Representation of women in advertising

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

Since the mid-1990s, advertising has increasingly employed images in which the gender and sexual
orientation of the subject(s) are markedly (and purposefully) ambiguous.

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

Looking at women's magazines in the 1950s, Betty Friedan (1963) claims this led
to the creation of the 'feminine mystique': 'the highest value and the only real commitment for
women lies in the fulfilment of their own femininity. The highest good is keeping house and raising
children' (Millum, 1975:74).

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

There was also a second major area of expansion in production/consumption - clothes and make-up
- which led to women being increasingly portrayed as decorative (empty) objects (Winship, 1980:8;
Busby & Leichty, 1993:258). A poignant example of where this occurs is in perfume advertisements;
according to Diane Barthel, one of the most common images here is that of the 'fair maiden'. Taking
Figure 1 as an example, the innocent female is equated with flowers and nature: 'what is
communicated is the sense that any rude contact with reality might spoil the maiden's perfection.

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

Laura Mulvey came up with the male gaze and suggested that scopophilia (the basic human sexual drive to look at other human beings) has been 'organised' by society's patriarchal definition of
looking as a male activity, and being looked at as a female 'passivity'.

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

From the mid-1970s there was a proliferation of distinct images that became labelled as the 'New
Woman', and that were seen as representative of the 'changing reality of women's social position
and of the influence of the women's movement' (van Zoonen, 1994:72). The New Woman was
supposed to be 'independent, confident and assertive, finding satisfaction in the world of work and
recreation, seeking excitement, adventure and fulfillment' (Cagan, 1978:8).

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 asserts that the New Woman 'only departs marginally from her older, more
traditional sisters.' Deconstructing an advertisement promoting the 'Jenni Barnes Working Style'
range of clothing, van Zoonen points to its claim that: 'A woman should look forward to dressing for
the office.' Having a job is seen merely to provide 'another happy occasion for women to dress up
and present themselves.' Indeed, a woman 'is portrayed stepping confidently towards the camera in
an office environment observed by a male colleague from behind; but she is not portrayed actually
working' (1994:73).

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

Barthel notes that 'today's young women can successfully storm the bastions of
male power... without threatening their male counterparts' providing we can reassure them that,
underneath the suit, we are still 'all woman', that 'no serious gender defection has occurred'
(Barthel, 1988:124-125; Davis, 1992:50). In other words, that there is no real threat to male power.

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

Another dubious image of the New Woman is the 'dark lady': on the other side of innocence and romance, is the knowledge and sexuality of the daring femme fatale (Barthel, 1988:76). The message in Figure 5 is that women can use Christian Dior make-up to make themselves sexually attractive - and that her sexuality is for her own enjoyment. Richard Dyer however, claims that such images are
something of a misrepresentation of women's liberation.