Gender Representation in Advertising Essay

“The authors found subtle stereotypes and suggest that the ads included in their analysis reflect the cognitive dispositions of their creators who aim to their audiences and influence them” (Bolliger). After spending such time analyzing one particular visual advertisement this quote couldn’t relate more to my opinion. The ad is plausible in that a glance provides a conclusive assumption. After imagining myself as both characters I can make no premiss as to who the creator is. Stereotypes in this ad can be defended mutually; the woman getting what she wants demanding love and possessions, or the man taking control and taking what he wants while keeping his eye on the

What is it that drives commercials towards their target audience? Commercials can be aimed toward certain age, race, along with certain gender groups. Pop culture has influenced minority groups and shed light on women 's rights or so it may seem. Lisa Shaffer a fellow student feels otherwise and believes that Pop culture has only defended traditional values and does little to challenge those who already have power . Commercials bring in gender norms and in Steve Craig’s article, “Men’s Men and Women’s Women” he speaks on four particular TV ads directed towards male and female audiences. Interestingly enough these tv ads deliver a false image of the opposite sex to the audience catering to their preferences. It is the image of what the audience wants to see that appeals to them. This is all in an attempt to sell products and take advantage of our desires and anxieties. Craig shows how commercials bring gender norms that produce the stigmas of a man’s man and a woman’s woman, which makes it apparent that he would agree with Shaffer because it promotes an old way of thinking.

When we think of men in society, we think of someone strong and dominant. We think of the gender that is in charge. But what do we think of when we think of women? Do we see them the same way? Usually that’s not the case. When we think of women in society, we think of someone who does what they’re told without question. Maybe we think of the celebrities that advertise our favorite products. But, nobody every really looks deeper into the way women are viewed in society. However, Jean Kilbourne does. In her article entitled “Two Ways A Woman Can Get Hurt: Advertising and Violence” she dives into how women are really viewed and what seems to be the “cultural norm”. In society, women are viewed as objects or as property. So in turn, men think

"Whether unconsciously reproduced or deliberately crafted to appeal to the psychic contradictions and ambivalence of its intended audience, the disparity comes from the recesses of our most sediments, unquestioned notions about gender" (Bordo 170). The woman in the ad is looked upon as being able to control her eating habits, but also able to control herself while on the other hand men eat freely. These types of advertisements work well because society has given them reason to.

In the advertisement, the guy is wearing a bigger size watch than the girl. This tells us that men are sort of higher-ranked than girls. One more thing in the advertisement that undermines women is there are two wine glasses both on the girl’s side. So basically we can just see the clothes of the girl and the hand, it looks like they are just trying to cover the body of the girl as much as they can. While there is nothing blanketing the guys

This ad appeals customers by having a desire to get even, mastering the possibilities, wanting to be admired and respected; to have high social status. I think the need to aggress and the need for dominance were the most successful appeals evoked. This advertisement implies that being a man takes power, control, and attractiveness. This advertisement normalizes objectification, where men are degraded if they aren’t tough. Advertisements like this appeal to the audience’s insecurities where people want to be admired and respected.

Consider the advertisement below, it seems though it is just an average commercial that is selling a cologne and trying to convince the audience that if you buy this you will be able to get a girl just like the man in picture. This is a common technique that many companies use to make the audience, mainly male, think that this product will make them irresistible. The way that the female model

(Schwalbe & Mason-Schrock 1996). This advertisement is aimed at the male market and the main people present in the ad are males. The protagonist’s physical appearance is strong, fit and tough, these are characteristics that are often associated with men. The male protagonist in this ad is extremely athletic and good at a range of sports. Sport is often associated with the male sex, it is of common opinion that males are the superior when it comes to sport.

To me this sells patriarchy to the ad’s viewers because the males in the photo have the power over what happens next in this situation. In the book Women’s Voices Feminist Visions, Patriarchy is defined as “a system where males

When men and women are displayed in an ad to represent a product; the male has more power than the women. He will be muscular and she will be very

The use of sexualization also reinforces a pattern of gender roles that are currently circulating throughout advertisements. More often than not, women who are used as ploys in ads are seen doing household chores like vacuuming, changing the toilet paper, or making coffee. Females are rarely ever seen in a work place, and definitely not in a powerful position. In fact, the directors of most of these ads place women below or behind the man to show who has the power in actuality. Women are seen as skinny, fragile, and immobile in high heels, while men are strong and powerful. By setting up such a strong binary between the two different groups, it is obvious that the majority of the American society will not be able to fit into these roles, and it leaves a sense of rejection for the average person. This rejection, accepted by the viewers, manifests

Consumers of an advertised product have been subjected to years of ads that portray men as Gods, so naturally that is what they look for in the newest ads. For example advertisements for protein shakes use men that have exceptional muscle tone and muscle mass. All the advertisement shows is that person drinking the shake and not all the hours they put in at the gym, or years of working out they have gone through to get to that size and tone.

Also, when women see this photo they see women the main focus, therefore the women will go and by the washer based off of how the Ad dragged them in. I picked this photo because it made me very interested in the fact that women are the main focus of the photo, and that there are no men in it at any decade. Women are targeted, and are made to be seen as the house maids. I think the Ad I sexist because no men are in the

Sexist ads show that society is dominated by the same masculine values that have controlled the image of women in the media for years. Sexist advertisement reinforces gender stereotypes and roles, or uses sex appeal to sell products, which degrades the overall public perception of women. The idea that sexism is such a rampant problem comes from the stereotypes that are so deeply embedded into today’s society that they almost seem to be socially acceptable, although they are nowhere near politically correct. Images that objectify women seem to be almost a staple in media and advertising: attractive women are plastered all over ads. The images perpetuate an image of the modern woman, a gender stereotype that is reinforced time and time again by the media. These images are accepted as “okay” in advertising, to depict a particular product as sexy or attractive. And if the product is sexy, so shall be the consumer. In the 1970s, groups of women initially took issue with the objectification of women in advertisements and with the limited roles in which these ads showed women. If they weren’t pin-ups, they were delicate

Contemporary visual media contributes to the social construction of gender in that the way that men and women are portrayed in advertising is vastly different.