexualization actually makes people feel amazing. With the exception of the unethical instances previously mentioned (which really isn't the majority), these people are consenting to being sexualized. If it's just for money they may not enjoy it as much as in normal circumstances, but aw well, some jobs suck (literally ig) and they're still choosing it over other job options.

Women have agency. The majority of women in porn are choosing it. Those women want to be sexualized, either because their livelihoods depend on it or they just enjoy it directly or both. And plenty of them are sexualized by other women.

BhryaenDagger · 2025-09-05T23:28:43+00:00

I’ve never been able to make much of the term “sexualization” as people use it. Gym poser girls try to entrap men by filming their gym posing and then decrying any who look for “sexualizing” them. The ones who look can’t make the posers sexy or sexual by looking or even wishing really hard- as nor can the posers themselves- and tight-fitting “gym” clothes accentuating particular curves is the women’s choice, not the onlookers. Even a clear letch can’t sexualize someone else merely by publicly drooling over them. Women are going to be sexual by their own choice.

Sexualization seems to be all in one’s own mind. One can “sexualize” the elderly librarian who’s clad entirely in drab clothes and spends her entire time filing returned books and scolding kids- all without the librarian even being aware of the “sexualization.” And a sexually explicit ad featuring an obese woman may not turn on anyone- in fact repulsing almost everyone- so was she “sexualized”? It would be by her choice, of course, but the question remains. If wood falls in the forest when we’re looking, did it sexualize? Would a gay guy even be able to recognize women being sexualized?

It just seems more accurate to say, “Women’s sexuality is over-referenced/over-displayed in the public discourse,” than “women are oversexualized.” I’d still disagree, but the failure to frame it that way indicates that my rephrasing likely isn’t what’s intended. Instead it’s probably more accurately interpreted as, “men are being given more public opportunities to enjoy women’s sexuality than I want them to have [cuz I hate da menz].”

Even at a more charitable interpretation that pretends feminists are actually concerned about women’s well-being, allowing for men to be able through merely looking at women to “sexualize” them, it contrives a victim status for women despite nothing having happened to her. Rape is bad, but sexuality itself is perfectly natural, so where’s the crime and suffering in “sexualizing” women? Sexualizing a child- yeah, bad AND criminal. But sexualizing a sexual being? How does that even work, much less become a crime? To presume women can be so easily forced into sexuality itself- not just being a sexual being but actively involved in sexual behavior- simply because an ad features a woman’s sexuality… Talk about not recognizing women’s agency. “I tried to be an independent woman, but that sexy Maybeline ad swept me away to tawdry proclivities!!”

It’s a little like why I balk at the depiction of a black parent telling their child of a racist, “He hates you because you’re black.” No, he hates you because he’s an idiot. Being black is not a condition that warrants hate, so why frame it that way? Nor does a man having an attraction do anything to a woman or even her sexuality. Having an attraction to women- even lusting after them- doesn’t “sexualize” anyone- scantily-clad in a gym or an ad or not.

If we were looking at a world where the only representations of women in society were in sexual contexts, I could see why there’d be a concern about a “sexualization” of women’s representation (not of women themselves). But the contemporary over-saturation is w girlbossization of women’s representation…

alterumnonlaedere · 2025-09-06T05:46:32+00:00

This idea is crazy.You don’t crack down on drugs by going after the people that are consuming the drugs.No you go after the drug dealers that produce them.

This is the Nordic Model, an approach to abolishing sex work through demand reduction. This is a feminist approach and is the law in a handful of countries.

Criminalise buyers (mostly men)
Decriminalise suppliers (mostly women)
Provide support encouraging suppliers to cease
Awareness and education campaigns for the public

The Nordic Model approach to sex work, also known as the end demand, equality model, neo-abolitionism, Nordic and Swedish model, is an approach to prostitution that criminalises clients, third parties and many of the ways sex workers operate. This approach to criminalising sex work was developed in Sweden in 1999 on the debated radical feminist position that all sex work is exploitative and no person can willingly consent to sexual exploitation. The main objective of the model is to abolish the sex industry by punishing the purchase of sexual services. The model has been criticised for making working in the sex industry more difficult.

SvitlanaLeo · 2025-09-05T21:34:49+00:00

They attribute the depiction of women in stockings and high heels to patriarchy. Meanwhile, feudal patriarchy considered the display of legs in stockings and high heels to be the characteristic of male feudal lords.

Some-Article1877 · 2025-09-06T13:55:51+00:00

A lot of women blame men for the over sexualization of women.But in reality it is not men’s fault for this it is capitalism.

It is the intra-competition of women and their own hierarchy of beauty and social influence.

azazelcrowley · 2025-09-06T19:48:52+00:00

Another point I don't see made often, probably because we don't like to say it, is that there is an underlying reason for it in the toxification of male-female relationships arising from how men are treated.

Women complaining that men only see them as useful for sex don't seem to do much thinking on why men don't seem to like them as people. (or rather, they do a lot of thinking about it, but all externally directed).

Men meanwhile avoid thinking about it because it's somewhat painful, and will blame it on media depictions and so on. I think that's partially true but doesn't capture the full picture.

You can get women on a separate topic to say that men don't like women very much (See the homoeroticism posts), but they seem to a priori assume that men are wrong for not liking women, rather than considering women might be doing things to men which make them less likeable.

Indeed, they have successfully warped the conversation enough that men even broaching the topic of "I don't like women very much" without framing that as a personal failing is viewed as necessarily baseless and evil. The notion that certain behaviours might be almost ubiquitous amongst women and which are things men are justified in disliking is not considered.

And if most women behave a way that most men don't like, there isn't anything particularly extraordinary about the men only being interested in their bodies. Their personalities aren't worth paying attention to and indeed are "Breezed" through by many men who don't engage with them except as a "Here's the thing I say to get them to put out" because actually getting to know them or spending time with them is often an exercise in tedium at best and self-harm at worst.

It's why when men find women they can actually stand they quite often immediately fall head over heels and want to be with them forever, which is just the other side of the problem. The question then is, to what extent is this dislike of women based on things women do, and to what extent is it based on what women are.

Women and feminists are very keen to insist its the latter. But the juxtaposition between;

"I wasn't listening to a word you said and was just looking at your tits." against "I am now obsessed with marrying this woman. I want to listen to her talk all day." suggests that just isn't true. But again, they've managed to toxify the discussion so much that even floating the idea that;

"Men dislike women for good reason" leads to tantrums because it's axiomatically rejected as possible. Which is merely one kind of womanly behavior that leads to men not liking them very much.

This is especially prescient when you look at the ways feminists blame men "Not opening up" on other men and patriarchy, versus the bromance studies and so on (I.E, men are perfectly happy to open up to men. They don't do so with women. Meanwhile, women insist men don't open up because of other men but they can with women.).

The behavior there is twofold;

Women mistreat men who open up. Men don't.
Women refuse to accept this and either lash out or femsplain to you your own experiences as a consequence of their ideology devoted to them never gaining self-awareness.

Do you want a conversation with such a person, or would you rather just admire the view? And again, this is merely one example.

The "Sexualization" of women in this framework is charitable to them. It's actively directing attention to their positive attributes and ignoring the rest.

I've made this case, but I think you only need to think there's something to it for the post to be worth it. It doesn't need to explain everything, or explain it as much as i've argued. It's a perspective on the problem.

SuperMario69Kraft · 2025-09-06T12:29:49+00:00

Porn and this media does not benefit men.They are countless studies that show how porn is bad for the brain.That hurts men.I don’t think men would choose to watch porn if they had completely free will.

You just lost your credibility for this paragraph. The concept of porn addiction and sex addiction is complete pseudoscience and hence has been removed from the DSM-V manual. There is no credible evidence linking pornography consumption to brain damage.

Here's what 'porn addiction' actually is (and how to manage it) | BBC Science Focus Magazine

I'm not denying that porn is unethical, but it's not inherently unhealthy, especially for men who lack real sexual partners. For many men (and women), it's beneficial, and its introduction in the 1990s has reduced sex crime rates all over the world.

When Porn Consumption Goes Up, Sex Crimes Go Down | Psychology Today

Porn has actually been getting more ethical in recent years. The main reason it's unethical has to do with how much we as a society stigmatize porn stars.

Femi_gnatzee_hunter · 2025-09-06T13:09:23+00:00

"oversexualization" is a completely invalid feminist concept, men have the right to enjoy what they want

omegaphallic · 2025-09-06T10:24:19+00:00

There is no such thing as oversexualization of women, there us only inherent human nature that is being absurdly demonized by both feminists and social conservatives.

Don't give into this anti male sexuality narrative.

Phuxsea · 2025-09-06T15:58:48+00:00

You are not wrong here. The sexualization is a major problem with American capitalism. I go for walks in the city and I see ads for a strip club on taxis. Why the hell do Taxis carry those ads and not for plays?

I also heard some studies that sexualized ads do not sell much better. I certainly won't go buy a product just because their commercial had a woman in a bikini.

And you're right, it's absurd that consumers are being blamed. This is the same logic that punishes people for consuming weed or fentanyl. It leads to more stigma. Even for CSAM, I believe that most consumers need help because many of them were abused as kids.

AbysmalDescent · 2025-09-10T14:34:04+00:00

Porn isn't bad for the brain and men do not over sexualize women. The only real issues here is the over vilification of male heterosexuality, which includes shaming/demonizing men for watching porn or for expressing/having sexual desires for women.

Porn is not comparable to drugs. They are not the same. There's a lot of really questionable and predatory tactics used within the porn industry that should be called out and addressed but the issue isn't porn exists or that men watch it.

Former_Range_1730 · 2025-09-06T19:23:50+00:00

"A lot of women blame men for the over sexualization of women"

They only care when men are involved. When over sexualization of women, comes from other women, they never complain.

For instance, Jojo Siwa's super sexualized girl-on-girl music video.

My_Legz · 2025-09-15T08:28:40+00:00

Also look at what media is actually over sexualised. Media aimed at men have a very narrow sexualisation but media aimed at women on the other hand has historically been extremely sexualised. We often see the narrative that looks something like "if this is how sexualised media aimed at women is, imagine how bad it must be in media aimed at men"

downvotevillain · 2025-09-20T10:17:35+00:00

Women sexualize themselves, feminists will be quick look talk down on men for expressing their sexuality whether their doing it in a healthy or unhealthy way, but very rarely will they police each other for sexualizing their own body’s for personal gain.

sunyata150 · 2025-09-06T00:16:34+00:00

I know this post is about over sexualization, feminism and capitalism. It makes some interesting points which others have helped flesh out more. But I feel compelled to point out a problem with the over sexualization argument that I find is rarely addressed.

Here is my theory, while over sexualization has its issues sexualization is also how most of us got there. Where the lines are between sexualization and over sexualization will probably vary between individuals too. But sexualizing makes for a really useful shortcut (especially when your the gender that has to do the initiating and persuing) to decide who to try sleeping with because all it takes is a quick look. Personality and character on the other hand takes a lot more time and resources which can take anywhere from hours at best to years at most compared to just taking a quick glance at someone. Peoples personality and character does not stand out like a physic does.

Also, If you sleep with someone you just meet there is the chance you can become romantically attached to them over time. Either that or you end up with a child both parents are now stuck supporting.

Dating though is already time and energy intensive enough as it is currently without having to spend even more time and energy trying to date and get to know more people.

I think this generally results in 2 possibilities.
- Going by personality and character as opposed to sexualization which means taking a lot less chances on romantic prospects. As a result it significantly limits romantic and sexual opportunities for both.
- Sexualizing people which makes for a powerful motivator to try with lots of people which can potentially turn into a committed relationship with children.

So I am curious to know what viable alternative feminists can propose to keep our species going without sexualizing them which makes romantic and sexual relationships worth it for both men and woman in the long term.

austin101123 · 2025-09-06T03:58:50+00:00

There absolutely are a lot of feminists that hate the companies.

Baby_Arrow · 2025-09-06T21:06:34+00:00

Left wing values are fundamentally a moral system designed around avoiding going to the mirror and taking accountability. It’s always someone else’s fault. There is always an ism to blame.

The truth is much harder to digest. You are responsible for consuming porn. And women are responsible for producing it. There is no one to blame but yourselves. Find the mirror. Look in it. Take accountability. Be a man. Hold a standard. Demand it from others. No one is coming to save you. You must do it yourself. Rise or fall. The choice is yours. God speed.

Imakemyownnamereddit · 2025-09-07T09:02:21+00:00

Sorry I think this absurd non-sense.

Future generations will look at us like we are mad. We have a fertility crisis, we are facing a demographic disaster and a huge problem of male loneliness.

Yet the left thinks the problem is our society is too sexual?

Nope, it is the opposite. We have become a prudish and sexually oppressive society.

onlyaseeker · 2025-09-06T04:55:07+00:00

It's a little more complicated than that.

Title	Over sexualization of women
Author	No_Editor_4328
Upvotes	80
Comments	88
Date	September 5, 2025 2:52 PM UTC (10 months ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/comments/1n97f5g/over_sexualization_of_women/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/LeftWingMaleAdvocates/over-sexualization-of-women.1561366 https://theredarchive.com/post/1561366

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