Victorias Secret and Womens Sexuality In-store Essay

Victorias Secret and Womens Sexuality In-store - Essay Example While essentialism states that men and women are inherently different and that women’s different physical form make them suitable for certain functions, constructivism counters this by claiming that sexuality arises out of the beliefs and attitudes governing religion and culture (Houston). Although the biological differences between the genders are present, social constructivism has a great role to play in how women are ‘perceived’ as sex objects as suggested by Victoria’s Secret’s use of space. This perception is reflected in the company’s store design and layout. The design team’s rejection of the conventional candy box color scheme of pink and gold colors was based on the premise that the company’s dominant color (pink) was being overused. The use of the ‘pink’ theme across its store is dominant which reasserts the stereotypical association of this color with women. Nevertheless, the need to tone down the pink col or is apparent by the use of black and cream colors with the use of flashing pink lighting in-store displays. Therefore, the overwhelming use of the pink color has been made subtle by the use of black and cream colors. This is not because the company attempts to divulge from its primary market of women. The color scheme has been altered to include black and cream to make the already pink merchandise â€Å"pop out†. GENDER SOCIALIZATION suggests how humans learn appropriate behavior with respect to their gender (Shaw and Lee). This follows that women are expected to maintain their physical beauty to remain acceptable in society. Women’s worth in society is often reflected in how ‘beautiful’ they are perceived by society, unlike men whose worth does not depend on their beauty (Shaw and Lee). This is often referred to as DOUBLE STANDARDS. This concept has been used by Victoria’s Secret which uses glamorous images of women throughout its store so that w omen feel they will look like those idealized images after wearing those products. A small fraction of women who are physically attractive are used throughout in-store photography which reflects the stereotypical belief that a woman’s worth is through her body and attractiveness. This is linked to the OBJECTIFICATION of women whereby their bodies are considered separate from the context (Shaw and Lee). This, in turn, is closely tied to the fragmentation of women when their bodies are separated from their personalities and are thought to represent the woman. The way in which specific body parts are highlighted in the photography reflects how the woman as a whole is discarded and how women are considered as objects that can be touched, â€Å"ogled† or even bought. The focus on specific parts such as breasts and other genital organs in these ads is reflective of the SURGERIES including VAGINAL SURGERIES that women undergo in the name of beauty. Only younger models are use d in stores which suggest that as women grow old they lose their sexuality and beauty and can, therefore, be discarded.