Representation of Women in Advertising

Advertising is an interesting area to look at when studying the representation of a group of people, because it does two thing:

• Advertisements tend to represent the status quo of society at the time and any hegemonies that may exist (e.g. that football is our countries sport).
• Advertisements represent an ideal that  people must aspire to 

In a series of Fairy Liquid advertisements from the 1960s to the present day, we discovered that women are represented in a traditionally idealistic way, for example in the 1960s adverts  they all present the idealistic at home mother, looking after her little girl (who will also grow up using Fairy Liquid) and doing the washing up. They are all set in the kitchen at the sink, with the emphasis on how the product makes your hands soft, as if this is a priority for women. The mother is shown doing educational activities at then end of the advert with the little girl, such as playing with building blocks and reading nursery rhymes/fairy tales. The actors in the adverts are extremely 'well spoken' and and use received pronunciation, this emphasises that the people who use the product are have high standards and therefore the product must good quality too. 

In the more modern Fairy Liquid advertisements, a little boy is introduced, rather than having a girl, this shows that the demographics have widened out as more types of people are shown. This continues in the 2012 advert where a mum, dad and son are shown, however it is still the mother who is presented to be doing the washing up as in the 1960s advertisements. The adverts also become much more interesting in modern times. In the advert from 2009, where the little boy was introduced, it becomes more humorous as a dishwasher is shown, with the boy trying to fit his bike into it, as he sees how clean the dishes are when they come out after using the new fairy dishwasher tablets. In the 2012 advert there is no longer any actors talking, there is a clear male voiceover, however the focus is still on the mother as the voiceover says 'for mum to build an athlete', therefore there is still a clear focus on women in the home, rather than men doing the washing up, Fairy still, even today stick to their stereotypical advertising, of traditional roles in the home. 

Nowadays, this has become such an established product that in 2013 the company produced an advertisement showing a montage of classic advertisements from the 1960s to the present day. All of them reflecting the very traditional, perhaps now old fashioned values of women in the home. This could be effective as it promotes that the product is long standing, long lasting and reliable. 

All these Fairy Liquid advertisements are seen to be romanticising the past and presenting a 'golden age' of which we can all aspire to.

British Cinema

We are looking at the way that women are represented in cinema over time. We have watched 'Vertigo' (Alfred Hitchcock- 1958), with a view to apply Laura Mulvey's theory of the Male Gaze (see this post. 

We are now looking at contemporary British cinema, and the ways British films construct, reinforce or challenge notions of identity. We are looking at 'the burden of representation' and the conflict between successful commercial films and cultural UK films. 

We watched the trailers for 'Notting Hill' (1999) and 'Bend it Like Beckham' (2002) which were commercially successful films but also challenged the representation of women through a humorous representation of stereotypes. 

We are considering the dilemma that film makers have between making films that are commercially successful and might attract an American audience and social realist films by directors such as Ken Loach which are critically acclaimed but give a much bleaker representation of society in general.

We are also looking at the representation of women in contemporary films such as 'Fast Girls'(2012), 'The Kings Speech' (2010), 'The Angels Share'(2012) and 'Its a Wonderful Afterlife' (2010).

Representation of Gender in Films, TV and Youtube

Judith Butler states in her book 'Gender Trouble', that 'gender should be seen as a fluid variable which shifts and changes in different contexts at different times'. This is relevant to the recent film 'Divergent' (2014), as male and female characters are seen as equal, and their lives depend on their personalities and character traits rather than the importance of gender. Women are in top leadership positions in the film, which presents the key theme of gender empowerment. Boys and girls sleep in the same room and use the same bathroom facilities without that devolving into sexual tension. Self-control and sexual equality are simply a fact of life in the post-modern era in which the film is set.

Divergent also defies the parameters of traditional gender roles. The actor Theo James, who plays the supporting role of Four in the film said that “We’re in a world where masculinity, especially with these big spectacle movies, is often pushed by rippling six packs and forcing an image down someone’s throat trying to prove masculinity. Whereas I think true masculinity comes from having a strong sense of self,”. This agrees with Butler's idea of 'gender as a performance' and that you don't have to conform to society, despite having the seem conformist in the film, you can choose how to identify yourself, as a masculine or feminine character. Butler emphasises how gender is staged. This is true for the protagonist Tris who acts in a much more masculine way in order to fit into the conforming society of the Dauntless (courageous) faction. However, throughout the film there are sections where she is presented as a true girl as loving beautifying herself, such as getting dressed up and her hair done. However a following scene contrasts this where she gets a tattoo, which is seen as something more masculine. Tris must conform to the male lead society in order to be accepted into her new life. 

Queer Theory- Judith Butler and David Gauntlett

Following our study of the Hunger Games, I looked into Judith Butler's theory of Gender Performance, which she addresses in her book Gender Trouble (1990)through David Gauntlett's book 'Media, Gender and Identity, An introduction'(2002). This is described by Sandra Lee Bartky as 'The most authoritative attack to date on the "naturalness" of gender'. The Hunger Games applies to Butler's theory of Gender as a Performance as Katniss must act very differently when in the public eye as to when she isn't being shown on TV. Suzanne Collins creates a world which is completely governed by the media by using the Hunger Games as a way to distract the members of the public from creating an uprising and war. 

 Other satirical looks at gender performance: - Ja'mie, Life of a private school girl - Conchita Wurst- Eurovision winner

Question 1 in the Exam

Today we looked at Mrs Williams' guide on how to get full marks in section 1 of the exam. Here is the video we watched:

Representation of Women in Magazines

I undertook a sustained analysis of the December 2014 issue of 'Cosmopolitan' magazine, looking at how the magazine creates a sense of belonging for its readers. I bore in mind that post-modern readers play with gender identity and so can pick and mix the meanings of the representations in the magazine.

We first conducted a semiotic analysis of the cover page of 'Cosmopolitan' and discovered that Taylor Swift appears on the cover, a strong independent woman who is admired by many people of our society, and readers of the magazine. The image displayed on the cover shows Taylor with her hand on her hip wearing a long dark, sparkly purple dress, with a long slit up the side, presents her as a confident, glamorous, assertive woman- something that the readers of Cosmo can aspire to. This image is taken from a slightly low camera angle which helps to present the power of women today, as well as helping to portray Taylor Swift as an aspirational figure.

We then looked at the colours and fonts on the cover and throughout the magazine. It is clear by the feminine pinks, purples and pale blues that 'Cosmopolitan' is directly aimed at a female audience. Its media pack supports this idea as it states that more than 14 million readers each month are female. The fonts used range from clear bold sans-serif font to fancy, decorative, feminine fonts.

Then we examined the cover lines, we found out that they all entice the reader. Examples such as 'Taylor Swift on Feminism' further shows that 'Cosmopolitan' aims towards the female audience as well as mentioning relevant issues in the media today, such as Emma Watson's UN speech about Feminism. The media pack supports this as it calls the magazine 'the bible for young women', and wanting to empower these female readers helping them to live 'fun and fearless lives'. The way in which other cover stories present ideas about sex, such as 'The great sex act even Christian Grey only dared to do once', helps to show that the magazine is trying to act as a friend to the reader, encouraging them to talk about private, intimate things. Additionally Cosmo prides itself in addressing previously taboo issues which are important to women. 

When we continued our analysis inside the magazine we found even more articles about fashion, lifestyle, diets, sex and celebrity gossip- all of which are important to the regular readers of Cosmo. The articles include one (mentioned on the cover) about Taylor Swift's feminist feelings. She explains how previously she was never sure about being a feminist, but now, after hearing Emma Watson's UN speech on gender equality, she is proud to call herself a feminist, and sees her as a role model, much like Taylor Swift is a role model for the readers. The magazine also includes another article titled, 'Women Hating = Not Cool' and explains more about another persons feminist views, and treats Cosmo as a club where women with those views can join and feel appreciated by society, as Winship says "A magazine is like a club. Its first function is to produce readers with a comfortable sense of community and pride in their identity". A feminist/Marxist reading of women magazines in general suggests that women are told what to think by magazines, which distracts them from really important issues yet 'Cosmopolitan' contradicts this view in articles like 'Women Hating=Not Cool' by bringing those issues into the spotlight.

A comparison with 'Women's Health' magazine is significant as this conforms more consistently to the Marxist theory. The cover lines on the December 2014 issue are didactic (give you instructions), using imperatives such as 'Shed One Size','Join the New Clean Club Scene' and 'Burn Fat'. 

Singer, Frankie Bridge, is featured on the cover. She is seen as a role model due to the way in which her abs are on show and she is perfectly toned, something aspirational for the 'Women's Health' readers. This also conforms to the marxist idea of interpellation (mis-recognising yourself). Women who read this magazine wish to see themselves as 'being' Frankie Bridge, although totally impossible, they aspire to obtain an image similar to hers. The magazine is presented rather like an instructions manual, telling you what to do, what to eat, what to wear etc. and by playing on peoples insecurities.In this way,
Judith Butler's theory applies, which says that "Gender is a performance & gender lifestyle magazines provide the script for the performance". 

Furthermore, Gramsci's 'uses and gratifications' theory can be applied here, in that the readers are using the magazine media to  conform to a hegemony (a given set of beliefs and ideas that we all accept and live by- i.e. you should be slim & fit). An example of this is the cover story about Strictly's Frankie Bridge, which is followed up by an article called 'Get Fit Like Frankie' and provides the reader with work-outs in order to become toned, as the photo on the front displays.

In comparison, our analysis of 'Men's Health' magazine revealed slightly different dominant discourses. The cover lines confirmed four key discourses, such as '5 minute energy boosts' for quick fit problem solving; '1 instant age eraser' for male narcissism and anxiety; '21 women you need in your life'(the women featured include Angela Merkel and Dame Sarah Storey, it emphasises the with the strap line 'let them teach you how to be a real man') for new male sensitivity; and 'how to hit on a supermodel' for male superiority. 

Despite gestures towards 'new men', the cover photos are always in black and white, because the editors assume that the heterosexual readership will feel more secure with this as the black and white male torso has connotations of being less sexual and more mechanical, this is because is emphasises the muscles on the model. This supports the idea that magazines reassure readers that they have made the right lifestyle choices.

Feminist Analysis of Cosmpolitan

Here is my feminist analysis of Cosmopolitan magazine (made on PicMonkey)

Gender Inequality in Film

Here is an article I found on Pinterest all about gender inquality in film.

(Make sure to click on it and zoom in to make the image clearer!)

Me and The Online Age

Here is my video about Me and The Online Age:

Representation of Women in Magazines

In todays lesson we looked at how women are represented in the magazines, 'Cosmopolitan', 'Mens Health' and 'Womens Health' and we compared the 3 magazines to see their similarities and differences.

We discovered that men's magazines use bold colours and black and white photos to look more 'butch' and 'male', however women's magazines use softer colours and fancy fonts to create a more 'feminine' effect. The 'Womens Health' magazine made us feel rather depressed becasue of the unrealistic image it portrayed by the endless diet plans and 'what not to eat at Christmas' articles! However 'Cosmopolitan' directly addresses the powerful representation of women with articles about the feminist feelings of celebrities such as Taylor Swift (See below). It still presents an idealistic female figure and some diet information, however this is not presented in such a blunt manner, but in  a much more motivational way.

A Collage Representing Me

Feminism Powerpoint

Recently, I did an assembly on the role of women in society and feminism. Here it is:

What Am I?

As part of our introduction to the Collective Identity topic we  had to think about what groups we could belong to to make up who we are. We put it into a pie chart using Microsoft Excel in order to compare our different roles in society.