Representations of women in advertising

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

Since the mid-1990s, advertising has 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?

Looking at women's magazines in the 1950s, Betty Friedan (1963) claims this led to the creation of the 'feminine mystique': 'the highest value and the only real commitment for women lies in the fulfilment of their own femininity.

3) How did the increasing influence of clothes and make-up change representations of women in advertising?

advertising and fashion had made connections between women's subordinate role and the overdetermined emphasis on their appearance'.

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' is important here; 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'.

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' (van Zoonen, 1994:72). The New Woman was supposed to be 'independent, confident and assertive, finding satisfaction in the world of work and recreation, seeking excitement, adventure and fulfillment' (Cagan, 1978:8). According to Liesbet van Zoonen, however, the ability of these images to undermine traditional female stereotypes is superficial.

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?

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.'

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 occurred' (Barthel, 1988:124-125; Davis, 1992:50). 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?

Richard Dyer however, claims that such images are something of a misrepresentation of women's liberation: '[advertising] agencies trying to accommodate new [feminist] attitudes in their campaigns, often miss the point and equate "liberation" with a type of aggressive sexuality and a very unliberated coy sexiness' (1982:186). 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):

1) What was the Protein World 'Beach Bodies' campaign and why was it controversial?

This campaign caused a real stir amongst the media and consumers. Launched in Spring 2015 on London Underground, the PR team were clearly courting the female market (19-30) into looking their best for the beach this summer.

2) What was the Dove Real Beauty campaign?

One of the most successful of the digital age. 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.

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

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. They may feel like they can't rise their concerns as companies may not agree and it's up to the majority of the population and whether or not everyone else agree. 

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

van Zoonen sees gender as negotiated and dependent on social and historical context. She suggested that the meaning of gender is a “discursive struggle and negotiation, the outcome having far-reaching socio-cultural implications.” It is seen that people only see women for their bodies and nothing beyond that. 

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 feel like it has changed but not that much, before women were represented as the housewife and as the person to serve their man but however now women are sexualised and represented in adverts for their body so either way women are still seen as objects rather then people.