Advertising: The representations of women in advertising

 Blog tasks: Representations of women in advertising

The following tasks are challenging - some of the reading is university-level but this will be great preparation for the next stage in your education after leaving Greenford. Create a new blogpost called 'Representations of women in advertising' and work through the following tasks.

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?
She says that it "employs images in gender" and how they are marketed as "ambiguous" due to the growing amount of homosexual advertising

2) What kinds of female stereotypes were found in advertising in the 1940s and 1950s?
In the 1940's women were made to feel guilt by having consequences if they ever left the home unauthorised by the husband, in the 1950's we can see the creation of the "feminine mystique" and how it is the highest of values in women and how it is the only "real commitment"

3) How did the increasing influence of clothes and make-up change representations of women in advertising?
The use of clothes and make-up made it so that they are seen more decorative making women more of a cosmetic use.

4) Which theorist came up with the idea of the 'male gaze' and what does it refer to?
Laura Mulvey and how it refers to the human's sex drives and intentions

5) How did the representation of women change in the 1970s?
They were seen as a more "reality changing" and they were also labelled the "new women"

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?
It shows how the women are seen to be more in a "semiological" way despite the oppression and sexist representations

7) What does Barthel suggest regarding advertising and male power?

How women can overpower their male counterparts and how they are "women" and "not a threat" 

8) What does Richard Dyer suggest about the 'femme fatale' representation of women in adverts such as Christian Dior make-up?
The woman is shown to be a sexualised and how she appears to have some sort of enjoyment, however referring to Dyer: the femme fatale is a misinterpretation. 

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?
It was advertised on the London tube which showed an "ideal woman figure" in a revealing pose and clothing.

2) What was the Dove Real Beauty campaign?
It shows "real" body types and how they

3) How has social media changed the way audiences can interact with advertising campaigns? 
It has become a platform in which people can express their views with others.

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

Refering to van zoonen we can see that gender can be argued that it it dependent on our environment and cultural contexts of how gender it shown.

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 think it has definitely changed as now days there is a lot of things women can do such a vote, ther is also a lot of women empowerment, however sometimes there is people who do not identify as ant of the applicable genders in whic makes it so that gender becomes a concept and act towards them.