Women In Advertisements : Changing Gender Roles In Society

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

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

Objectification of women is on the rise in society today. The underlying message is that women are living in a sexually gratified atmosphere. From advertisements to television and magazines etc. Woman are exploited as sexual objects while men believe depicting images of women in a sexual manner is funny or sexy but why not offensive or degrading? Therefore, advertisements influence the core of the sexualization of culture.

Images of females are everywhere. The image of females portrayed through advertising for the most part gives off a negative message to girls who struggle with body image and even women who want to look a particular way. The most negative message that advertising portrays is objectification of women and violence towards them. Women and girls need to recognize the true meaning behind the advertisements that we see in all aspects of media. They should not allow themselves to be objectified in any way, nor accept that this is the way the female gender is portrayed.

As a whole, this society has greatly improved, with new cures to old diseases, more efficient ways to complete daily tasks, and new technology with information at our fingertips. Along with these newfound practices, humanity has also given rise to a new era of social justice. Humans everywhere are working everyday to ensure everyone is treated with equality and respect. Nevertheless, humanity still has a long way to go. The mission will not be complete until there is not a single example of mistreatment. However, many of these mistreatments have been normalized so the task of completely eradicating them will be even more difficult. An example of these mistreatments is sexism in advertising. Sexism is obviously

The so called housewife draws her bath settles in and thinks of the many duties that she has to do for the day, she calls her husband and tells him about her wonderful bath and the amazing soap she is using just like everyone else would. This is a 1950s dove ad, an ad that sexualizes and characterizes the women as something she is not and creates a stereotype of a stay home mom and skinny women who have nothing better to do. The appearance of people in ads has changed a lot over time, in the 1950's women were degraded and sexualized throughout advertisements to be skinny. Whereas now some companies are fighting to change this vicious cycle. Although many companies still portray the same perspective as they did in the 1950's, there is now hope.

Gender roles are a conception of femininity and masculinity. The gender roles for men and women in society are partially constituted of individual thinking. These conceptions and gender roles are not completely biological but also social and cultural. Women are earning advanced degrees and are entering careers which have been traditionally dominated by men. But women are still depicted as images of beauty and sexuality in movies, video games and advertisements. This paper explores the ways in which women continue to be depicted in society; specifically how women are portrayed in advertisements, the negative impact they make on women and the patriarchy that they depict. Highly sexualized images of women’s bodies put them on centre stage to be looked at, judged and evaluated. Not only does it put women in vulnerable positions, but hypothesizes male dominance. Women are being objectified and taken advantage of in advertisements by being presented as a “fantasy element”.

In all, the depictions of women through advertisements are negative and oppressing. The advertisements allow us to see hidden key points that attribute to the inequity of women in their representations in the advertisements, which ultimately shows what kind of society we still live in. Women should not be afraid to take upon challenging male dominated industries in leadership positions, solemnly because that’s what society persist on sending its message to the female population. Women should not attempt to be someone who they are not simply just to look and feel accepted by others just because they repeatedly see the medias ideal standard of beauty. Every one is unique and different. Women must challenge society’s norm and advertisements, and seek refuge in change through women

For some people its the catchy jingle that catches their attention. For others it may be the famous celebrity that appears on their screen. Some people are even drawn in by the corny catch phrases and over dramatic acting. No matter the case, companies tend to spend billions of dollars in advertising, pursuing customers to buy their “must-have” products, and spending whatever money necessary to get their messages across to those watching. Throughout the years, marketing executives have realized that they must refine their commercials and target buyers based on gender. Advertisements on television have exposed images which are stereotypical representations and somehow have been constructing cultural ideas about gender along the way.

Throughout history women have been objectified in advertising and throughout society. It started in the fifties when women were advertised as unintelligent or just a pretty face to cook and clean the house. After those advertisements women were seen in ads as objects rather than human beings. The typical stereotype of women is ruining girls and women in a way that makes them change their appearance or feel they need to act a certain way to fit the criteria. Women have been objectified and perceived in ways that are completely false. Critics claim this happens to men, which is true, however, the way it has happened to women is much more atrocious than it is to men. Women should be portrayed in a positive way rather than a negative way to prevent long term confidence, physical and mental health issues.

Always is a feminine-hygiene product brand produced by Proctor & Gamble. Not only does Always sell feminine hygiene products, but they are also advocates of empowering women. Most brand advertisements have a sole purpose of promoting and selling their product or service. However, Always had a different agenda in mind when they released the Like a Girl commercial and #Likeagirl campaign. The commercial has attracted women all over the country for its promotion of the empowerment of women, as well as their line of feminine care products. I chose this topic because it targets women in a way no other company has before. The advertisement does not blatantly state what product the company is trying to sell, but rather appeals to the viewer’s emotions.

There have been many ethical discussions about female role portrayals not matching the public expectations i.e. the female characteristics been narrowly described and disapprovingly presented in a stereotypical manner such as not intelligent, fragile, irrational, decorative, submissive and subservient to men (Courtney, AE & Lockeretz, SW 1971; Venkatesan & Losco 1975; Belkaoui & Belkaoui, 1976; Goffman 1979; Blackwood 1983; Bretl & Cantor 1988; Jolliffe 1989; Luebke 1989; Kang, EU 1997; Acevedo, CR et al. 2006). But due to Women’s movement, few changes were witnessed in both female traits and the visual aspects of the related advertisements.

Of the many influences on how we view men and women, media are the most pervasive and one of the most powerful. Media and communication are considered to be the key element of modern life, while gender is “the core” of individuals’ identities. Woven throughout our daily lives, media insinuate their messages into our consciousness at every turn. All forms of media communicate images of the sexes, many of which perpetuates unrealistic, stereotypical, and limited perceptions. This essay will discuss three themes on how advertising represent gender. First, gender portrayals found in advertising targeting children. Second, women and men portrayed in stereotypical ways that reflect and sustain socially endorsed views of gender. Third, the depictions of the relationship between women and men emphasize by traditional roles.

In the Early days T.V. sitcoms portrayed women as housewives and men as the breadwinners (workforce). For example, Leave it to Beaver was a T.V. show were June Cleaver( the mother) stayed at home all times and never disciplined the children. Were as Ward Cleaver (the father) was the dominant one who worked and disciplined the children. Now, the sitcoms are completely different as far as the gender roles that each parent plays. For example, who’s the Boss were Angela was a successful businesswoman and provided for the family and Tony was the housekeeper. Commercials are another way that gender roles are displayed in society. When you see a car commercial for a mechanic most of the time the mechanic is a man. But when you see a commercial about cleaning products for the house normally a woman is the face you see. In other words, the media can help break the barriers on how gender roles are portrayed in society. The more that women represent strength on T.V. will also encourage them to build their self-confidence. However, not intending that traditional ways are bad, but the era has changed by who the individual is and not by their gender.

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