There is an ongoing fascination with the Victorian era as well as the genre of horror, and the characters originating from the first 18th century Gothic tales still appear in our Western popular culture today. The Victorian Gothic novels contain elements of romanticism and violence which often results in strong undertones of heated sexuality. I argue that it is one of the reasons for the genre’s wide popularity. This thesis examines the representation of femininity and female sexuality within a Victorian horror context by a comparative analyse of illustrations from British 19th century Penny Blood publications with contemporary fashion photographs. The images are analysed by applying Erwin Panofsky’s method of Iconography and with the theoretical framework of feminist visual culture, and historical theories on sexuality, biology and violence. The thesis shows how Gothic visualisations are interpreted and appropriated photographically today, where the latter is darker and more exaggerated than the former. Symbols of sexuality, female agency, dominance and submission are equally found in the Victorian and the contemporary material. However, the Victorian aesthetic has become a platform where a nude, sexual female body in a S&M situation can offer a spectrum of meanings and even symbols of feminism. It is a visual culture where women can fight back, taking revenge on their oppressor and looking fierce when doing so.

On opening women's magazine the reader is bombarded with page after page of advertisements featuring highly sexualised images of women. This thesis explores the use of sexuality in contemporary women's magazine advertising and how women respond to this. A year-long analysis of twelve different monthly magazines, spanning three different age demographics was undertaken. A comprehensive coding schedule was developed, and over 5000 advertisements were analysed in a quantitative manner to determine the level of sexuality. Nearly 500 women took part in an online survey. It was designed to gauge their responses to the use of sex in advertising, as well as the influence of advertising overall. This analysis found that sex is a tool used by advertisers in almost every advertisement that appears in women's magazines, particularly those targeted at the youngest age demographics. Some products, such as fragrances, rely more heavily on the use of sex in their advertising campaigns than others. The women surveyed believed that average and older women are under-represented in advertising. Women tend to recollect advertisements that promote a 'promise' or an idealised lifestyle set in a sexual context. Recollection is, of course, the aim of advertising, so it would appear that the use of sex is here to stay.