“TO WHAT EXTENT DOES ADVERTISING CONSTRUCT OUR IDEAS
OF GENDER?”
LYDIA KATHLEEN JONES
OUIL401
This essay will be exploring the question “To what extent does advertising construct our ideas of gender?” following an investigation into how women are stereotyped through advertisement in comparison to men. Since the arrival of advertisements in the modern media the roles of gender are frequently questioned. Advertisements are compliant to stereotypical ideologies that categorize individuals. Gender is the social construct of our society that represents separation and individuality. Advertisements are created in consideration of what the viewer can relate to, or engages through the consumer in oneself. From a young age we as children are pressured into a materialistic view through the ideologies of a capitalist society run by competition, money, violence and power. “We learn what is expected of our gender from what our parents teach us, as well as what we pick up at school, through religious or cultural teachings, in the media, and various other social institutions.” (Zevallos,Z. (2014) ‘Sociology of Gender’) Advertisements are formed by popular culture, taking into account what pleases us and attracts us. “Gender involves social norms, attitudes and activities that society deems more appropriate for one sex over another.” (Zevallos,Z. (2014) ‘Sociology of Gender’) Advertisements are attempting more than ever to follow the progression in popular culture which influences socialization and living. Some advertisements exploit common insecurities to put down an individual so that they comply to popular culture, this is refined by the individuals’ perception of beauty. What defines a woman? Through advertising women are labelled as mothers, carers or as the subservient of men. Woman are seen as objects, sexual beings, viewed for their form and desire. What elements of advertisement truly represent a woman? Karen Lynch Discusses in Advertising Motherhood the early industrial capitalism ideologies of motherhood, these ideologies class women to be the ideal of a white, middle-class mother as the domestic monarch. During the rising of the 20th century these ideology of motherhood changed increasingly and became directed towards the care and development of a child under these constrictions. “A woman must put a child’s needs above her own and conscientiously respond to all the child’s needs and desires”. (K.D. Lynch (2005) ‘Advertising Motherhood’ pg33), but surely these ideologies are impractical? Advertisements that are suggestive towards motherhood stray away from what is perceived as normality and cover the ideological construction of motherhood. “Advertisements shape how people perceive reality through what Bakhtin (1981) called ideological performance” (K.D. Lynch (2005) ‘Advertising Motherhood’ pg34). Advertisements are formed through ideologies that are aimed at a middle class presenting advertisements that are aspirational. “If advertisements shape peoples’ perceptions and practices as well as reflect them, they may shape both ideologies of motherhood and mothering practices” (K.D. Lynch (2005) ‘Advertising Motherhood’ pg35). These advertisements are formed together through the aspirations of the mother complying to the consumer in the woman and her constant need to be a good mother.
The selling of the product draws to the consumer in the woman, the advert falls to the stereotype of women being mothers complying to maternal characteristics. Advertisements have recently developed to display mothers in a more real and relatable manner to connect better with the audience. In 2003 Fiat released ‘The motherhood’ this advertisement is more engaging to the modern day mother. The advert doesn’t present the association with women being good mothers, it displays the change in life style that comes along side motherhood. Ditum describes the mother’s life to be ‘a war of attrition against domestic havoc’ this is a true representation of the struggle of motherhood but surely this havoc and chaos is hardly aspirational to the modern day mother? “The Fiat 500L mum is right for us: in her photogenically haggard way, there's something aspirational to her after all”. (S. Ditum (2013) ‘The Motherhood’). Advertisements have developed from early ideologies that were merely aspirational to relate further to the audience stripping back from flashy bold ads. “the Fiat 500L mum is right for us. “She may not have it all but she does it all and that's become a badge of honor” (S. Ditum (2013) ‘The Motherhood’). The modern day mother is more inclined to desire the product as the add is more relatable “Ads are designed to sell to us as we are now” (S. Ditum (2013) ‘The Motherhood’). Women are constantly sexualised and objectified in advertisements as a product of their own biology. Women are viewed as dependant and subservient to the man, Courtney and Lockeretz’s (1971) Analysis of the roles played by women throughout magazine advertisement highlights a dependency of the woman to a man. “Men regard women primarily as sexual objects” (Courtney, Alice E, S. W. Lockeretz (1971). Women are objectified through advertisements for their form, these sexualised images represent the woman’s form dehumanising the woman, she is displayed in a sexual nature purely for the males viewing. Why does sex sell? “When ads are more sexually provocative, men in particular are irresistibly drawn to them. It's simple genetics.” (P. Suggett (2014) Sex in Advertising) Men are drawn to the provocative nature of the ads through their own primal instincts. “Sexuality is a fundamental characteristic of people that influences their thoughts and behaviors” (T.Reichert, J. Lambiase (2003) sex in Advertising) sex is a human desire therefore it
sells well. Advertisements engage their audience through primal urges some ads use sexual suggestion taking a subtler approach whilst others contain outright nudity. Ads use models that are sexually attractive to appeal to the audience further through attraction (T. Reichent 2003). “Sexualized images of women maintain unequal gender roles through objectification, dismemberment and disconnection” (T.Reichert, J. Lambiase (2003) sex in Advertising) Sexualized ads form an untrue representation of women, the objectification of women complies them to be a certain way disconnecting from each woman as an individual. Research has proven to show that this sexualised nature of advertisements has not only proven to be derogative to women and unreal but also exerting a nature of sexual violence. Advertisements stretch the boundaries in attempt to cover elements of sexual violence to women through innuendos and humorous remarks. This view of violence to woman creates a sense of empowerment to the male, a strength over women. “males exposed to ads where females are portrayed as sex objects are more accepting of rape-supportive attitudes and predictive of subjective levels of exploitation” (L. Linda,1997). The construction of masculinity is created from the degrading of the woman objectifying her sexually forming a male dominance.
Dolce & Gabbana The Above Advertisement by Dolce and Gabbana was published in a men’s magazine called Esquire, a corporation in the United States. Straying from typical high end fashion adverts Dolce and Gabbana were clearly trying to approach this advertisement as something different and “edgy” yet the advert was soon removed for its glamorisation of gang rape. The intent of the Image represents male dominance and power which are ideologies that a man searches for, therefore its publication in a male magazine was right for its intent, Yet the graphic nature of the image is clear to sight. The female model is restrained to the ground, we can envision a struggle and distress from the formation of the woman and despair in her
eyes. The topless men emphasise the situation. The definition of the male’s muscles exerts power whist his arched back towering over the woman expresses dominance. The three men surrounding all hold a strong glare at the female whilst she lay, hopeless. The image itself can be said to justify gang rape, which through our society and cultural values is no longer tolerated. By displaying the woman as helpless and distraught it goes against every woman’s rights. "In the regime of institutionalized heterosexuality woman must make herself ‘object and prey’ for the man" (J. Berger (1972) Ways of Seeing). The ad grasps hypermasculinity reinforcing ideologies that form a very narrow representation of the male identity. Women in comparison are watched, desired and judged. "Men act and women appear. Men look at women, women watch themselves being looked at"(J. Berger 1972). Women are constantly aware of their presence and how they appear to men. The advertisement above represents hypermasculine ideologies which from a very narrow minded culture, the ideologies formed are that men are define by violence and power, women are weak and overpowered by the male. How are men stereotyped in advertisements in comparison to women? Firstly, what makes a man? A question that is constantly being defined through advertisements. A strong stereotype which can be inferred from imagery of men in advertising is a successful business man or construction workers, tuxedo men and muscle men (T.Nakayama), all attributes a man cannot always comply to. These ideologies are created by popular culture considering the appearance of a man, his thoughts and the words he speaks. “According to the advertising archetypes presented, men are in charge, self-contained and often alone”. (Tom Nakayama, Images of men in advertising) The ideologies of a man in advertising is tainted by advertisements attempt to define what it means to be a man. “the role of the strong, silent, authoritarian, militaristic and threatening male pervades societal ideals.” (Tom Nakayama, Images of men in advertising) Tom Nakayama speaks about the unfavorable effects of advertisement to men by refining what it means to be a man in society. Designed and crafted to perfection these Ideologies craft a shape what makes a man. The implications of this encourage men to hide all emotion to create this hard shell. xy Feminist discusses the masculine mystique, the behavior and embodiment of what makes a man a man. The masculine mystique focuses on maintaining an embodiment of power, a control and dominance over women. “men cannot be anything but afraid of other men”. (xy feminist, 2015) Men are “circumscribed by obedience, fear, war, loneliness, and death” (xy feminist, 2015) In constant competition with one and other. Advertisements play on mans aspiration for power, they present men to be manly and successful implicating that the product advertised will contribute to becoming a better man.
Dockers wear the pants This advertisement refers to being masculine man “men wore the pants, and wore them well”. The advert itself expresses the authority and a man and how society has developed leaving the masculine man behind. The advert sells the trousers to be manly “Its time to get your hands dirty, its time to answer the call of manhood”. The advert itself is cleverly crafted to define man hood in all its glory, the use of type to form the man shape creates the aesthetic that the word written form the man. The advertisement refers to the popular de-masculinization of men through society, it reflects on a man being a man. “Men took charge because that’s what they did”. The use of text describes ideologies of what a man should be. John Berger in ways of seeing speaks about the ‘exterior to the man’ and how this can be enhanced and fabricated to create the perception of being worthy. The ad targets the insecurities in the man confining them to question their masculinity shaping their own view of themselves and how they compare to the masculine ideologies (T.Nakayama). Ideologies of men in advertisements illustrate them to be masculine and providers, Ideologies of women perceive them to be maternal and objectified by men. These ideologies represent men and women to be binary polarities, by conforming men to be manly women are stereotyped to be the subservient of the male. “When shown with other men, they seem ready to unleash their aggression at any moment. When shown with women, they must be dominant.” (Tom Nakayama, Images of men in advertising). Ideologies of men conform women to be seen as delicate and beneath the man, this representation of men in advertisements dictated how women should be presented.
It’s questionable whether the stereotypes created by advertisements form a connection between media and society. The Image above captures the common gender stereotypes, men as providers and women as wives or mothers. The dated appearance of the image creates an aged appearance. The seventies style clothing represents in early ideologies of men and women. The use of objects symbolically represents the roles of men and women. Stereotypes of men and women have adapted and faded over time, something that is still prominent in the stereotyping of men and women which complies to earlier ideologies of the working men and women as carers. An Article by Malgorzata Wolska discusses the problematic issues in gender stereotyping “They are often based on tradition and are resistant to change.” (gender stereotypes in mass media, 2011). Many stereotypes are outdated differing from the social standards of today, society has developed into an era of individuality. “Stereotypes are use to attribute the identical features to each member of a certain group without taking the existing differences among the members into consideration” (Elliot Aronson,1972) Stereotypes are a generalization of characteristics qualities that define men and women they refer to natural characteristics that a selection of people all share, stereotypes do not identify each individual. These characteristics only comply to a part of oneself, by stereotyping women as maternal in advertisements can be problematic as not all women are mothers. Stereotypes label women to be feminine and men to be masculine “masculine cultures are those that emphasize achievement, assertiveness, and material rewards; feminine cultures are instead those that emphasize cooperation, modesty, and caring for the weak” (culture and gender stereotyping in advertisements 2015) This generalization is rather derogative to women as it classes them to be weak and inferior to the man. Early stereotypes of men and women in the media are still prominent advertisements “mass media still perpetuates traditional gender stereotypes.” (Malgorzata Wolska, 2011).
Stereotypes in advertisement corrupt a true reflection of the real world as they are manipulated and shaped. Women are used in advertisements to sell everyday necessities, cosmetics or in variation are shown as a product of their own form presented in a way desirable to men. Women are shown in advertisements also to sell a healthy life style, “only thin women can be beautiful and healthy” (M. Wolska 2011). This perception that skinny is beautiful is problematic to society as it creates unreal role models for women to aspire to. Women are often more sexualized than men (culture and gender stereotyping in advertisements 2015) stereotypes of women represent a dated generalization of women. Men are represented in advertisements by masculine qualities that characterize men to be “athletic, successful, professional, seducer with a beautiful woman by his side” (M . Wolska 2011). A man is recognized amongst men for his wealth through materialistic things, men are born like mammals in constant competition with one and other. Men are displayed in advertisements accompanied by other males at bars possibly watching sport, captured as manly men. “People learn appropriate roles and beliefs by observing how people are portrayed in advertisements” (culture and gender stereotyping in advertisements 2015) Stereotypes form a generalization of characteristics from popular society, formed to connect with the population as an audience. Stereotype have become vague in order to relate best to the entire population relating to social norms and values. Female and male stereotypes are formed from a generalization of characteristics, society has developed to be accepting to each individual and their sexuality. If “media has the power to mold culture” (culture and gender stereotyping in advertisements 2015) then why is there not more diversity in advertisements? The fifties were a narrow minded culture; same sex relations were extremely frowned upon. A later enforced law during the fifties stated physical contact of a sexual nature between the same sex was illegal. “it was a ‘phase’, which would pass in favour of relations with women”(gay in the 1950’s 2012). As a society we have developed an understanding of each individuals’ sexuality, research has proven to show the existence of same sex couples in advertising, yet it is still something that is being slowly fed into our culture. Advertisements generalise the majority of the population to be heterosexual. Charlotte Suthrell discusses in Unzipping Gender the thoughts of medical theorists and philosophers during the 90’s “It was considered ‘natural’ that male and female were binary polarities” (C. Suthrell, Unzipping Gender 2014). Although this narrow minded view Is dated men and women are frequently displayed in advertisements as binary polarities. Suthrell discuses the undefined rules of gender, many arguments discuss that gender based roles are not decided by our biology but are defined through our culture which clearly isn’t the case as men and women are constantly displayed in advertisements as binary polarities. “Nothing is biologically determined and that all gender associated behaviour is brought about by societal pressures”. Research has proven to show that the advertising world is slowly progressing, ideologies and stereotypes still remain but a development in popular cultural values is directing the advertising industry to comply better to sexuality and values in our culture, yet it still remains questionable whether advertisements will always comply early ideologies that stereotype male and female together.
Advertisements form stereotypes of men and woman as a generalisation of common characteristics. Ads do not comply to the real roles of gender in society, it is clear to say the representation of women through adverts is merely based upon mans desire of the female form, or their reliance on women as carers. Men are stereotyped to be strong and powerful, dominant over women. These stereotypes form together to connect best with society acting as a generalization of key characteristics that in some way each individual can relate to. Stereotypes do not define us individually they act merely as a generalization, advertisement have developed over time to relate better to society rather than displaying an unreal and polished ad which complies to man’s competition between one and other. Advertisements representation of men and women hold some characteristics that are relatable, although some rather disconnect from the audience as they are degrading or belittling.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Charlotte Suthrell, Unzipping Gender – Sex, cross-dressing and culture 2014 Courtney, Alice E., and Sarah Wernick Lockeretz. “A Woman's Place: An Analysis of the Roles Portrayed by Women in Magazine Advertisements”. Journal of Marketing Research 8.1 (1971): 92–95
John Berger, 1972, Ways Of Seeing (pg45-46) Karen Danna Lynch, Berkley Journal of sociology 2005, Advertising Motherhood: Image Ideology and consumption Malgorzata Wolska 2011, Gender stereotypes in mass media http://krytyka.org/gender-stereotypes-in-mass-media-case-study-analysis-of-thegender-stereotyping-phenomenon-in-tv-commercials/ Paul Suggett, 2014, Sex in Advertising http://advertising.about.com/od/advertisingprojects/a/Sex-In-Advertising.htm Sarah Ditum, 2013, How the Fiat ad captures the essence of modern motherhood http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/07/fiat-ad-modern-motherhood Tom Nakayama, Images of men in advertising http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/images-men-advertising What is the masculine mystique? https://xyfeminist.wordpress.com/masculine_mystique/ “Gay in the 1950’s” 2012 http://lgbt.foundation/news-articles/-gay-in-the-1950-s/ Dr Zuleyka Zevallos “Sociology of gender” 2014 https://othersociologist.com/sociology-of-gender/
Sex in Advertising: Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal Tom Reichert; Jacqueline Lambiase 2003 gender roles: A sociological perspective 1997 pg 312-315 Lyndsey Linda