Advertising is a very powerful way of putting across and cementing certain societal views and stereotypes to its viewers which shape how we as a society view ourselves and the people around us. These stereotypes and ideologies which distort our view are often not questioned or challenged because they have been put forward as the norm for so long, the ideologies we see in society are usually created by the dominant group in society and they work in favour of the dominant group, creating views of certain people that they believe to be true. In the text that I have decided to focus on; Gender and Popular Culture it is said 'Representation as a process of communication means to depict or describe something or someone (Webb 2009). In the media, language (both written and spoken) and images are the key symbolic systems through which representations are made. In the process of representation, language and images stand in for something or someone and thereby render it present' (Milestone and Meyer, 2012, p7) This is suggesting that the only representations of different groups that society deems to be real and relevant are the stereotypes that are presented to us in the media, because it is the only thing we are shown, it is the only thing we deem to be present. 'Early feminists coined the concept of gender in order to emphasise that maleness and femaleness are not simply about physical biology or 'nature' but also social constructs. While 'sex' refers to biological, bodily differences between men and women, 'gender' refers to the socially constructed categories of masculine and feminine and the socially imposed attributes and behaviours which are assigned to these categories. The fact that certain attributes and behaviours are linked to men or women is not 'natural' but a matter of convention. For instance, there is no 'natural' reason why women are associated with housework – men are equally capable of it. Which characteristics and practices are seen as typically and appropriately feminine and masculine is a matter of social construction'. (Milestone and Meyer, 2012, p12) Gender is focussed so strongly on in advertising to define the relationships between one gender and another different gender because we as a society are obsessed with it and it is how we define ourselves, the differences in gender can be communicated instantly using simple imagery that has easily recognisable connotations that we associate with a certain gender. For example colours which represent power and wealth are often associated with masculinity, whereas colour that communicate softness and vulnerability are usually associated with femininity. It could be argued that these social constructs were created by the patriarchy, 'Patriarchy literally means the rule of the father and refers to an overarching system of male dominance' (Milestone and Meyer, 2012, p10) I think that the gender signifier's that were created, were created by the patriarchy to reinforce the ideals and stereotypes that males have about women, they were created to keep women in line with the social norm and make them act and appear how males want them to appear.
Advertisement's show a constructed reality that are biased towards whoever has created them, they often emphasise one aspect of this reality that they want to push and distort as though it is real, and de-emphasise parts of reality that they want to ignore. 'In advertising, men are often portrayed in the following ways: Alert and conscious of surroundings, standing upright, eyes open and looking around, bodies are controlled, mean expression on face,gripping things tightly with hands, hands in pockets, serious and physically active. Portrayals of women in advertising: Touching self, caressing an object, lying on the floor, sitting on a bed or chair, eyes closed, not alert, confused, vulnerable, body contorted, dressed like a child, holding and object or man for support, sexy and sexually available, seductive, playful and careless' (Media education foundation, N/A) Women have mostly been portrayed in a derogatory way in all forms of media and advertising, focusing on their relationships between them and males, their families and also exploiting their sexuality in order to promote an ideology or product. After World War II when women were encouraged to join in the war effort and work outside of the home they were encouraged to return to their domestic roles 'as the government aimed to re-establish domesticity as women's primary occupation' (Wikipedia, 2013) I intend to write a semiotic analysis of a series of advertisement's from the post World War 2 era to the present and describe what reality they construct and how they do that. In the 1950's women were heavily discouraged by the media from becoming independent from men and were encouraged to settle down into the housewife role and marry, while not combining either of these with working, they were told to leave their war-time jobs in order to free them up for men who were returning from war. The media often belittled women and presented them as being vulnerable and stupid. The way that women are represented in the media has a massive effect on our society, 'Women of average or normal appearance feeling inadequate or less beautiful in comparison to the overwhelming use of extraordinarily attractive women, unrealistic expectations by men of how women should look or behave, stereotyping of women who are positively portrayed by or sexualised in the media, such as the theme of 'dumb blonde' or 'blonde bimbo', limiting the societal and career opportunities for people who fit these stereotypes, psychological disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia, bulimia and so on, the excessively coercive nature of appeal to strong sexual instincts to sell products or promote media and increase in the likelihood and acceptance of sexual violence' (Wikipedia, 2013) I think that women are sexualised and always presented as typically feminine and 'attractive' in the media in order to reinforce the ideologies of the patriarchy, the rules that the patriarchy have put in place become most obvious when they are broken. 'This certainly applies to gender and illustrates the theory of performance. Women who do not perform femininity correctly but engage in practices that are deemed masculine, for example playing football, having short hair or wearing no makeup, are often labelled 'tomboys', 'butch' or 'lesbians'. They are denied femininity' (Milestone and Meyer, 2012, p13)
The above poster for the 1958 Sci Fi film The Attack of the 50ft Woman illustrates the growing fear that woman were gaining independence and power within society, from the introduction of women's suffrage and the development of the first contraceptive pill in the late 50s, it was feared that women were not only gaining independence and control over their own sexuality, but also over their position in society. The stance that the woman is in, hunched over with her legs open wide signifies her growing sexual independence, and the fear of how this will effect the rigid gender roles of the time. Her dress is white, which has connotations of virginity and innocence, however it is short and not covering much of her body, perhaps signifying that women are seemingly losing this innocence. Red is used in two contexts within this poster, the red of the woman's nails signifies strength and danger as she is attacking the city below, we see that all the figures on the bridge are that of males, yet again reinforcing the idea of women breaking free from the hold that males have over them, and then the red of the cars, which are all either red, white or blue, which has connotations of patriotism, combining these signifiers, this advert describes the fear that males held around the woman of America rising up against the Patriarchy and becoming their own person.
Using James Bond film posters as an example, the majority of women portrayed in advertsing for products and films, show them either in a dumbed down housewife state, or as a sexual object. Whereas men are usually shown as successful and dominant figures who are always in charge. In these posters James Bond is shown as a well dressed, sophisticated man, using the imagery of a weapon to signify his dominance in the situation. He is always staring directly at the audience, with a confident stance and facial expression and is the main focal point in the posters, whereas the women demand less focus from the audience and never look directly forward, always to the side or at Bond himself, perhaps commenting on females passive role that they are forced into, not only in the film but also in society. The women in the posters are usually posed so that their legs are open or are in sexually appealing positions, signifying their vulnerability and readily available sexuality. The women are never portrayed in a way that would celebrate them for being in charge or dominant like Bond is, they are always wearing very little clothing and are positioned lower in comparison to Bond and are only there for the audiences sexual gratification. The colours used in the posters represent the different connotations that are being communicated for each character. The fonts are typically either red or black, along with Bond's clothing, both red and black typically connote power, danger, wealth and sophistication. Rather than wearing colours that represent power, the women are shown to be wearing quite pale that connote softness and purity, these show the juxtaposition between femininity and masculinity that is often present in these types of advertisements. 'Bravery, adventurousness, being able to think rationally, being strong and effective, for example, are all "manly" traits that are usually encouraged. So also are the ability to think independently and take the initiative.. TV perpetuates male stereotyping in two ways. Men in key "positive" character roles are portrayed chiefly with in a restricted range of male traits. "Less manly" characteristics are usually displayed by supporting characters, as flaws in the personality of the central character or as a source of humor or difficulty. ' (Center for Media Literacy, 2011) All the elements of these adverts combine to construct a reality that we perceive as normal, they pose these gender constraints as reality even though that is not the case, the gender roles that we see in our society are constructed by the media, we are not born with these ideologies ingrained into is, they are taught. 'Among these learned gender roles are those of femininity and masculinity. Men and women are portrayed in advertisements according to the constructed definition of femininity and masculinity. To be a woman is to be feminine and to be a man is to be masculine. There is little room for variation or a reversal of roles' (Wikipedia, 2013)
When both men and women are represented in an advertisement, it almost always focuses on the relationship between masculine dominance and female submissiveness, or showing the female as a temptress, who uses her sexuality to entice the male and hold his attention. Little had changed in the early to mid 2000s in the way that women were portrayed, even with the giant progression that feminism had taken within society. Third wave feminism which is often said to have started in the early 1990s came about as a response to the failures of the second wave feminist movement between the 1960s and 1980s. Third wave feminism began to incorporate the realisation of the many different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities of women, which had not been focussed on before.
Women of colour of represented even less than the conventional white, attractive female, and when they are represented they are often manipulated to appear more 'white' giving them lighter skin and straighter hair, which is typically associated with white females and are hardly ever shown to be in a positive role or shown to be a beautiful person. Media is often white-washed and is dominated by depictions of beautiful and desirable white women, we see a lot of stereotypes of women of colour portrayed, whether it be for a comedic effect or someone who is shown to be serving someone else. The cultural ideal is represented as being a young, white, beautiful female, making this ideal almost completely unattainable for women of colour.
'As Kimberly Williams Crenshaw has emphasized (1993), the problems faced by white women in the media are even more prevalent and at more troubling levels when compared to women of color in the media. The theory of intersectionality looks at the multiple ways in which race, class, gender, sexuality and ability impact the agency of women in society. Crenshaw offers a stimulating analysis of a number of older films, such as Wild at Heart, and how women of colour are portrayed as voodoo priestesses, monsters and the like. Patricia Hill Collins considers a similar subject of how women of colour are portrayed in the media – African American women may be stereotyped as docile, domineering, irresponsible, and promiscuous, Latinas as lazy or flirty, and Native American women as inferior “squaws” or seductive princesses' (The Gender Ads Project, 2012) Even when these women are being praised for their beauty or looks, for example, being a good actress, the media still feels the need to change the way she looks and make her appear whiter in order to include her in their advertising. Although the depiction of women of colour in the media has increased recently, it is still very hard to find positive depictions of women with naturally dark skin and dark hair, rather than the stereotypes and white-washed women that we often see. Dawnie Walton wrote on some of the findings from a survey they conducted asking womens' opinions on the negative portrayals of black women in the media, which tend to be twice as frequent as positive ones:
- “85% of our Black women respondents reported they regularly see representations of Baby Mamas in media, while only 41% said they often see Real Beauties. The type seen least often? Community Heroines.”
- “Modern Jezebels and Gold Diggers are the types that cause Black women the most embarrassment. . . .”
- “Our Black respondents said the typologies that best represent the Black women they know in real life are the positive ones — including Real Beauties, Modern Matriarchs, Girls Next Door and Individualists.
- “But non-Hispanic White women cited negative typologies as most representative of Black women they’ve encountered in real life — namely, Baby Mamas, Angry Black Women, Unhealthy Black Women and Uneducated Sisters.
- “Younger women — ages 18-29 — were more likely than older women to be aware of negative typologies and also more likely to find them compelling. . . .”
- “African-American women reported higher levels of happiness with their natural beauty and appearance, plus their spiritual lives and religious commitments. Meanwhile, White women reported higher satisfaction with their homes, their relationships with significant others, and their savings and investments.”
- “Both Black and White women reported that the strongest influence for boosting their sense of worth is themselves. But while Black women cited their mothers as the second strongest influence, White women say they look to their significant others to lift them up.
- “Interestingly, women who were compelled by negative typologies also reported they find physical features including lighter skin and straight hair to be most beautiful.” (Lee Bailey's EurWeb Electronic Urban Report, 2013)
As well as being very over sexualised in advertising, women are also shown as being very intellectually inferior to males. This is often expressed through the womens facial expressions, her face is constructed to give her a unintelligent appearance, as beauty is often associated with being stupid, for example the dumb blonde stereotype, and women are often seen saying stupid things or being unable to construct their own thoughts or opinions without the help of a man.
The ad above uses these techniques in order to portray the woman as inferior intellectually and plays on the stereotype that women incapable of being good drivers. Her wide eyes suggest that she is shocked or surprised, perhaps because she is surprised that she, a woman, can drive this car, and how simple this automatic car is to drive, so simple that even a woman could do it. And the way she is biting her lip, suggests that although the car is described as being simple to drive, she is still confused by it and can not fully grasp the concept of a driving without the presence of a male their to guide her. The way that her hair is done up, she is wearing a lot of jewellery and her nails are painted suggest that she cares more about her appearance rather than practical things like driving, or that she may not be interested in it because of the fact that she is a woman.
In conclusion, in popular media there are very few portrayals of women that can be seen as positive, no matter what race or background they happen to be from. Women are presented as sexual objects for the sexual and visual gratification of men, as men are the dominant group in our society, so the representations of women we see are created by men to benefit themselves. The ads that I have shown along with thousands of others present a reality to our society where women are beneath men in every sense, physically, mentally and financially. They are only good for being ridiculed for their lack of intelligence which is seen as being acceptable to poke fun at or they are used a sexual tool for men. Women are sexually exploited in the media to appeal to the male gaze in order to sell both products and media. It is shown that any male adopting feminine traits usually associated with women is very negative and should be frowned upon, and men should adopt masculine traits in order to be powerful and dominant in all aspects of their lives. 'Gender ideology reinforces only one type of masculinity and femininity, the traditional type, which is hegemonic. Hegemonic masculinity represents men as 'naturally' rational, efficient and intelligent. Men are associated with strength and power (physical, mental and social), being active and ambitious, tough and competitive, assertive and aggressive. The natural sphere of the man is the public, the place where he works, socialises and makes a difference to the world...Emphasised femininity centres on women's compliance with subordination and the accommodation of men's interests and desires. Women are presented as being naturally kind and caring, predisposed to looking after men and children. The private domain is a woman's natural sphere and her family is her life'. (Milestone and Meyer, 2012, p19 and p20)
Bibliography
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Milestone, K. and Meyer, A. (2012) Gender and Popular Culture, Cambridge: Polity Press.
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http://www.mediaed.org/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi preadd=action&key=238&template=PDGCommTemplates/HTN/Item_Preview.html
Center For Media Literacy, 2011. How do Media Images of Men Affect Our Lives?, [online] Available at:
http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/how-do-media-images-men-affect-our-lives
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_advertisement
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http://www.genderads.com/page3/slideshow-17/
Wikipedia, 2013, Exploitation of Women in Mass Media, [online] (updated 21 October 2013) Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitation_of_women_in_mass_media
Lee Bailey's eurweb Electronic Urban Report, 2013, Survey says black women are portrayed negatively in media, [online] Available at:
http://www.eurweb.com/2013/10/survey-says-black-women-are-portrayed-negatively-in-media/
World Savvy Monitor, 2009, Portrayal of Women in the Popular Media, [online] Available at: http://worldsavvy.org/monitor/index.php?option=com_content&id=602&Itemid=1049
Metro, 2013, Video: How the Media Treated Women in 2013, [online] Available at: http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/05/video-how-the-media-treated-women-in-2013-4216716/
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