More than a Pretty Face? Cognitive Objectification, Literal Objectification, and Dehumanization in Beauty Advertisements

Majid Raza

School of Multimedia Technology and Communication, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia.

Norsiah Abdul Hamid

School of Multimedia Technology and Communication, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia.

Abstract

This research examines how women are portrayed in beauty advertisements televised in Pakistan, with a specific focus on the mechanisms of objectification and dehumanisation embedded within contemporary media culture. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, the study evaluates 30 beauty-oriented advertisements broadcast on leading Pakistani television channels during the period 2022 to 2025. Drawing upon objectification theory alongside visual discourse analysis, the results demonstrate two closely connected thematic dimensions. First, female bodies are represented as segmented aesthetic commodities, where cinematic devices, including close-up imagery and selective visual framing, confine women’s identities to distinct bodily features, thereby presenting physical appearance as the central basis of worth, self-assurance, and social advancement. Second, the findings indicate a suppression of individuality through the circulation of standardised beauty norms, in which women are consistently depicted with similar appearances, passive social roles, and constrained agency, thus reinforcing their construction as replaceable subjects shaped by product-centred transformation. Taken together, these representational patterns legitimise restrictive beauty ideals and perpetuate gendered hierarchies within Pakistani consumer culture. By contextualising these layered forms of objectification within a South Asian media setting, the study makes a meaningful contribution to Asian media and cultural studies while underscoring the broader implications of televised beauty narratives for gender representation and ethically responsible advertising practices across the region.

Cognitive Objectification, Literal Objectification, Dehumanization, Beauty Advertisements, Pakistani Television Advertisements