We live surrounded by images. We find them on social media, in advertising, in music, in TV series, in magazines, and practically in every form of communication. And increasingly, we find a technique used to grab our attention: the sexualization of the body and human relationships .

The phenomenon is so widespread that some experts speak of a “pornification of culture .” But if culture has been pornified, we can ask ourselves a question from our own perspective: Is marketing also being pornified?

When the body becomes a demand

Marketing has a fundamental mission: to capture our attention in order to convey a message and, in many cases, to get us to buy a product or service. The problem arises when, to gain that attention, the person—and especially their body—is used as a mere instrument.

A body featured in an advertisement may have very little to do with the product being sold. But it attracts attention. And if it attracts attention, it can generate visits, clicks, followers, and sales. This raises a question I consider fundamental: Is everything that manages to grab attention legitimate from a values-based marketing perspective?

From seduction to instrumentalization

The use of beauty and seduction in advertising is nothing new. What seems to have changed is the intensity and normalization of certain content. Social media, influencers, music, fashion, advertising, and entertainment have multiplied exposure to hypersexualized images.

The Aceprensa article that inspired this reflection includes the opinions of psychologist and sexologist Alejandro Villena, who speaks of a “constant visual bombardment of sexual stimuli” that can produce saturation and desensitization.

The issue isn’t denying beauty or sexuality. The issue is something else: Are we communicating or are we using? Because there’s a significant difference between showcasing a person and turning them into an object to gain someone else’s attention.

Attention comes at a price.

We’ve long said that in marketing, you have to grab attention. That’s true. But perhaps we should add a second question:  How do we get that attention?

Because we can also capture attention through creativity, humor, a good story, an original idea, emotion, beauty, or a proposal that offers real value. We don’t need to objectify people to get them to look.

Marketing can generate interest without losing respect for the person who appears in the message and for the person who receives the message .

Empowerment or pressure?

One of the most interesting aspects of this phenomenon is that certain forms of hypersexualization are presented as freedom and empowerment. But the debate deserves to be more in-depth.

If a society constantly conveys that sexual attractiveness is one of the main ways to gain recognition, are we truly expanding people’s freedom? Or are we creating new pressures?

The question is especially important when we talk about young people who build a large part of their identity through social media.

The Teens and Screens 2024 study , cited in the Aceprensa article, also shows that a majority of young people surveyed believe that sex is not necessary to advance the plots of films and series. Perhaps, therefore, there is a demand for content that doesn’t constantly rely on sexualization.

Marketing that puts people at the center

This reflection directly connects to the concept of values-based marketing that I’ve been advocating on this blog. Values ​​shouldn’t just be a resource for improving a company’s communication. They should also be criteria for deciding how we communicate .

And here we can ask ourselves some questions:

Does our advertising respect the individual?

Does it present her as a subject or as an object?

Are we selling a product, or are we using a body to sell it?

What image of the person are we helping to build?

What are we teaching young people when we communicate this way?

These are uncomfortable questions, but necessary.

Not everything goes when it comes to selling.

Marketing has an enormous capacity to influence our desires, our habits, and our perception of reality. Therefore, the responsibility of a marketing professional does not end when they make a sale.

You should also ask yourself what message you’re conveying while selling . Marketing can be creative without resorting to provocation. It can be engaging without being vulgar. It can be emotional without manipulative. It can speak of beauty without commodifying the body. And it can capture attention without sacrificing human dignity.

Values-based marketing

Perhaps the real challenge is to move from a marketing approach that only asks, “How do I get people to look at me?” to one that also asks, “What am I saying when I get people to look at me?”

Because values ​​are not just what a company says it has. They are also what it demonstrates with every decision.

And if we want marketing that truly serves people, we should start with something as simple—and as difficult—as this: Never treat people as a means to an end when we can recognize them as an end in themselves.  That could be one of the fundamental principles of values-based marketing .

Source of inspiration

The reflection stems from Helena Farré Vallejo’s article, ” The pornification of culture or why pornographic aesthetics are everywhere ,” published in Aceprensa , which analyzes the growing sexualization of culture, the role of social networks, and their possible effects on the perception of the person and sexuality.