Advertising: The 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?

Between 1940-1950 there were many stereotypes of woman including that they were suffering from identity crisis. Prior to the war, feminists had been articulating the idea of women having their own plans and careers; but soon after 1945, women were made to feel guilty by warnings of the 'dangerous consequences to the home' that had begun to circulate. 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?

The clothes and make-up- which led to women being increasingly portrayed as decorative (empty) objects. Janice Winship asserts that 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'

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

Mulvey came up with the idea of 'MALE GAZE'  which refers to how woman are sexualised from framework by men in the media industry

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 and recreation, seeking excitement, adventure and fulfilment' which went against the traditional stereotype of woman.

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. At the level of content analysis, 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.'

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'

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:

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'. 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?

the pr  were clearly team were clearly courting a female market  but it backfired as it demonstrated the male gaze and objectified women to be this certain way (white, tanned, skinny and blonde female).

2) What was the Dove Real Beauty campaign?

A contrasting approach was represented by the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty – one of the most successful of the digital age. The campaign features real women with real bodies of all races and ages.

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

for example, in the boots advert in 2013, the video was posted on YouTube making it the most viral ad of all time. This allows the audience to react through the comment section and furthermore, through Twitter and Instagram and Snapchat, et.. through reposting, which makes the audience react more with the advert as they could share it about and comment on it, which would give the company an idea of what they are thinking about the advert.

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 believe the representation of women has improved. This is because the representation started off with women being sexualised for the men’s pleasure or offering a product, which could help them gain a man.(the male gaze) however, the movement of feminism and other factors have changed the advertising into women being shown as beautiful, powerful, and independent.