When the topic of women being oversexualized in the media is brought up, I have to shake my head and wonder why people believe this. The truth is, the belief that women are oversexualized in the media is untrue because it is all really about perception.

The issue is not that women are overly sexualized, the issue is the amount of information we receive. This information gives us the latest news from international affairs to celebrity gossip. Taken correctly, this information should inform us, entertain us, and even persuade us. In fact, persuade is the primary reason for much of this issue. In fact, of the three I’ve mentioned – inform, entertain, and persuade – it is persuade that is most prominent and the most overused. We see ads everywhere, and we are overrun by them. From simply opening up an app to changing the channel on the television, we are overwhelmed by ads with the common goal of persuasion, and surrounded by never ending commercials, endorsements, and propaganda. Despite this, we’ve found it necessary to frown upon the ads where women are found in their brazier and underwear or similar apparel using their body, their God-given attributes, to help persuade an audience. It baffles me.

Are we mad when a writer uses their imagination to produce a masterpiece? Are we mad when a comedian uses their sense of humor to make us laugh? Or when a musician blesses us with their beautiful voice? No we aren’t. Yet we find it necessary to debate the oversexualization of these proud women who are confident enough to flaunt their bodies and utilize what they’ve been given to their advantage. But no we don’t see it like that because we lack the perception necessary to understand that they are doing nothing more than a form of business, a form of strategic expertise to persuade an audience. It is said that women are objectified, seen by the audience as merely body parts and not as a person. But whose fault is that? You’re telling me it’s the woman’s fault that the person looking at her does not possess the maturity to overlook her features and focus on the bigger picture? You cannot blame the content of an ad or image because of the reaction of an audience or the perception of the audience.

I don’t believe women are oversexualized, and to even think of it as an issue I believe is demeaning. In our modern society it is the women themselves who choose to be depicted in the manner in which they are presented in an ad or on TV. Frowning at the way they chose to portray themselves is not only an insult to their career choices, but also to their self-respect. Who are we to judge the means by which a person earns their living when there are far worse things than showing a little skin and allowing a person’s imagination to do the rest.