Read these extracts from an academic essay on gender in advertising by Reena Mistry. This was originally published in full in David Gauntlett's book 'Media, Gender and Identity'. Then, answer the following questions:
1) How does Mistry suggest advertising has changed since the mid-1990s?
advertising has increasingly employed images in which the gender and sexual
orientation of the subject are markedly ambiguous.
2) What kinds of female stereotypes were found in advertising in the 1940s and 1950s?
'feminine mystique': the only real commitment for women lies in the fulfilment of their own femininity. The highest good is keeping house and raising children'. it was exploited and reinforced (and possibly created) as a result of the 1950s' boom in the economy - particularly in the production of domestic goods, such as washing machines and convenience foods. It was presupposed that women would be purchasing such goods for the household, thus advertising 'was calculated to focus attention on their domestic role, reinforce home values and perpetuate the belief that success as a woman, wife and mother could be purchased for the price of a jar of cold cream, a bottle of cough syrup, of a packet of instant cake-mix'
3) How did the increasing influence of clothes and make-up change representations of women in advertising?
clothes and make-up - which to women being increasingly
portrayed as decorative objects . A poignant example of where this occurs is in
perfume advertisements; according to Diane Barthel, one of the most common
images here is that of the 'fair maiden'. as an example, the innocent female is
equated with flowers and nature: 'what is communicated is the sense that any
rude contact with reality might spoil the maiden's perfection. Though she is
sensual, she 'is meant to live as in fairy-tale stupor. She waits to be
awakened - sexually, emotionally, even intellectually - by her prince' Thus,
the maiden is a day-dreamer, passive and sheltered from reality - leaving her
in perfect condition for when "Mr. Right" comes along. Further,
'there is more to being a flower than being delicate... the whole colourful show
of petals and fragrance is there simply to attract fertilization, nothing more.
women are depersonalised and objectified because they are encouraged to 'use
commodities to serve men; they use them on themselves to aid femininity; commodities
replace them in their relation to men' This 'commodified' woman is also used to
sell products to men: 'the purchase of a commodity delivers the simultaneous
acquisition of a female body'. This communicates the idea that women are 'objects'
that exist for the pleasure of men; for example, in Figure 3 the purchase of this
Gucci perfume promises sex. It rarely follows, however, that male sexuality is
used to sell products to women. what is implied is a lesson in narcissism as to
what women must do to 'catch a man' - i.e. make themselves visually attractive
and sexually available.
4) Which theorist came up with the idea of the 'male gaze' and what does it refer to?
Laura Mulvey's (1975) theory of the 'male gaze'; she
contends that scopophilia (the basic human sexual drive to look at other human
beings) has been 'organised' by society's patriarchal definition of looking as
a male activity, and being looked at as a female 'passivity'. Male power means
that any social representation of women is constructed as a spectacle for the
purpose of male pleasure. Feminists who have taken up the male gaze framework, such
as Mary Ann Doane, suggest that because of this organised way of looking (where
women are accustomed to being looked at, thus conceiving themselves as
objects), when women observe representations of other women it is not a form of
straightforward identification. Rather, they engage in a form of 'psychic
transvestism' whereby they identify with the male (gaze) that observes the
woman. According to advertisers, the appeal in the use of female attractiveness
and sexuality to sell products to women is its appeal to their exhibitionism.
5) How did the representation of women change in the 1970s?
From the mid-1970s there was a proliferation of distinct images that became labelled as the 'New
Woman', and that were seen as representative of the 'changing reality of women's social position
and of the influence of the women's movement'. The New Woman was supposed to be 'independent, confident and assertive, finding satisfaction in the world of work andrecreation, seeking excitement, adventure and fulfillment'
6) Why does van Zoonen suggest the 'new' representations of women in the 1970s and 1980s were only marginally different from the sexist representations of earlier years?
According to Liesbet van Zoonen, however, the ability of
these images to undermine traditional female stereotypes is superficial. the
roles that women take on in these advertisements appear to be progressive (the
employee, the active woman); however, with a more semiological approach, van
Zoonen asserts that the New Woman 'only departs marginally from her older, more
traditional sisters.' Deconstructing an advertisement promoting the 'Jenni
Barnes Working Style' range of clothing, van Zoonen points to its claim that:
'A woman should look forward to dressing for the office.' Having a job is seen
merely to provide 'another happy occasion for women to dress up and present
themselves.' Indeed, a woman 'is portrayed stepping confidently towards the
camera in an office environment observed by a male colleague from behind; but
she is not portrayed actually working' Gill says that these images lead us to
believe that they incorporate feminist ideals, but are actually 'used in such a
way as to empty them of their progressive meaning'
7) What does Barthel suggest regarding advertising and male power?
Barthel notes that 'today's young women can successfully
storm the bastions of male power... without threatening their male
counterparts' providing we can reassure them that, underneath the suit, we are
still 'all woman', that 'no serious gender defection has. there is no real threat to male power. Another
dubious image of the New Woman is the 'dark lady': on the other side of
innocence and romance, is the knowledge and sexuality of the daring femme fatale.
Richard Dyer claims that such images are something of a
misrepresentation of women's liberation: 'agencies trying to accommodate new attitudes
in their campaigns, often miss the point and equate "liberation" with
a type of aggressive sexuality and a very unliberated coy sexiness'. Thus, all
we are really left with is a woman who continues to construct herself as a spectacle
and, just like the innocent maiden, is presented as a willing co-conspirator of
men's sexual advances and believes she
is 'liberated' in doing so.
Media Magazine: Beach Bodies v Real Women (MM54)
Now go to our Media Magazine archive and read the feature on Protein World's controversial 'Beach Bodies' marketing campaign in 2015. Read the feature and answer the questions below in the same blogpost as the questions above.
1) What was the Protein World 'Beach Bodies' campaign?
‘Are You Beach Body Ready?’ campaign launched by Protein
World in Spring 2015 on London Underground,
the PR team were courting the female market into looking their best for the beach
this summer. The advert – featured a tanned, blonde female in a full-frontal pose.
2) Why was it controversial?
‘Are you beach body ready?’ invited readers to think about their figures, =did not consider the image of the model would shame women who had different body shapes into believing they needed to take a slimming supplement to feel confident wearing swimwear in public.
3) What did the adverts suggest to audiences?
are you
thin enough to hit the beach? The advert attracted much criticism for playing
on female consumers’ insecurities. Its message is clear: if you use our weight
loss supplements you too can look like this.
4) How did some audiences react?
When people
began to campaign against the poster’s sexist portrayal, a change.org petition
signed by 71,000 urged the ASA to take the adverts down. Some protesters
responded visually by posing next to the advert in their bikinis, to offer a more
realistic depiction of women’s bodies. When angry consumers contacted Protein World,
complaining about the campaign, the company’s Twitter response urged them to ‘grow
some balls’ – an interesting response for a campaign supposedly directed at
women. The men behind the campaign seemed to find all the media uproar bizarre
and the insinuation was that the great British public couldn’t take a joke.
5) What was the Dove Real Beauty campaign?
Dove’s
‘Real Beauty Sketches’ had garnered more than 114m total YouTube views within
one month of its release, making it the most viral ad of all time. The campaign
employed an FBI-trained sketch artist to draw women twice – first based on their
own self-perception, and then based on that of a stranger. The outcomes
demonstrated that the strangers’ descriptions were both more attractive and
more accurate than the women’s own perceptions, suggesting that women are often
hyper-critical of their appearances, and unable to see their own beauty. The
campaign resulted in upwards of four billion PR and blogger media hits, and was
much praised.
Audiences are now able to voice their concerns over advertising campaigns directly to the company and to other people with social media. They are also now able to create petitions to get advertisements removed online so they reach a larger amount of people.
7) How can we apply van Zoonen's feminist theory and Stuart Hall's reception theory to these case studies?
8) Through studying the social and historical context of women in advertising, do you think representations of women in advertising have changed in the last 60 years?
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