The article begins by discussing how the objectification of women in advertising is connected to violence again women. Furthermore, the current trend is active sex objects as opposed to passive. The cause of this trend are issues that emerged for advertisers in the 1990's, eventually leading to 'commodity feminism'. 'Commodity feminism' is, "an attempt to incorporate the cultural power of energy and feminism while simultaneously domesticating its critique of of advertising and the media". The author dedicates the rest of the chapter to the contemporary shift of sexual representation of women.
The contemporary women is the women who knows her sexual power and deliberately toys with this power, but is always 'up for it'. This is evidenced by the use of the midriff. The midriff has taken on a sexual meaning of recent and is a platform for sexual expression.
"Midriff advertising has four central themes: an emphasis on the body, a shift from objectification to sexual subjectification, a pronounced discourse of choice and autonomy, and an emphasis upon empowerment". Furthermore, women's body's have become their primary attribute and main focus of advertising, being used actively as a form of advertising called sexual subjectification. The 'this is just for me advertising' has taken on extreme popularity. Overall, the ads have an empowering feel to women with slim bodies.
However, this form of entitlement is not positive for post-feminism and is difficult to critique. For example, it excludes a wide array of women from this "empowerment". This gives many women anxiety who don't have this sexual power. Furthermore, these ideas of power through sexuality creates an image as though women have equal or greater power, but in all the wrong ways. Lastly, midriff advertising shifts the way power operates from external to an internal satisfaction. A more sophisticated and different form of exploitation. There is a constant struggle between the ideals of feminism and averting.
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