Representation of Woman in advertisement

M.A.Part-2 Sem-3

Mass Communication And Media Studies

Representation of Women in Advertisement

By: Jayshree Kunchala Submitted To: Dr.Dilip Barad Dept.Of English M.K.Bhavnagar University Bhavnagar

Definition of advertising

According to Angela Goddard  the term advertisement and advertising have, at their root, a latin word, “advertere” , meaning turn towards ‘. She goes on and defines the word advertising by stating that it is a discourse which contributes to the construction of our identities; it is also an act of communication.

Advertising is often an index of attitudes because, in order for an advert to work, it must tap into some thinking “out there” in the marketplace, but it would be a mistake to think that adverts are a simple reflection of who we all are , in some natural way . Advertising, as a very public form of discourse, is also part of the way we construct our ideas about he world around us: what people are like, who does what, who is important and why, what we should be worried about, and so on

CouThe influence of socialization on the portrayal of women in TV ads:

                                                                      

Socialization is perceived as the process via which individuals acquire what is expected from them, including social norms and gender roles. Socialization is important to the process of the individual’s entry into society and acceptance of social standards. According to Scollon and Scollon (1995)p. 150,” primary socialization consists of the processes through which a child goes in the earliest stages of becoming member of his or her culture or society. Generally speaking, the learning takes place within the family and among close intimates. In this same frame work, then, secondary socialization refers to those processes of socialization which take place when the child first begins to move outside the family, such as when the child first goes to school and begins to interact with other non-familial children”.

In our Moroccan context based on my personal observation, I have learned a lot from my parents and my surrounding via watching what the others are doing .I have learn how to dress, how to eat, how to talk; for example when I am talking to someone who is older than me I am not going to address him as the way I talk to my friends. Our parents teach us that lying is harame you will get punish by God in the day of Judgement if you lie on people or you deceive them. Our parents teach us that sex is harame before marriage. Girls should remain virgin until they get married. That virginity is symbol of purity should be preserved for the husband. They teach us that politics leads always to jail, therefore, we should not interfere in political issues. This process of learning from the society is called the primary socialization, that Scollon states:

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Advertisements are a crucial part of mass media and the whole television industry. The prime use of advertisements is to sell products but not only do advertisements sell tangible products; they also sell products that are intangible. These intangible things vary from pictures or representations, principles or morals, love, sexuality, achievement and much more. One significant issue that advertisements are infamously known to sell through images is how the ideal beauty of a woman and her body should look like. The use of a woman’s body as an object in advertisements is seen as an example of commodification because it sells to and attracts a mass audience. Watching a couple of videos by Jean Kilbourne, a feminist speaker who spoke about advertising’s images of women, made me more aware of how underrepresented women are in advertisements because most of them focus mainly on the woman’s body instead of other things that make up who they are. The representation of women in advertisements is very dehumanizing which can lead to violence. One deceitful and convincing aspect in advertising is the use of today’s technology of Photoshop. Photoshop is a crucial part of the media and helps sell a woman’s body even more. These photo-shopped advertisements of the perfect body and look on a woman affect the lives of everyday people. Girls tend to learn from an early age what the ideal female beauty is depicted as, which in return can lead to obsessions and health problems, such as anorexia and bulimia. This leads to a controlling image of how woman should look like, which is sexy with flawless skin, beautiful, unnaturally thin, no wrinkles on her face, and much more. These images of impeccable women are also the perfect example of media and social construction. The media constructs how the ideal woman should look like which lowers the self-esteem of women who don’t look like what they see in the media. Women who do not live up to these standards eventually gain a sense of failure and are seen as unacceptable to some.

Representations of women in the media have become a serious problem in today’s world. As we become a more technology-advanced society, women become more falsely advertised, dehumanized, and hyper sexualized. I think the media should begin to stray away from the ideal image of a woman and should change their perspective on women. We are not objects and we should not be sold as objects to a mass audience.

A Roger David ad starring a teenage girl who has been ‘gagged’ with a union flag covered disc in her mouth, has a bar-code with the word ‘slave’ tattooed on her and is made to look sexualized despite looking incredibly young has been banned by the Australian standards watchdog for depicting her as a sexual object.

One of the complaints listed said: “The girl looks underage, dishevelled and is inappropriately posing with something in her open mouth and her bare shoulder with slave written on it with a “barcode” as if she is somehow for sale or belongs to someone. It is offensive due to its representation of young girls as vulnerable and slaves and lacks sensitivity to the growing child exploitation and sexist depiction of girls and women.”

But Roger David defended the ad, telling the ASB that the woman was 18 when the photo was taken and that she ”is a student of history, Spanish and English and is also a model in the United Kingdom” But Roger David defended the ad, telling the ASB that the woman was 18 when the photo was taken and that she ”is a student of history, Spanish and English and is also a model in the United Kingdom. Roger David also said the woman was fully clothed and that the ad did not portray sex, sexuality or nudity- completely missing the point.

Stefano Puntoni and his colleagues found that when women were exposed to gender cues, like the color pink, they were likely than women who had not been primed with a gender cue to think that they might someday get breast cancer and to say that they’d be willing to donate to the cause.  Pink, in other words, decreased both their willingness to fund research and the seriousness with which women took the disease.

The article doesn’t come right out and say so but I’ve read other pieces in the past (anyone have any good links?) that reflect my biggest problem with most breast cancer campaigns - that the focus on breasts as sexual (i.e. the whole “Save The Ta-Tas” thing) trivializes the seriousness of breast cancer, and that breasts are only worth saving when they are reduced to sexual objects.

Thus, the process of consumption was always regarded as women’s work. They are the ones who sell , and in return; they are the ones who spend too much in selling goods . “ …. If we look at overall purchase of consumer goods we see that women still control some 80 percent of the buying power"

In this research paper, I will merely shed lights on the negative portrayal of Moroccan women in TV ads. Increasingly, Moroccan women are taking on a broader role in society. Yet, our Moroccan TV ads still falsify the image of women through backward misrepresentation far from reality. This awkward portrayal gradually influences the people’s perception towards gender roles and this is accomplished through the repetitive exposure of woman as a housewife, mother or submissive being. The process of repetition help people to easily memorize images without questioning that is why I opt for the use of Cultivation theory by Gerbner (1979), because it deals with the effect of TV on viewers in terms of their perceptions and behaviors. This theory suggests that, the effect of all this exposure to the same messages produces what has been called cultivation, or teaching of a common worldview, common roles and common values

Cultivation Theory holds the assumption that media, for instance TV, has got the power to influence and manipulate the people’s mind through repetitive exposure. Television regarded as the major source of information today has become a part of our daily life and part of our family

“Compared to other media, television provides a relatively restricted set of choices for a virtually unrestricted variety of interests and publics. Most of its programs are by commercial necessity designed to be watched by nearly everyone in a relatively nonselective fashion. Surveys show that amount viewing follows the style of life of the viewer and is relatively insensitive to programming. The audience is always the group available at a certain time of the day, the week, and the season, regardless of the programs. Most viewers watch by the clock· and either do not know what they will watch when they turn on the set or follow established routines rather than choose each program as they would choose a book, a movie, or an article.”

This statement suggests that, the magic box , TV monopolizes others forms of media and it is considered as powerful medium used by professional communicators for learning and persuasion away from deliberation and comprehension .To put it differently, people can easily be convinced and perceive the world as what is depicted through television. For that purpose, TV ads are the most influential tools used in the world of advertising. Their effect is more enduring than any other form of mass media.

The current study will explore the various ways in which Moroccan women characters are portrayed in Moroccan TV ads. My ultimate goal is to find out whether the portrayals of women characters are fair and accurate representations, or does it represents a fake reality by portraying women in stereotypical manner so as to maintain a particular social order which favor men over women in order to preserve customs and tradition . The portrayal of women in Moroccan TV ads will elucidate on the effect of television on viewers, more specially the influence of TV ads on the people’s attitudes and perception towards gender role.

My objective is to investigate the reasons why Moroccan TV ads, despite the increasing development of mass media, television, internet and digital evolution; still portray women in traditional way .

The portrayal of women in TV ads is an important topic to consider because of the unequal representation that women receive from Moroccan media. Television does not portray how women are capable of reconciling different functions of their professional, private and personal lives. In other words, Television does not alter the image of men, and continues to promote male dominance. Hence forth, the image of Moroccan women is misrepresented, manipulated and it does not mirror the reality.

Nowadays, women rub shoulders with men in many domains that have been dominated by men in the past time. Moroccan women become active members in society; they have gained ground not only in the work but also in the society. Women become financially independent, in addition to being equal in terms of many rights & duties. Now, we can find women’s sitting in restaurant, while other women are smoking in the cafes wearing modern clothes either miniskirts, jeans and dressing in fashionable manner. These changes that are mentioned above are signs which indicate that women situation has changed in today’s Morocco. Thus, there is a break away from male domination and social chains. Now, women are able to define their social role and dictate their rule.

Despite all these changes, yet what our Moroccan TV ads communicate to the masses messages that still represent the old version of Moroccan women, and here we refer to the traditional woman whose main job is to serve her husband and to devote all her life to her children. The prototype that is represented in our Moroccan TV ads is far from what is really going in Morocco. In a recent study by Al Magharebia newspaper, a Moroccan journalist named Siham ALI in her article titled “Moroccan media distorts women's image”, study says : “

“Overall, Moroccan females believe that their image is so misrepresented and manipulated that it does not mirror the reality of Moroccan women, the survey said. Siham Ali goes on and states: “Advertising and drama are the farthest from reality in terms of perception of everyday women's lives, said women whose opinions were recorded in the final report released on June 30th.” “Moroccan media distorts women’s image”.

“According to survey participants, advertising focused more on household chores and presented women as traditional, unskilled and submissive to men. In drama, women felt they were portrayed as more manipulative, promiscuous and dumb”. By Siham Ali , El Magharebia newspaper 06/07/2010.

According to this study, media in general and advertising in specific do not mirror the reality of Moroccan women. What it portrayed to us as viewers is only a partial image of Moroccan women . Our TV ads do not show how women are able to perform various functions of their professional, personal and private lives. I personally have never seen a Moroccan TV ad in which the husband is helping his wife in the kitchen or taking care of his kids. Normally, television should rectify the women’s image , reflect the social developments of women , present a more diverse picture of women, and bring to the fore their different professional and marital statuses. Instead of portraying sex objects , housewives who exist to please their husbands and children. In doing so, the power of patriarchy is reinforced and encouraged, and women's status quo is keept stagnant.

Stereotyping women

Advertising is a medium which is used by media whereby it can create and perpetuate stereotypes. TV ads do not only act as a means to bridge the gaps between companies and consumers; but they also have a stereotypical function. When we are watching TV ads, we are watching a representation of a culture, this representation might be true or not, it depends on the ideology and the agenda of the TV advertisers. Audiences are not equipped with TV ads techniques in order to track down whether what is represented to them is empty from any hidden ideologies or vice versa. If we are unable to unhidden messages that are transmitted to us as viewers, the stereotypes that are portrayed unconsciously affects our view and perception of the world around us.

Moreover, it might even impose on us how we should interpret a specific culture whether it is our culture or not .

The major problem about stereotypes in TV ads is that they are not significant. Very often, the stereotypes that we get from TV ads may take a short time before they start being part of our way of thinking. Once we are watching an ad for example about the portrayal of women in cleaning or cosmetic products. Then, after finding the same image in different TV ads, that image immediately becomes stuck in our mind till we start to believe in it and support it.

Feminists argues very strongly that the presence of sex-role stereotyping in advertising content enhance patriarchy which is still a dominant ideology embedded in media content. Likewise, it reinforces patriarchy through the representation of women in negative manner in comparison to men. Nevertheless, stereotypes are not all the time negative in studies, but there are regarded determining factor when trying to observe whether women are portrayed fairly or not. Additionally, stereotypes are also a process of otherness and exclusion and therefore linked to power

Women' roles in TV ads:

TV ads become an essential tool used by advertisers; it has become a part of our daily life we cannot imagine a TV box without TV ads. TV ads shapes our perception as well as beliefs. There is no doubt that nowadays TV ads may go further and dictate to us how to do things and how to manage our life. Overall, there is no ambiguous space between what real life is and the one depicted in TV ads; and this is actually what has urged many scholars to scrutinize media content and help the audience decode media texts. This chapter will be concerned with how gender roles are constructed and how they affect our view of gender. Before we start talking about gender, first of all we need to differentiate between sex and gender, because there are not the same . Sex is biologically while gender is socially or culturally constructed. On the other hand, Judith Butler argues that both sex and gender are culturally constructed; to further explain, TV ads portray women and men as different individuals and each one has a place where to stand. TV ads enhance the patriarchal system through usual depiction of women as housewives. Women’s roles in TV ads are usually limited to households, submissive citizens, and slaves of beauty which consist of makeup, fashionable clothes, and products. This portrayal of women in negative and restrictive way has narrowed the picture of women . Thus, women become burden for their society because they are regarded as consumers more than productive. What is dangerous about the misrepresentation of women’s roles in TV ads is not the representation itself instead it is the manner viewers react to this depiction.

Portrayal of women in TV advertising

                                                                       

This evaluation of a study gives such an insight into how advertisements work, and if presenting a women, half naked or in a sexual manner does not effect the product sales, then I don't understand why this still takes place in the media industry so much. It is doing nothing more than damaging the self esteem of many women and allowing men to have less respect for women who don't offer themselves as visual value. Children who are exposed to these images and messages in the media, grow up believing this is what it is to be a woman, and that this is what is expected them from society and even from their male counterparts.

I have learnt a lot from this essay and I am now understanding how this subject is huge, and how my research project will easily become too broad if I don't specify what I want to look at. From Lin's essay, I have learnt that women have been objectified for decades and decades into the past, and that this is an ongoing theme in media sexism. I didn't realise so many studies were completed throughout the 70's, 80's and 90's, analysing how women are represented in TV advertising. It is quite surprising to see that this much work and effort has been poured into gender equality in TV commercials, and still women are used as a decorative component or presented only in a traditional way.

Every day we are exposed to advertising, we drive down the highway and see billboards, we scroll down our news feed on Facebook and see side ads, and our favorite shows cut to commercials on television. According to Jean Kilbourne, advertising is an over 100 billion dollar a year industry and we are exposed to over 2000 ads a day. Advertisements don’t just sell us products, they sell images, values, and concepts of success, worth, love, sexuality, and normality. By doing so, they tell us what we should be. They set unrealistic standards, especially for women. The women in advertisements are more often than not young white women portrayed as beautiful housewives and sex objects, or in other words, these women are objectified. Advertisements should be critically analyzed because they are one of the main sources of influence for young people and what they teach may not be what is best for society. Advertisements often sexualize the product they are trying to sell. Axe commercials are one of the first advertisements that come to mind. One commercial for Axe hair products from 2012 portrays a story of love between a disembodied head of hair (the male) and a dismembered pair of large breasts (the female), that closes with them transforming into the attractive people they represented under the line: “Hair: it’s what women notice first”. This commercial is a prime example of how women are objectified in advertisements as it suggests that the first thing men notice are breasts and gives the impression that all women are just a pair of breasts for men to ogle. This also teaches young women that if they want men to want them, they need to have large breasts and be overall attractive. Another sexualized advertisement was posted by Belvedere vodka on Facebook and Twitter, then removed almost immediately. The ad pictures a man seemingly taking advantage of a woman and says “Unlike some people… Belvedere always goes down smoothly”. Belvedere apologized on...

A Critical Analysis of Feminist Theories Concerning the Representation of Women in Advertising.

There are many forms of feminisms which often contradict each other and focus their efforts on issues which reflect their local concerns  states that there are at least two notable themes which reoccur within feminist media theory, these are stereotypes and gender socialisation, and ideology. These issues will be addressed with reference to several feminist theories to determine how women are represented in advertising. Pornography is considered by some to be a third theme which is a growing area of research for theorists  Some believe that these themes ‘belong’ to particular strands of feminism respectively liberal, radical and socialist feminism  The classifications of political and theoretical strands work to differentiate the gamut of feminisms, Liberal feminism is largely attributed to political strategy concerns in the United States and has not incited as much theoretical analysis as the social and radical strands which are associated with Europe  Whilst these strands have identified clear differences between feminisms they are now of less importance as each strand overlaps the other and encompasses a diverse range of positions . Throughout its history feminism has experienced a great deal of change both in the results of its actions and within its institution. The academic sphere first acknowledged feminism in the early 1970s when the collective effort of women to attain a more active role in public and academic matters was recognised oss,  The first wave of feminism pre dates this and is characterised by the suffragette movement where women fought for their right to vote. Second wave feminism focused on political structures and the oppression of women, it sought change in legislation and industry for equal rights. Third wave feminism...

Stereotyped representation of female body in advertisement

Lots of discussions show how women are portrayed in advertising which is geared towards men.  Female characters are objectified and devalued in advertisements. The roles of women are depicted as inferior and submissive. In contrast, men are depicted as masculine and powerful. Who caused these issues? I think the trend is caused by both producers and consumers.

In “Where the Girls Are," Susan Douglas indicates women’s feelings toward media. She writes, "in no small part because the media, simultaneously, love and hate women." She focuses on the mixed messages that pop culture broadcasts to women (Douglas 10). Media represents women as flawless beauties with perfect bodies, hair and skin. This perception is not true and until women realize this, they are victims of media. The media often portrays women as housewives who remain submissive to men who provide them material wealth. Females consume the images portrayed in the media and advertisements. These women are convinced to believe untruthful ideas. 

                                                 

The process of Media Production and the images in media convince women to believe the media’s perception of beauty. The creators, producers and editors of the media are mainly males. To be exact, the media is male oriented and images of beauty were made to be appealing to average white heterosexual men. The idenficiation of sex is considered to be the important factor that led to objectification of women. Women realized that they have lost both their sexual and spatial freedom because the media focuses on women as sexual objects. Becoming aware that “sexy” sells better, the media victimized women. According Jean Kilbourne’s “Beauty and the Beast of Advertising," she writes, "female is generally presented as superwoman, who manages to do all the work at home and on the job (with the help of a product, of course, not of her husband or children or friends)” (Kilbourne 125). The techniques various companies used were pretty similar that they were not only to objectify women but also utilize their insecurities producing more sales to relieve the insecurities. Kilbourne also wrote, “Advertisers are aware of their role and do not hesitate to take advantage of the insecurities and anxieties of young people, usually in the guise of offering solutions” (Kilbourne 129). This would be the evidence that indicates the purpose of such pervasive media was to sell a woman’s “body.” This successfully shaped the sense of each individual who became aware of the media’s standards regarding such activities as romance, sex, beauty and understanding of what is 'ideal' within the society. 

“Sexism,” in terms of media, had a corrosive impact on the ways a male-dominated society formed and ran. This impact shaped the people’s perception of their place within society. The messages media tried to send to the audience was that media has a greater effect on the younger generation who understood and perceived these images as instructive. Dressing up provocatively increased the intimacy and romance of an untruthful image in media that disguised women as “unsexed.” The second-wave feminist movement developed a population of true equality. Media distorted the definition of equality. Early publications in 1848 in Naomi Wolf’s analysis showed that the concept of feminists in those publications were portrayed as “Unsexed women, who were too repulsive to find a husband. Women, that are entirely devoid of personal attraction” (Wolf 68). Therefore, the perception of feminists was created by the prejudice of males that wiped off the cultural identities of women in media.  

                                                

Living in a world of patriarchy, men probably never realized the essential concern with the reversal of gender roles as Bell Hooks states “Men who have heard and know the word usually associate it with women’s liberation, with feminism, and therefore dismiss it as irrelevant to their own experiences” (Hooks 17). In order to stop this pervasive course of sexism in media, women or feminists have to reverse the gender roles and claim that they are "active" women. The advertisement of beer did not promote a person more of man. Perfumes did not make one any more of a woman. We need to be aware of how serious the issue is and be concerned for our well being as a society. Is it necessary to stop using female bodies to advertise and sell products? Is it helpful to stop being obsessed with flawless beauty? Should TV commercial or advertisement produce values or significance toward the audience of younger generation? People should not perceive ads and images based upon media's persuasion, instead, they should have their own thoughts to create a healthy, stereotype free and truly equal community.

Images found http://feministing.com/2014/10/31/friday-feminist-fuck-yeah-the-feminist-protest-in-barcelona/
                                                              Works Cited

Hooks, Bell. “The Oppositional Gaze.” Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: South End Press, 1992: 115-31. Print.

Wolf, Naomi. "Culture." The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women. New York: W. Morrow, 1991. Print.

Douglas, Susan. "Introduction to Where the Girls Are" Provocateur: Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999. Print.

Kilbourne, Jean. Beauty and the Beast of Advertising. 1999. Kilbourne Copyright. Print

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