Blog tasks: Representations of women in advertising

 Academic reading: A Critical Analysis of Progressive Depictions of Gender in Advertising

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?

Since the mid-1990s, advertising has increasingly employed images in which the gender and sexual

orientation of the subjects are markedly ambiguous.

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

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?

This led to women being increasingly portrayed as decorative objects.

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?

Laura Mulvey's (1975) theory of the 'male gaze'. She contends that scopophilia 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?

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'

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?

An advertisement promoting the 'Jenni Barnes Working Style' - 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 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 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: these ads equate "liberation" with a type of aggressive sexuality and a very unliberated coy sexiness' 

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 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. And

it seems that plenty of women are willing to pay £62 in the hope of transformation.

2) What was the Dove Real Beauty campaign?

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.

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

Because of the internet ads are pretty much inescapable. You're scrolling on TikTok? There's an ad.  You're walking the street? There's an ad. You're reading an article? There's an ad. People see way more ads daily then they think they do, the internet is always distributing ads. 

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

Van Zoonen - would suggest that ads like the beach body one are making spectacles out of women by objectifying them.

Stuart Hall - Preferred reading - They're encouraging women to be healthy to better themselves

Negotiated reading - Women should be fit and ready for summer

Op-positional reading -  Women can only look attractive if they have a slim body.

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?