In contemporary society advertising is everywhere. Advertisement is always with us, no matter where we are. Although we are aware of the constant bombarding by advertisement everywhere we go, we hardly recognize the influence that it has on us. Thereby, advertising has a great influence on us as individuals and on society as a whole. Through the media, we make sense of our cultural identities, gender and sexuality.
The central goal of this book is to examine the development of presentations of gender stereotypes in print advertisements over a time period of 40 years via content analysis of a sample of magazine advertisements. The key questions are: How do U.S. print advertisements construct gender stereotypes? How did these stereotypes develop and do they have an influence on the consumer and the U.S. culture?
Content analysis has been proven in decades of research on gender stereotyping as it relates to mass media and because this is an appropriate method to not only focus on images, but also on verbal messages. Magazines present an especially enduring, popular medium, thus this study focuses on gender stereotypes in print advertisements of magazines. More specifically, it focuses on the magazines Cosmopolitan and Esquire due to the varying target audiences, and because they might be a potential indicator of U.S. magazine advertising in general. To further limit the object of investigation, this study concentrates on beauty product advertisements.
From the text:
- Gender studies;
- Cosmopolitan;
- Esquire;
- Identity;
- U.S. Magazines
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Definitions of Sex, Gender and Stereotypes
2.1 Sex
2.2 Gender
2.3 Stereotypes
3 General Information on Advertisement
3.1 A Brief History of Advertisements
3.2 Print Advertisements
4 An Analysis of Print Advertisements
4.1 The Magazines Cosmopolitan and Esquire
4.2 Gender Constructions in Cosmopolitan Advertisements
4.2.1 Advertisements from the 1980s
4.2.2 Advertisements from the 1990s
4.2.3 Advertisements from the 2000s
4.2.4 Advertisements from the 2010s
4.3 Gender Constructions in Esquire Advertisements
4.3.1 Advertisements from the 1980s
4.3.2 Advertisements from the 1990s
4.3.3 Advertisements from the 2000s
4.3.4 Advertisements from the 2010s
4.4 The Development of the Portrayal of Women
4.5 The Development of the Portrayal of Men
4.6 The Depiction of Women in Comparison with the Depiction of Men
5 Conclusion and Outlook
6 Works Cited
Research Objectives and Themes
This thesis examines the evolution of gender stereotyping in U.S. American print advertisements for beauty products over a forty-year period. By analyzing advertisements from the magazines Cosmopolitan and Esquire, the study explores how these media construct gender roles, influence consumer behavior, and reflect broader U.S. cultural norms regarding masculinity and femininity.
- The social construction of sex and gender and its relation to stereotype formation.
- The history and role of advertising in contemporary capitalist society.
- A comparative content analysis of gender representations in women's and men's magazines.
- The application of Erving Goffman’s framework to identify visual gender cues in advertising.
- The persistence of traditional versus evolving gender portrayals from the 1980s to the 2010s.
Excerpt from the Book
4.2.1 Advertisements from the 1980s
In this chapter, like in the following chapters, I am going to analyze three print advertisements of the given time period. I will first concentrate on how the page division of image and text looks like and then I will go into detail about text and image. Furthermore, I will take all the print advertisements from the 1980s from the April 1981 issue of Cosmopolitan only.
The first print advertisement stems from the April 1981 issue of Cosmopolitan and advertises the new Hours-Longer Lipstick by Flame Glo (cf. Illustration 4). It takes up a full spread and offers a lot of analysis material. The first page consists almost exclusively of advertising images and only a few comments. The second page possesses more textual than visual components. There is only one image of the actual lipstick and a lot of information about the lipstick on the second page of the advertisement. But the textual information on the right page as well as the picture of the lipstick are not important to us because they do not refer to certain gender stereotypes. This is why I am going to focus on the first page for my analysis. The page consists of four images illustrating the same woman in different circumstances and at different times (cf. “Flame Glo” 42). In the first picture on the top left, the textual content says “7 PM: Drinks at the world-famous St. Regis Hotel.” (“Flame Glo” 42) This already suggests that the woman in the picture leads a luxurious life. The visual content also shows her wearing beautiful clothes and jewels as well as striking makeup, which indicates that she is of high class. In the back of the image, we do not only see the St. Regis Hotel, but also a uniformed pageboy (cf. “Flame Glo” 42).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter introduces the pervasive influence of advertising on social identity and outlines the thesis goal to analyze gender stereotypes in U.S. magazine advertisements over 40 years.
2 Definitions of Sex, Gender and Stereotypes: This section provides the theoretical foundation by distinguishing biological sex from the socially constructed concept of gender and defining how stereotypes function as cognitive filters.
3 General Information on Advertisement: This chapter explores the economic role of advertising, its history, and the specific characteristics of print media as a target-oriented communication tool.
4 An Analysis of Print Advertisements: This central chapter applies the theoretical framework and Erving Goffman's analysis categories to specific magazine advertisements from 1980 to the 2010s, comparing Cosmopolitan and Esquire.
5 Conclusion and Outlook: This final chapter summarizes findings on the persistence of traditional gender roles in advertising and suggests future research areas regarding cross-cultural stereotypes and electronic media.
6 Works Cited: This section lists all academic and secondary sources used to support the thesis.
Keywords
Gender Stereotyping, Print Advertisements, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Masculinity, Femininity, Content Analysis, Erving Goffman, Social Construction, Advertising History, Beauty Products, Gender Roles, Media Representation, Consumer Culture, Role Switching
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this master thesis?
The research focuses on the development of gender stereotypes in U.S. print advertisements for beauty products, specifically analyzing how these stereotypes have evolved from the 1980s to the 2010s.
Which magazines were selected for the analysis?
The study analyzes Cosmopolitan and Esquire to represent magazines with distinct target audiences—women and men, respectively—allowing for a comparison of how genders are presented to their own audiences.
What is the main research objective?
The thesis aims to examine how print advertisements construct gender stereotypes, how these portrayals have developed over four decades, and whether they influence consumers and U.S. culture.
Which scientific methodology is applied in this study?
The author employs a content analysis method, utilizing Erving Goffman’s framework—specifically looking at function ranking, relative size, ritualization of subordination, and the feminine touch—to evaluate visual and verbal advertising content.
What does the main body of the work address?
The main part provides a theoretical background on sex, gender, and advertising history, followed by an empirical analysis of advertisements across four decades in two different magazines, eventually comparing the findings for men and women.
Which keywords characterize this research?
Key terms include Gender Stereotyping, Print Advertisements, Masculinity, Femininity, Content Analysis, Role Switching, and Consumer Culture.
How have gender portrayals changed according to the findings?
While there have been significant changes regarding the portrayal of men—moving toward more diverse roles and objectification—the depictions of women have remained relatively static, largely continuing to feature women as dependent, decorative figures.
What role does the "feminine touch" play in the analysis?
The "feminine touch" is used as an indicator of ritualistic behavior where women caress objects, which often signals a decorative or inferior position, contrasting with the more functional or assertive grasping typical of male portrayals.
- Citation du texte
- Sarah Höchst (Auteur), 2017, Gender Stereotyping in U.S. Print Advertisements, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/370112
