Defining Masculinity And Femininity Through Advertisements

In both the advertisements, there are two models, a man and a woman (Megan Fox). The models are both dressed up in formal attire with the man in a black tuxedo and the woman in a sexy black dress with a revealing back. Both of the ads include the models’ bodies facing each other at an intimate distance. This image displays a certain sex appeal which helps to connect the fragrance, “Armani Code,” to the idea of sexiness. The women’s fragrance ad shows the woman staring confidently at camera as a man is gazing towards her body touching her arm. This depicts the woman being desired. The men’s fragrance does the same with the man staring at the camera and the woman being entranced by the man. The two advertisements are marketed towards different sexes and use the main figure as the sexual object to be

Since the emergence of advertising in American culture one thing that has remained constant is the visible truth that men and women are portrayed differently. In consideration to the evolution of man kind gender roles have evolved immensely throughout time, although advertisements have not kept up with this process of evolution. Companies to this day use their tactics and skills to reach out to specific genders such as pretty fonts with a stylish message, while advertisements towards men portray the character as strong and intimidating. The typical viewer can easily spot the difference in the portrayal of genders. Men are portrayed this way because the viewers look up to these characters, they want to be

As Laura Mulvey states in her article "Visual Pleasure and the Narrative Cinema", the cinema operates as an "advanced representation system" that offers pleasure in the act of looking, what she classifies as scopophilia or voyeurism (Mulvey 484). Through the cinematic experience, one may sit in a dark theatre and derive pleasure from looking without being seen. As E. Ann Kaplan describes in the introduction to her book Women and Film, within this act of gazing there are three looks: "(i) within the film text itself, men gaze at women, who become objects of the gaze; (ii) the spectator, in turn is made to identify with this male gaze, and to objectify the women on screen; and (iii) the camera's original 'gaze' comes into play in the very

The ads in the womens magazines tended to encourage female dependency on the product because they portrayed the product as an essential part of obtaining goals and beauty. Meanwhile, the ads in the mens magazines promoted the product as an item that would enhance their already established prestige and status. The ads from each magazine played upon the needs and wants of their targeted audience, women are perceived as wanting to achieve the standard of beauty that society has set while men are perceived as needing to assert their dominance over other

Susan Bordo shares the development of men and women in modern society. She uses examples to support her point of the man today is different from he was in the old days. Bordo analyzes on the male body in advertising. She also discusses the male body is different from the female body in advertising of fashion. Even she regards male body is not typically used as an arousing symbol, but she agrees that “the male body is the beginning to be a commercial representation object” (Bordo). Bordo compares the male body and female body, and suggests the readers to read the male body through vulnerability. And since male body is always hidden from the public, it is different from female body. Bordo relates this phenomenon with the power of male

Are the "Codes of Gender" suggested by Goffman apparent in advertising today, and are they a reflection of us as men and women in today's society?

As soon as we open our eyes, we are bombarded with advertisements. Just walking down the street, you will see many different types of advertisements. One particularly effective advertisements is magazine advertisements. This way, business can advertise to their target audience as their possible customers will be reading certain magazines, for example - a perfume advertisement in a Cosmopolitan Magazine. This particular advertisement has come from Vogue, a very high classy fashion magazine. This advertisement is advertising a ‘Grande Reverso Lady Ultra Thin Watch’, a very classy watch that is gold had has diamonds engraved around the bottom and top. Vogue Magazine is a perfect magazine to advertise a quite expensive watch as the

Hegemonic masculinity is at the heart of exploitation of women in advertisements. It represents a complex socio-political system that perpetuates dominant ideas from the male perspective and marginalizes any opposing ones, especially the feminist perspective. (O'Toole, 2016) The concept of the “male gaze” is at the root of hegemonic masculinity and consumerism. For example, Sports Illustrated uses a swimsuit issue to attract a largely male audience. These exploited images present women in sexualized and demeaning poses since images in the media are constructed for the male viewer's gaze and represent his expectations of women as well as male to female relationships. This manipulation allows women to be conditioned to respond to an ad in a male-directed

Because the main audience for this ad is women who are younger that ad appeals to them by presenting the models in a way that symbolizes sexual power and confidence they would like to obtain. The models are equally attractive and are the same age as the anticipated audience. The ad vividly depicts a woman dressed provocatively wearing a bikini top with a short skirt proving that she is confident in her sexuality. The woman is not wearing the product she is wearing a high heel boot which is thought to be sexier as well more expensive than a tennis shoe which the male is wearing; therefore, the woman may be shown to have more power finically. By creating the thought of sexual and financial confidence women are drawn further into the ad and what it is offering. The woman is on top of the man clearly showing him who is in charge. The image of the woman on top of the man symbolizes power she is literally above him and dominating him in everyway. By creating the symbol of sexual power through the use of vivid presentation the specific female audience is persuaded that if she buys a pair of sketchers she can become confident in her sexuality as well as more sexually dominating. Symbols also play a large role in creating this feeling.

Advertisements are dominant facets in societies globally; consequently, millions of individuals subconsciously consume the messages of corporations, which further allow them to construct aspects of their culture. Represented within these advertisements are often messages or ideologies, which exist independent of the product it is advertising. The beer brand, Primus, is no exception. The recent ad campaign for Primus encourages a masculinist ideology through images of male independence and misogyny. This essay will examine two distinct readings of this ad and how each can be seen to promote a masculinist ideology.

In this essay, I will be answering the question if the advertising industry has changed the way men and/or women have been represented over time. Ever since advertising has started, people and groups have been represented by advertising by good or worse. Advertising is what Wikipedia states as “a business form of marketing communication used to encourage, persuade, or manipulate an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group) to take or continue to take some action.” Advertising therefore has the power to manipulate an audience to think different things; and therefore represent people in a different way. Representation is “the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way.” Therefore people and groups can be portrayed in different ways, and this can create a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing called a Stereotype.

The male looks right at you the reader for the advertisement signifying confidence in his prowess. However, the female model does not. She looks away as if to imply that either she lacks the confidence or station to look at you directly. Contrasting expressions used by male and female models like the ones used in this advertisement is another example of cultural influences imposed by society which contribute to an assumed concept of the masculine male and feminine

The man is fully clothed in a suit, which represents power and formality. It is extremely suggestive as it looks like he came to this position without the woman’s knowledge or consent since her sunglasses are pushed up for her to see. He is in a dominating position where she has to look up at him and the man’s face isn’t shown in the ad, which shows that he is confident. The ad is suggesting that if you have Sky Vodka, you can look glamourous and wealthy as well. The men are always given more power and a higher status than the women (Appendix A). The second image reveals how femininity is portrayed. In the ad for Dolce and Gabbana’s Monico Lipstick, notice the lightness of the woman’s hand touching her face, the touching of one’s face, especially the finger-to-mouth pose is reminiscent of a child. She is also dressed seductively with a come-hither look on her face that is bold and suggestive (Appendix A).

In order to capture our attention, the company first creates an appealing visual to draw us in. In the Revlon advertisement, the face of an attractive Argentinian male dominates the page. He holds a seductive pose, staring directly at the viewer while simultaneously winking; this creates a feeling of intimacy with the viewer. A white woman’s hands are then carefully placed in his hair and his mouth; she is playfully touching him while he gently bites her finger. The use of a white female and Argentinian male conveys the idea that women find men of “color” more attractive and masculine. The woman is hidden in the image, consumed by a black background. This gives us the freedom to imagine her as anyone, including ourselves. If we buy this product and use it, we will attract the attention of men and be more flirtatious. Her nails are then strategically painted a bright pastel green and she is wearing an enormous flashy ring to highlight the nail polish as well as bring

In gender advertisement, images are used to portray stereotypical gender roles. In this advert I would briefly describe its and then I would do the analysis. The advertisement is for Huggies diapers a company that sell baby supplies. The purpose of the advert is to establish the role of a particular gender against the other. The advert shows a father and his child. The attention of the advert is to challenge the gender stereotypes because it shows a man who is taking care of the child. The context of the advert is to show that the father is responsible for taking care of the child which is strange because mother is usually take care of children. Most of the ads associated with childcare prefers women so it is not common to see a man taking care of a child. The whole point of the is that the company us trying to say that father is also responsible for taking care for the child not only mother.