I mean speaking as a woman, I will say that how products are advertised is certainly at least influential.
Influential, yes. I, as a man, am influenced to be ripped and toned, to look like either Jersey Shore or Viggo Mortensen. But to be frank, no one
forces women to wear shirts to where I can count the bumps on their areola.
I get your point on marketing and that
"sex sells", I just don't think it has as
great an effect on youth (particularly American) as many like to pretend it does. When your daughter dresses as a whore, it's easy to blame the big bad Media, harder to admit that maybe daughter dearest is just trying to get some. Which leads to the problem as presented by Swim: if a woman (or a man) does things to get noticed, they're going to get noticed. Even by the bad. If I go out on the town wearing my kilt, I expect to get all manner of replies and inquiries; I can't pick and choose from women I like to women I don't who get to ask me what's 'neath the tartan.
Now, I certainly agree that looks should never advance beyond that, but do looks
really harm someone who's asking for them, even if it's from someone undesired? So much so that the viewer must either be covert in their drawn attention or be reprimanded for harassment?
Personally I'm a nerdy farmer who cannot give a care for what 'looks nice' to men. So I get to take the ugly but also save money not buying expensive fake poket pants and facepaint.
Honestly, I think a lot more men prefer natural looks and causal wear. When I saw that girl walking around with the miniskirt and thong, all I could think was how ridiculous she looked, and (due to the weather) how stupid she was. My coworkers and I might give each other looks and nudges when attractive women come through, but we also laugh at the women painted up like clowns with clothing so tight they can barely walk. We're mostly drawn to the normal looking ones.
I'm not saying there's no effect to the clown suits, but it seems to be limited to a very specific demographics, rather than society as a whole. Like the Vogue Businesswoman from Random's example, that magazine might show up in the local Dillon's, but does it actually affect women in that area? I ask knowing it's going to be a case-by-case thing; for example I myself aren't affected much by the Heraklean models in
Men's Health or
People. But I still strut what I got every chance I get, even though it's more in line with an issue of
Dragon.