Representations of women in advertising

1) How does Mistry suggest advertising has changed since the mid-1990s?

increasingly employed images in which the gender and sexual orientation of the subject(s) are markedly (and purposefully) ambiguous. As an ancillary to this, there are also a growing number of distinctly homosexual images - and these are far removed from depictions of the camp gay employed as the comic relief elsewhere in mainstream media.

2) What kinds of female stereotypes were found in advertising in the 1940s and 1950s?

the 'feminine mystique': 'the highest value and the only real commitment for women lies in the fulfilment of their own femininity. 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 led to women being increasingly portrayed as decorative objects, 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

4) Which theorist came up with the idea of the 'male gaze' and what does it refer to?

Laura Mulvey's (1975) 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'. much second wave feminist writing about advertising and fashion had made connections between women's subordinate role and the overdetermined emphasis on their appearance' 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 women learn what creates voyeuristic pleasure for men - that 'men are drawn to a certain portrayal of femininity' and thus 'women are drawn toward occupying that portrayal'

5) How did the representation of women change in the 1970s?

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 and recreation, seeking excitement, adventure and fulfilment'

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?

the roles that women take on in these advertisements appear to be progressive (the employee, the active woman); however, with a more semiological approach, 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, 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'

7) What does Barthel suggest regarding advertising and male power?

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 occurred'  In other words, that there is no real threat to male power.

8) What does Richard Dyer suggest about the 'femme fatale' representation of women in adverts such as Christian Dior make-up?

women can use Christian Dior make-up to make themselves sexually attractive - and that her sexuality is for her own enjoyment. Richard Dyer however, claims that such images are something of a misrepresentation of women's liberation: 'advertising 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 worse, 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 and why was it controversial?

The PR team was courting the female market into looking the best for the beach and featured a tanned blonde woman in a full frontal pose this was so controversial because it caused women to feel ashamed of how they look.

2) What was the Dove Real Beauty campaign?

The campaign features real women with real bodies of all races and ages. Dove created an interactive Ad Makeover campaign that put women in charge of the advertisements, where they themselves would choose what they saw as beautiful, not the advertisers. The campaign’s mission is to create a world where beauty is a source of confidence and not anxiety.

3) How has social media changed the way audiences can interact with advertising campaigns? 

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. Both these campaigns have become talking points, but for opposite reasons. And while Protein World may have caused outrage, anger and some boycotting, in terms of a marketing campaign it has worked like a dream. As the old saying goes: ‘There’s no such thing as bad publicity.’

In summary, social media has allowed audiences to attack and publicise adverts that before social media would not be talked about due to lack of coverage from traditional media that would have most likely worked with these companies to prevent bad PR. However social media has now had an unintended affect of publicising adverts through viral and controversial opinions/situations that boost awareness of the companies and their products.

4) How can we apply van Zoonen's feminist theory and Stuart Hall's reception theory to these case studies?

Because van zoonen suggests that the media plays a role in representing woman in stereotypical ways, and Stuart hall's that media texts can have many meanings to different people can be applied in the way the adverts can represent many different things and oppinions that can be taken oppositionally or in a negotiated manner that was not to the hegemonic intent of the producers allowing for people to speak up about their own opinions and interpretations of the dove advert to highlight certain parts that are reflected and could be offensive or even unpleasant. 

5) 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?

I do think representations of women have changed but they are still portrayed in a way that is attractive to wider society and plays into Mulvey's idea of the Male gaze, but compared to 60 years ago, media has really progressed to define women as more dominant and independent rather than submissive to man in a patriarchal society.