| Summary: | This study explores the objectification of men in recent Philippine television commercials. It employs Saussure's theory of semiotics and some works on male objectification-such as Bordo's 1999 essay, "Beauty (Re)Discovers the Male Body", and Canete's 2005 work, "Bench Underwear Ads and the Male Body"-to posit that eroticized depictions of men in ads are intentionally sexually ambiguous in order to appeal to diverse audiences. Furthermore, the study seeks to prove that depictions of masculinity is such ads are not ambivalent; rather, men in such advertisements will be depicted as non-aggressive and to a certain extent even inviting. This study's findings show that eroticized depictions of men in television are indeed sexually ambiguous, and that this ambiguity can be heightened by the on-screen presence of women as spectators. It was also established that masculinity is presented non-aggressively in these ads, the model's awareness of being watched often translated to a sense of warmth and willing seduction. Moreover, it became apparent that objectified male models are often those actors and TV personalities who have already been identified with sexy roles in the past. Lastly, the study also found the existence pf phallic products, which heighten an advertisement's sexual feel and also inscribe its models with notions of virility and desirability."
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