In contemporary 21st century western media, are women still conforming to the ‘media-created woman’ for a man’s pleasure?
-in many cases yes, as one of the first things you will notice when you look at this advert is a number of women dressed in barely any clothing which would appeal to men
-on the other hand, the women go against the typical representation of women/what is expected of them as they are of a slightly older age and body types that are usually under-represented are being shown in a positive light.
How were women represented in advertising in the 1950s? The 1970s? The 1990s?
1950's - a womans purpose is to cater to and please men, men are the breadwinner - goes to work while woman is a caring housewife. 'its a mans world' - sense of ownership, women have no freedom and must do as they're told.
1970's - aimed at housewives by suggesting that buying that tin of coffee would keep their husbands pleased and if they dont keep men satisfied they will be punished.
1990's - adverts link to mulveys male gaze - idea that women are there to be sexually attractive to men, purpose is to satisfy and meet their desires.
Jean Kilbourne: Killing us softly
She has been studying the image of women in advertising for over 40 years. Her series 'killing us softly' highlighted the negative representation of women in advertising.
She went on further to make documentaries studying this issue and whether it was changing over time.
Van Zoonen
She was one of the first theorists to explicitly link gender, feminism and media studies. She is a key figure in third wave feminism alongside theorists such as Butler and McRobbie.
Looking specifically at the representation of women from 70s/80s advertisements, she questioned how much things had really changed - although women in adverts were being shown to now have jobs, their appearance was usually still the vital element.
Like McRobbie, van Zoonen was particularly interested in the pleasures female audiences took from the womens magazines that were heavily criticised by more radical 70s style feminists.
Similarly to Butler, Zoonen sees gender as negotiated and dependent on social and historical context. She suggested that the meaning of gender is a 'discursive struggle and negotiation, the outcome having far-reaching socio-cultural implications' - 1994
1950's - a womans purpose is to cater to and please men, men are the breadwinner - goes to work while woman is a caring housewife. 'its a mans world' - sense of ownership, women have no freedom and must do as they're told.
1970's - aimed at housewives by suggesting that buying that tin of coffee would keep their husbands pleased and if they dont keep men satisfied they will be punished.
1990's - adverts link to mulveys male gaze - idea that women are there to be sexually attractive to men, purpose is to satisfy and meet their desires.
Jean Kilbourne: Killing us softly
She has been studying the image of women in advertising for over 40 years. Her series 'killing us softly' highlighted the negative representation of women in advertising.
She went on further to make documentaries studying this issue and whether it was changing over time.
Van Zoonen
She was one of the first theorists to explicitly link gender, feminism and media studies. She is a key figure in third wave feminism alongside theorists such as Butler and McRobbie.
Looking specifically at the representation of women from 70s/80s advertisements, she questioned how much things had really changed - although women in adverts were being shown to now have jobs, their appearance was usually still the vital element.
Like McRobbie, van Zoonen was particularly interested in the pleasures female audiences took from the womens magazines that were heavily criticised by more radical 70s style feminists.
Similarly to Butler, Zoonen sees gender as negotiated and dependent on social and historical context. She suggested that the meaning of gender is a 'discursive struggle and negotiation, the outcome having far-reaching socio-cultural implications' - 1994
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