The ideas and assumptions built around the concept of femininity affect women from all walks of life. The discourse that surrounds this issue sets up and maintains an environment which limits and dictates women’s choices. Documentaries such as Miss Representation (2011) have been produced in order to shed light upon gender issues such as these, focusing on the causes and consequences of these ingrained stereotypes rampant in media upon modern women. In the context of this paper, these discourses and the effects of said discourses will be explored. From print advertisements from the 1950s-1970s to contemporary ads, as well as resistant discourse in film, the ramifications of both discourses in media and female representation in different …show more content…
The figures below illustrate two print advertisements showing this idea of femininity in that period of time.
Figure 1. Dormeyer Appliances Christmas Ad. (Dormeyer, 1950)
Figure 2. Kenwood Chef. (Kenwood, 1970)
An advertisement by Eastern Airlines in the 1970s furthers the concept of femininity that women must be beautiful, warm and would be better-suited to professions that entail providing service to customers as an extension of the idea that women, by the fact that they are women, have a better understanding of care as compared to men.
Figure 3. Eastern Airlines Stewardess Ad. (Eastern Airlines, 1970)
In contemporary times, these types of advertisements capitalising on female stereotypes have lessened in number. This does not mean, however, that it no longer exists. The company 42 Below held a contest to publicise their product Stil Vodka, its advertisement depicting a “Russian bride” doing housework, as seen in the figure below.
Figure 4. Stil Vodka “Win a Russian Bride.” (42 Below, 2006) It has been found that there is little to no difference on cognitive ability based on sex (Hakim, 2006). How, then, have these ideas about femininity remained in popular discourse? It is argued that the schemas that are developed from birth, which influence initial reactions and the perception
Steve Craig, in his article Men’s Men and Women’s Women especially define how different sexes in advertisement can influence a particular audience towards a product; one stereotypical method he describes is “Men’s Women” (Craig).One such ad using sex appeal, and a basic structure of “Men’s Women” to bring in customer was made by BMW in 2008 to sell their used cars. BMW, which is a world-renowned company known for its performance heavy automobiles, targets a male audience by comparing a gorgeous woman to their cars.This ad by BMW, who no doubt make amazing cars, degrade women through its message, and it enforces Steve Craig’s “Men’s women” tactic, but this ad also goes a step further and displays the ever-present patriarchy in advertisement overtly.
As explained in Judith Lorber’s excerpt from “‘Night To His Day’: The Social Construction of Gender”, gender is a socially constructed concept that everyone unconsciously adheres to (Lorber). As a socially constructed concept, representations of gender roles can reinforce or challenge the stereotypical images. In Killing Us Softly 4, Jean Kilbourne analyzed the advertisement industry’s representation of women and argued that the media plays a huge role in shaping gender formations (Kilbourne). Although objectification of women is still a prevalent issue, Kilbourne acknowledged that there are efforts nowadays that challenges the unrealistic representations of women and femininity (Kilbourne). Inspired partly by Killing Us Softly 4, the project is my way to reflect on how the Disney movies I had watched as I grow up represented gender.
The significance of the title of the film Miss Representation, articulates that the documentary talks about the misinformed and unrealistic image that represents all women in today’s media and political spotlight. The discussion of the documentary focuses on a broad spectrum of issues concerning how the media portrays women and how this portrayal affects the generations of younger girls. The introduction of the documentary starts by showing hypersexualized images of women in various television shows and music videos. Even innocent sitcoms, such as Two and a Half Men, show women wearing provocative clothing.
The documentary “Miss Representation” delves into how the media and society. The viewer is exposed to how the media builds an expectation of how women should look and act. When the media portrays women as the perfect weight, height, and behavior for the target audience, it lowers the self-esteem of the females watching that cannot hope to compare to a fictional character. Men exposed to these types of advertisement and entertainment are taught to objectify women. It distorts societies and male expectations of how real women should look and behave. The documentary also discusses the lack of female protagonists in television and movies. There is a distinct lack of female heroines in our world today. This shortage further diminishes the hopes
Authors, Michael Jacobson and Anne Mazur argue, in their article, “The Iron Maiden: How Advertising Portrays Women,” that advertisements underlines sexist concepts about the ideal female and men, ads exploit sexuality. Michael Jacobson and Anne Mazur’s purpose is to describe sexism and sexuality in marketing of women and men in advertisements. Michael Jacobson and Anne Mazur aims to convince their readers that sexism and sexuality in advertisement put impractical ideas of appearance and encourages concern and self-doubt. “Everywhere we turn, advertisements tell us what it means being a desirable man or woman (1)." Michael Jacobson and Anne Mazur’s skillfully use anecdotes, metaphor, and comparison techniques to create a strong, convincing article.
According to Kim Bartel, the stereotype of a housewife was created through the continuation, and constant exposure of consumers to patterns of imagery (91). The female role has naturalized in popular culture, especially in advertisements. These advertisement constantly portray women as either the cook, maid, or caretaker of the home. During the early 1950s and late 60s advertisements start to objectify female identity in order to use their images to sell either products or a lifestyle. In this sense marketer begin to realize the value women had on selling items.
In order to appreciate the dramatic challenge faced by the Women’s Movement throughout the 1960s it’s important to know the extent that the flagrant and unapologetic misogynist atmosphere had on U.S. advertising. Women were still portrayed with the passive nature of the Medici Venus; however a direct gaze
Women are suppressed and degraded in society. They are merely seen as pets for males or care-takers of the house and children. The advertisement on women’s equality is rhetorically effective due to its connection to the audience, emotional appeal, and how things are positioned in the ad, as well as the misogynistic comments and how society depicts women.
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
We often see women affected by social norms and negatively represented but it's always good to look at the other side of the spectrum. Masculinity can deeply affect and cause issues in boys and young men. These issues are mainly emotional damages and the definition of what being a man is. On of the ways to fix this would be to better represent masculinity and widen the spectrum of what a man really is. First of all, the definition of what being a man is a central issue for young males.
In adulthood, the sexuality of mature women is a central focus. Women’s bodies are usually portrayed one of four ways: 1) as symbols for an object and thus exchangeable with it, 2) as a fragmented object made up of component parts that are not bound together in any coherent way to create personality 3) As an object to be viewed or 4) as an object to be used (O’Malley & Patterson & Story, 2009). A decorative role is defined as one in which the individual is passively decorating the advertisement, as opposed to being actively involved with the product or service being advertised. Advertisements featuring physically attractive men and women are much more likely to be used as decorations in advertisements. However, women are four times more
Ambivalence within sub-section of feminism is essentially the acknowledgment of discrepancies within the feminist community. The emphasis on body discipline whilst displaying empowering characteristics of female characters in films is a partial area of ambivalence that continues to occur within feminism to this day. Post-feminism also accentuates themes that celebrate the intellectual abilities, individuality, and capabilities of women. McClearen addresses the areas of criticism that are often overlooked within female representation in films, most of which concern universal gender inequalities such as the pay gap. The author also notes that post-feminist media cultivates the “hegemonic feminine ideal” and “narrow standards of attractiveness,” through the ubiquitous presence of thin, white, and conventionally beautiful representations of women in film.
As well as feeding off of the sources and material presented earlier in this paper, the analysis to come will also use Erving Goffman’s categorisation of gender to analyse how the women (and some men) are depicted on the front covers of Playboy and Good Housekeeping within said timeframe. In his study Gender Advertisements (Goffman, 1985), Goffman gathered hundreds of advertisements from magazines in various positions and poses and analysed poses and how they portrayed masculinity versus femininity. His way of analysing advertisement differentiates itself and makes a broader distinction of what is considered sexist or not, by showing much like the Heterosexual Script earlier on in the paper, what was considered appropriate roles for men and women.
Gender role bias in advertisements has been so prevalent for so long that the untrained eye wouldn't even discern it. All the same, these biases, for the most part, put women in subordinate positions and men in dominant ones. This assumption on both the genders is unfair and demeaning. These ads portray women as subservient and play toys for men. Not only do the models depict an image nowhere near close to reality, but their bodies are scantily clad and what few clothes they are wearing are very revealing.
The roles of males and females in society have significantly changed, as opposed to the predominant roles in our history. In the modern culture of today, women have begun to break out of the mold that which society has placed her in. This much can’t be said when it comes to modern gender representation in mass media advertising. It can be safe to state that woman are seen as sexual, fragile, exotic—whereas men are portrayed as tough, in control, and aggressive. This trend can be one seen as an inhibitor to the advancement of our culture, because especially for women, it is hard to pull away from the stereotypes that are continuously represented. As examples of the given trend, the following