Blog tasks: Representation of women in advertising

cademic 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?

Mistry suggested that advertising has changed because the images being used are becoming visually ambiguous and sexually orientated. 

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

The female stereotypes the creation of the "feminine Mystique" this means that the highest value of commitment relies on women and becoming comfortable in their femininity. However, the stereotypes would be that women in domestic roles and having adverts target women with household products such as washing power and household utensils. 

3) How did the increasing influence of clothes and make-up change representations of women in advertising?

The change in representations meant that women were seen as decorative objects. This means that they would be fixated on the idea that women could be seen as a second-class citizen. 

4) Which theorist came up with the idea of the 'male gaze' and what does it refer to?

The idea of the male gaze was from the gender theorist Mulvey which she had suggested that women's body in advertisement was to cater to the male audience. 

5) How did the representation of women change in the 1970s? 

"Though, blame should not be placed with the
woman; rather, this narcissistic element has been cultivated from a history of men having the power

to look at women, hence 'a woman must continually watch herself." The representation of women changed in the 1970s as it was labelled as "new woman" this meant that women were changing their reality of their social position. 


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?

Van Zoonen suggested that the "new woman" representations appeared as progressive however with a seismological approach. This means that adverts such as "Jenni Barnes working style" was just as way to make women look confident however her male colleague is seen at the back. 

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

Barthel suggests that "today" women are no threat to male power. This means that they re not affecting or threatening their male counterparts in the workplace.  

8) What does Richard Dyer suggest about the 'femme fatale' representation of women in adverts such as Christian Dior make-up?

Richard Dyer suggests that "femme Fatale" representations of women in adverts mean that women can become sexually attractive if they use Dior make-up Dyer however, claims that such images are
something of a misrepresentation of women's liberation. 

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?

This advert targeted women about being "beach body" ready which connotes to being conventionally skinny and accepting eastern European beauty standards. 

2) Why was it controversial?

3) What did the adverts suggest to audiences?

4) How did some audiences react?

5) What was the Dove Real Beauty campaign?

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

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

8) 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?