Blog tasks: Representations of women in advertising

 1) How does Mistry suggest advertising has changed since the mid-1990's?

The gender/sexual orientation of the subject of the advert is more ambiguous.

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

In the 1940/50's traditional stereotypes of women were still being reinforced within the media. Women were represented as housewives and objects who's main desire was to buy household appliances to help her with housework.

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

The influence of clothes/make up meant that women were being taught to focus more on their looks and looks were becoming a key aspect of femininity. Women were also being used as a decoration in adverts. 

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

Laura Mulvey - Refers to women being a "spectacle" and just something for men to look at.

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

In the 1970's there was a new representation of women who were meant to be independent and strong working women.

6) Why does van Zoonen suggest the 'new' representations of women in the 1970's and 1980's were only marginally different from the sexist representations of earlier years?

Women were being represented as being strong and powerful but for the wrong reasons. Adverts were suggesting that women don't actually work and the only reason they have a position of power is due to their looks.

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

Barthel suggests that men are represented as being strong and powerful whereas women are being portrayed as objects that are decorative and only there for male satisfaction which is similar to Mulvey's male gaze theory.

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

The femme fatale representation in the Dior advert is heavily criticised by Dyer as he believes the advert is making it seem as though women's sexuality is liberating them and they're doing it for their own pleasure not for a man but this still makes it seem like women are objects that are just here for male pleasure.

1) What was the Protein World 'Beach Bodies' campaign and why was it controversial?
The my protein beach bodies ad campaign was controversial because it promoted women having to have "beach bodies" and look perfect and it played on their insecurities to make them believe they had to spend £62 to be happy.

2) What was the Dove Real Beauty campaign?
The dove real beauty campaign used a sketch artist who drew women twice, once based off their own perception of themselves sand one based off another persons view of them. This study found that women often described themselves as being worse looking than how strangers saw them.

3) How has social media changed the way audiences can interact with advertising campaigns? 
The internet has made it so the we see ads all the time and social media allows people to call out brands and discuss issues with advertising campaigns. 

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

We can apply them because they represent women as being defined by tyheir looks and they link to these theories which theorise that women are only in adverts for mens enjoyment.

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 believe they have but im not sure if its improving. We've moved away from one negative stereotype but moved on to another which is equally as bad. In the past women were stereotyped as being housewives but now women are constantly being presented as objects and using their sexuality in advertising has become normalised