Politics of Sex Appeal in Advertising

This article is an ethnographic exploration of how gender ideologies were negotiated in the South Korea of the 2000s, in advertising texts and in advertising workplaces. Advertising has been criticized for reproducing gender stereotypes, and it is easy to assume that it is men within advertising agencies who are responsible for the objectifying and sexualizing portrayals of women. Yet behind some of the raciest South Korean advertising campaigns were ambitious women, who not only eagerly repeated the marketing adage that “sex sells” but also, provocatively, attempted to obliterate the lingering patriarchal norms and double sexual standards—with sexualized advertising. This article examines the politics of sex appeal in contemporary South Korean advertising by drawing on participant observation at an advertising agency, interviews, and public discourse analysis. Having situated the women's interventions within the cultural–historical context of South Korea, I, first, show how women's embrace of the sex-appeal aesthetic was a strategy to succeed in a male-dominated work environment and, second, detail how fighting gender discrimination with sex-appeal advertising was a profoundly contradictory project. I suggest that the politics of sex appeal in advertising was symptomatic of how women's struggles for equality were collapsing into neoliberal post-feminist sensibility.     

Female Sex Trade Workers,Condoms, and the Public-Private Divide

Abstract

This qualitative study explored the ways in which social relations within the public (work) as opposed to the private (home) contexts shape variable condom use among female sex trade workers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 68 female sex workers working in various settings in an urban center in Eastern Canada. The findings suggest that work-related social relations, and the meanings associated with condoms at work, create a strong confidence in condom use. Within the private setting, such confidence was also evident but most women reported either not using condoms or only using “sometimes.” Nevertheless, many women do engage in risk management within the private setting, and take active steps to decrease their risks of Human Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV)/Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).     

Strategies of Stigma Resistance Among Canadian Gay-Identified Sex Workers

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to explore how sex workers (specifically, gay-identified Canadian men working primarily, though not exclusively, as independent escorts) combat the pervasive negativity that surrounds their profession. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 9 men, a majority of whom were targeted through escort review boards. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed for themes of “stigma resistance.” Four themes were identified: (1) escorting is volitional (i.e., one isn't forced to work as an escort, rather it is a choice one makes); (2) escorting is a profession (i.e., the client is a customer and the escort a service provider); (3) the escort is in control during client/escort interchanges; and (4) escorting is distinct from, and better than, street prostitution. Directions for future research and limitations of the current study are outlined.     

Doing Gender Well and Differently in Dirty Work: The Case of Exotic Dancing

This article explores how a group of exotic dancers do gender and manage the stigma associated with their work and identities. We draw upon stigma management strategies from the dirty work literature and illuminate the doing of gender in these strategies. We also contribute to the debate that gender can be done well and differently through simultaneous, multiple enactments of femininity and masculinity. We consider the experiences of 21 exotic dancers working in a chain of UK exotic dancing clubs and conclude that in order to be good at their job, exotic dancers are expected to do gender well, that is, perform exaggerated expressions of femininity. However, we also theorize that for some dirty workers, specifically exotic dancers as sex workers, doing gender well will not be enough to reposition bad girls (bad, dirty work) into good girls (good, clean work). Finally, we propose that doing gender well will have different consequences in different types of work, thereby extending our findings to other dirty work occupations and organizations in general.     

Predicting the Condom Assertiveness of Collegiate Females in the United States From the Expanded Health Belief Model

ABSTRACT. Collegiate females in the United States are susceptible to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) due to their propensity for sexual exploration, multiple sexual partnerships, and inconsistent safe-sex practices. Despite the potential for safe-sex communication to contribute to safer sex, little is known about the predictors of this form of sexual communication. Research on condom assertiveness—the unambiguous messaging that sex without a condom is unacceptable—is especially rare. This study employed the Expanded Health Belief Model (EHBM) in an attempt to understand why some collegiate females are more condom assertive than others. Compared with less condom-assertive females, more condom-assertive females have more faith in the effectiveness of condoms, believe more in their own condom communication skills, perceive that they are more susceptible to STIs, believe there are more relational benefits to being condom assertive, believe their peers are more condom assertive, and intend to be more condom assertive. Overall, EHBM variables accounted for nearly 70% of the variability in condom assertiveness. Several of these associations, however, were moderated by sexual compulsivity and general assertiveness. Implications of these findings for sexual health practitioners are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested.     

Predictors of HIV Sexual Risk Behavior Among Men Who Have Sex with Men,Men Who Have Sex with Men and Women,and Transgender Women

ABSTRACT

Men who have sex with men, men who have sex with men and women, and transgender women are at high risk for HIV infection. This study seeks to clarify which known HIV risk factors (partner type, sex location, serodiscordance, multiple sex partners, substance use during sex) contribute to engagement in high-risk (unprotected receptive anal) sex in each population. Data collected from June 2005 through June 2008 indicate all three populations display different HIV sexual risk profiles. The data suggest that HIV-prevention interventions should be individually tailored to address the specific needs of these three highly vulnerable and impacted populations.     

Why Wait ‘til Marriage? The Determinants of Premarital Sex among Adolescents in a Country in Sub-Saharan Africa: Botswana

The purpose of the study was to describe the premarital sexual behaviors of Botswana adolescents and examine the factors associated with premarital sex intentions. An anonymous self-reported questionnaire was administered to 1,054 pupils ages 10 to 18 years in school and out of school. The findings indicate that the theory of planned behavior provides a model for developing interventions to reduce the risk behavior in regard to HIV/AIDS through premarital sex. The findings in the study indicate factors that influence adolescent intentions to engage in premarital sexual intercourse and the need to address these when designing effective interventions.     

South Korean College Students' Holland Types and Career Compromise Processes

This study explored South Korean college students' career compromise processes and examined whether preferences for sex type, prestige, or interests would be differentiated by Holland theme interest types, gender, or college major. Participants were South Korean undergraduate students from 2 universities in Seoul, South Korea. They were asked to choose 1 occupation from each of 168 pairs of occupations using a forced‐choice format. A total of 376 surveys were analyzed. There were significant main effects for Holland interest types and for gender but not for college major on their career compromise processes. Implications for career counselors and researchers are discussed.     

Current Practices in Residential Treatment for Adolescent Sex Offenders: A Survey

SUMMARY

A list of all treatment facilities for adolescent sex offenders that described themselves as inpatient or residential was requested from the Safer Society Foundation in Brandon, Vermont. A total of 203 such facilities were identified in this manner. Each was sent a questionnaire regarding their policies and practices. Of the 50 questionnaires that were returned, 49 were usable. Items on the questionnaire dealt with major phases of operating a residential program, including number of beds, average daily census, number of males and females in treatment, testing and assessment procedures, most frequent diagnoses, average IQ of patients, abuse history, therapeutic approaches used, number and types of individual/group treatment sessions per week, qualifications of therapists, average length of treatment, and follow-up research on treatment.     

Changing Directions in HIV Prevention: The Move Toward a Psychosocial Model

ABSTRACT

Although some HIV prevention programs have been successful in helping gay and bisexual men change their sexual behaviors, rates of HIV infection continue to increase. In an attempt to address this problem, social workers need to move beyond traditional HIV prevention approaches to a psychosocial model of HIV prevention. Based on the work of previous researchers, this approach assumes that a combination of individual, psychological, and social factors contribute to risky sex in gay and bisexual men. Because social workers are trained to view problems from a psychosocial framework, they are already in a position to develop programs incorporating the psychosocial model. This article examines the psychosocial model of HIV prevention and the various psychosocial factors that may contribute to high-risk sexual behavior and concludes with examples of prevention research that have already incorporated the model.