AccScience Publishing / AC / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/AC025240056
ARTICLE

Male objectification in TV advertisements: A study of media design education through the lens of objectification theory

Moona Fazal1 Ali Ab Ul Hassan2* Sumbul Natalia1
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1 Department of Visual Communication Design, Faculty of Design, National College of Art, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
2 School of Creative Arts, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Received: 10 June 2025 | Revised: 29 November 2025 | Accepted: 11 December 2025 | Published online: 8 January 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
Abstract

While objectification theory has been extensively applied to the representation of women in advertising, limited scholarly attention has been given to the objectification of men, particularly within the context of Pakistani television (TV) advertisements. This study addresses this gap by examining patterns of male objectification and exploring how media and art education can function as a critical pedagogical intervention to challenge and reform objectifying advertising practices. The purpose of this research is to explore the trends and patterns of male objectification portrayed in male representation in Pakistani TV advertisements. This research was conducted through the lens of objectification theory. The study also aims to investigate the impact of such objectification on culture, art, and social value systems, as well as how media art education can help abate the objectification phenomenon in advertisements. To achieve this purpose, the present research analyzed selected Pakistani advertisements for their objectified portrayal of men. The study concludes that men are objectified in advertisements in various ways, primarily through an emphasis on their physical attributes. The findings reveal that art and media education can contribute to reforming contemporary advertising norms and values by informing them intellectually and ethically for the well-being of human—beings endowed with sensitive and refined intellect. Art and media education must therefore be considered a critical pedagogy of visual culture.

Keywords
Sexuality
Male objectification
Physical traits
Media
Advertisements
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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