The media uses the imagery system which constitutes the heart of modern media to influence the emotions and behavior of consumers. The contemporary world evolves in the realm of popular mainstream media where the representation of products and services is omnipresent, manipulative and intended to influence the emotions and feelings of the end consumer. In doing so, the mainstream media has ignored all of society's ethical and moral constructs. The advert I chose is from French Vogue, this advert highlights the way mainstream media plays on the insecurities of its target audience, in this case young girls, and exploits young girls, fetishizing and romanticizing the link between sexuality and youth. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In this essay, I will argue that the media has the undisputed power to construct, normalize and commodify the identities of young girls through pictorial representation, an important element in the commodification of identity (sex and gender) is the adultification and sexualization of young girls in the media. As I reflect on my dissertation, I will highlight the work of scholars such as Sut Jhally, Jessica Valenti, and Valerie-Barnes Lipscomb. The innocence and youthfulness of young girls is sexualized to sell advertisements and by invoking an emotional response from a technology-savvy generation easily influenced by popular culture depictions. Modern media uses imagery and the commodification of identities, including sex and gender, to create persuasive and manipulative advertisements preying on the emotions and feelings of vulnerable consumers. The media has gone rogue and betrayed the traditional ethical and moral foundations of a responsible source of information. Contemporary media are guided by a single mission: to make profit by changing all social structures and institutions. Jhally (2003) asserts that “the market (and its major ideological tool, advertising)” is the main structuring institution of contemporary consumer society. In this case, a young woman's body was sexualized and the standards of consent pushed to those of an adult. French Vogue has a clear goal and target for manipulative advertising. Young people constitute the largest population in most economies. They are therefore the largest group of consumers of various services and products, including fashion products. Second, children and young people are citizens of the “digital generation” enjoying unprecedented exposure and access to all types of information, including advertising. Contemporary media and advertisers have found ways to use this information to visually engage the vulnerable generation. However, in the marketing system, girls who are legally minors are treated as adults. Legally, a minor must be protected from any form of manipulation until she reaches the legal age to give valid consent. In this case, the informed consent of the minor is violated, as shown by the adultification of a young girl's body by French vogue and other advertisers. The media sells a “dream” or illusion to the target market using the sex and body of an underage woman. In the image above, her gender (female) and attractive physical build as a young woman are treated as an “object” or tool to target the audience. The sexualization of the female body and,in this case, underage girls, is a widespread problem in consumer society which has allowed the media to influence institutions, values, norms and accepted standards. Jhally (2003) emphasizes that representations involving a sexual figure are predominant. It further specifies that “the visuals are chosen for their capacity”. To illustrate this, “sex sells” and the media will spare no ethical concern in updating products and services, even if it means treating a woman's body as an object. Here, the girl's body is treated as a sexual object to sell a product or service to greedy consumers who overlook representational bias or cannot decode the manipulative psychology of advertising. The statement is true based on the above image of a young girl dressed in expensive golden colored designer outfits. The imagery is sexual, including the shoes, dress, gold chains, pose, and exposed body parts. Her makeup is also artificial, giving her an impression that the average young woman cannot achieve naturally. The sexualized image attracts necessary attention and evokes targeted emotions and positive feelings for advertisers and brands. The ethics of such advertisements, in this case, are a secondary and unimportant issue, although the sexualization and objectification of a woman's body is demeaning to women. In Jessica Valenti's essay "The Cult of Virginity," she discusses in depth how societies define virginity. . She claims that the female body is continually exploited and that virginity has become a commodity. She says that society not only idolizes virginity as a model of morality, but also converts that admiration into buying, selling, and owning it. I think this statement from her supports my argument that this girlish innocence and purity has been exploited and now has a price, a business in the mainstream media through advertising. What the media doesn't realize is that this makes young girls more insecure about themselves, making them feel like they have to meet these societal standards to be accepted. Because of this, more and more girls are losing self-confidence and causing health problems such as anxiety and depression. Like the model in this French Vogue advertisement is not only selling the product but also her physical and moral innocence as a product due to societal perspectives, an illusory image being reinforced and interpreted to the intended audience. In an interview titled "We Need a Theoretical Foundation," Valerie Lipscomb explains that once people are older and no longer look youthful, that's when they realize the privilege of youth when reflecting as a societal ideal parallel to success. She also brings up the idea that as age manifests, it produces an internalized physical disgust similar to the hatred that many relegated identities have also experienced. He posits that this disgust is imposed on marginalized people so that others are naturally physically disgusted by it. Lipscomb posits that revulsion toward marginalized people parallels repulsion from the physical body (Lipscomb). In my opinion, this discussion by Lipscomb sheds immense light on my analysis of the media, in that the intended audience for the advertising discussed in this analysis is young girls and not older women. As a result, older women feel insecure and have a sense of having aged, leading to the sexuality found in younger girls..