The purpose of this term paper is to analyze the portrayal of women in print advertisement over the last sixty years to represent changes in the depiction of females over this period. This topic is of interest since mass media plays an important role in our society today and it can be considered as one of the major agents of socialization. Consequently, gender stereotypes presented in advertisement influence the way we think men and women shall be. However, since the role of women has changed dramatically over the last decades due to feminist movements, it will be of interest if these social changes have been depicted in advertisement as well. In particular, it is assumed that the portrayal of women in advertisement has been shifting from an overt, traditional stereotypical portrayal of women as housewives or highly dependent on men to a slightly more subtle stereotypical portrayal of women as decorative, sexy, and using facial expressions and body positions to demonstrate subordination and weakness.
To prove this hypothesis this term paper will first compare past studies focusing on the stereotypical depiction of females in advertisement. For this purpose two studies were considered most important: These were Courtney and Lockeretz quantitative print magazine analysis covering the year 1970, and Erving Goffman’s selective print magazine analysis published in 1979. Furthermore, there are many relating and follow-up studies that are based on the coding schemes used in these two analyses which provide the possibility to show changes over time. Afterwards, the second part will be more practical, examining portrayals of women in example print advertisements. To be able to provide a consecutive and meaningful depiction of the changes, advertisements of two companies from different years were chose to be analyzed.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Part: The Portrayal of Women in Print Advertisement over the past 60 Years
2.1. Courtney and Lockeretz’ Pioneer Study and Follow-Up Studies
2.2. Goffman’s “Gender Advertisements” and Follow-Up Studies
3. Practical Part: Analysis of the Changes of Stereotypical Portrayals of Women in Example Advertisements
3.1. Van Heusen Advertisements from 1951 to 2012
3.2. Coca-Cola Advertisement from 1954 to 2012
4. Conclusion
5. Works Cited
6. Appendix
Objectives and Topics
This term paper examines the historical development of female portrayals in print advertising over the last six decades, testing the hypothesis that overt traditional stereotypes have shifted toward more subtle, objectifying forms of representation.
- Analysis of landmark academic studies on gender stereotyping in media.
- Evaluation of stereotypical categories such as relative size, function ranking, and feminine touch.
- Longitudinal comparison of Van Heusen advertising campaigns from 1951 to 2012.
- Assessment of Coca-Cola advertisements from 1954 to 2002 regarding changing societal gender roles.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1.Courtney and Lockeretz’ Pioneer Study and Follow-Up Studies
One of the first studies on gender portrayals in print advertisement was conducted by Courtney and Lockeretz. In their study they investigated advertisements in eight general interest magazines from the year 1970 (cf. Courtney and Lockeretz 1971: 93). In particular, they drew four major conclusions which shall be presented in the following in comparison with the findings of other studies on these points to present changes over time.
First, Courtney and Lockeretz found that “[a] woman’s place is in the home” (1971: 94), meaning that many women were depicted in non-working roles in their 1970s sample. Moreover, Lucy Komisar even intensifies this by adding “[a] woman’s place is not only in the home […] it is in the kitchen or the laundry room” (In: Kang 1997: 982), which reinforces the stereotype of females kept in the domestic sphere as wives, mothers and housekeepers. Additionally, if women were shown in the working place, they were performing low-income jobs in which they had no authority and were dependent on supervisors—thus men (Busby and Leichty 1993: 249). In general, researchers found a decrease of images of women at home and in a family setting, while at the same time the number of women depicted at the work place has been increasing. To be more precise, in the year 1958 13% of women were shown in working roles (cf. Belkaoui and Belkaoui 1976: 170) compared to 21% in 1972 (cf. Wagner and Banos 1973: 214) and 23% in 1983 (cf. Sullivan and O’Connor 1988: 186). Yet, 23% of working women in advertisement in 1983 does not reflect the true numbers of working women in that time which was estimated at 52% (cf. Sullivan and O’Connor 1988: 187).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the research focus on how the depiction of women in advertisements has evolved over the past 60 years and outlines the core hypothesis.
2. Theoretical Part: The Portrayal of Women in Print Advertisement over the past 60 Years: This section reviews seminal studies by Courtney, Lockeretz, and Goffman to establish coding schemes for measuring gender stereotypes and societal shifts.
3. Practical Part: Analysis of the Changes of Stereotypical Portrayals of Women in Example Advertisements: This chapter applies the previously defined theoretical categories to specific print advertisements from Van Heusen and Coca-Cola across different decades.
4. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the findings, noting that while traditional overt stereotypes have waned, subtle forms like objectification have persisted or increased.
5. Works Cited: This section lists all academic sources used to support the analysis.
6. Appendix: This section provides links to the specific advertisements analyzed in the practical part.
Keywords
Gender stereotypes, Print advertisement, Women's roles, Feminist movements, Goffman, Frame Analysis, Relative Size, Feminine Touch, Ritualization of Subordination, Licensed Withdrawal, Objectification, Sex sells, Van Heusen, Coca-Cola, Media socialization.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper analyzes the historical evolution of how women have been represented in print advertisements over the last sixty years.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The study covers gender roles, media as an agent of socialization, and the shift from overt to subtle forms of stereotyping in advertising content.
What is the core hypothesis of the study?
The author hypothesizes that while traditional, overt stereotyping has decreased, more subtle forms of portraying women as decorative or subordinate have increased over time.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The research uses a qualitative analysis based on the coding schemes of Courtney and Lockeretz for role distribution and Erving Goffman’s "Frame Analysis" for physical and psychological posture assessment.
What content is discussed in the main part?
The main part is divided into a theoretical overview of past studies and a practical analysis comparing specific advertisements from the companies Van Heusen and Coca-Cola across several decades.
Which criteria characterize this paper?
It is characterized by a longitudinal approach, focusing on specific gender-based coding categories such as 'Relative Size', 'Function Ranking', and 'Licensed Withdrawal'.
Why were Van Heusen and Coca-Cola chosen for the practical analysis?
They were selected to provide a comparative look at two different product categories and to show how advertisements from the same brand changed from the 1950s to the 2000s.
How did the analysis of Van Heusen change from the 1950s to 2012?
The analysis shows a transition from overtly sexist advertisements that emphasized male dominance in the 1950s/60s to contemporary campaigns that utilize subtle, often objectifying "subtle" stereotypes.
What is the significance of "Licensed Withdrawal" in this study?
It is a category used to describe the psychological removal of women in ads, which the author links to a portrayal of women as vulnerable and dependent on men.
Does the author claim the research is exhaustive?
No, the author explicitly states the paper is not complete and suggests that future research should include the analysis of male portrayals and different historical time periods.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Stephanie Desoye (Autor:in), 2014, The Changing Portrayal of Women in Advertisement over the last Sixty Years. “Show her it’s a man’s world”, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1000983
