The purpose of the dissertation is to investigate how women are portrayed in two chosen countries: Russia and France. More specifically, it will be investigated whether women are portrayed as sexual objects in both countries or differently. The purpose is to investigate whether this is indeed true by choosing woman magazine Elle to investigate whether women are primarily used as sex objects or not to advertise different products and for what kind of products in France and Russia and whether there is a difference in one of the countries in particular the degree of body revealing clothes plays an important role as well as the gaze of women. As France is supposed to be open-minded to nudity, it was interesting to find out whether this is indeed true and whether Russia is the same because the culture differs. Therefore, a content analysis of magazine advertisements in women magazine Elle has been conducted of the French and Russian issue of Elle from May to September 2014 to investigate the degree sexuality by looking at body revealing clothes that is body display, facial expression as well as nudity will be taken into consideration. In addition, gender roles in advertisements will be considered where women are with a men in advertisement regarding women role allocation. As a guideline, variables will be applied developed by sociologist Ervin Goffman, who developed gender categories which can be applied in advertisements. They are the following: Licensed withdrawal, relative size, function ranking, feminine touch and ritualization of subordination which will be covered and explained in the literature review in more detail. To classify roles women and men take in advertisements when being together, the relative size and function ranking categories will be applied to estimate gender roles in the analysis of advertisements. In addition, the gender roles, that is the position between a man is investigated by measuring size whether woman is equal, smaller or not important and whether she takes decorative roles, non-executive roles making her inferior or not. Goffman’s gender variables will be thus considered to help to find out whether women are portrayed unequal as well. Furthermore, two additional categories have been added by Kang (1997) who did a content analysis using Goffman’s variables, these are body display and self-assertiveness/independence.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1.0. Gender roles in magazine advertisements
2.1.1. The 1920s
2.1.2. The 1930s
2.1.3. The 1940s
2.1.4. The 1950s to 1970s
2.1.5. The 1980s to 1990s
2.1.6. Since 2000
2.3. Cultural theories related to marketing
2.3.1. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
2.3.2. Hall’s high vs. low context model
2.4. Communication
2.5. Cultural differences between Russia and France
2. 6. International advertising strategies
2.6.1. Standardization
2.6.2. Adaptation
2.6.3. Communication model
2.6.4. Russia and France
2.7. Summary of the literature review
Chapter 3: Research methodology
3.1. Research approach and strategy
3.2. Validity and reliability of the findings
3.3. Research questions
3.4. Hypotheses
3.5. Sample selection and data collection
3.5.1. Sampling frame
3.5.2. Selection of magazine
3.5.3. Selection of countries
3.5.4. Selection of advertisements
3.6. Coding
3.7 Limitations
Chapter 4: Analysis and discussion of advertisements
4.1. Licensed withdrawal
4.1.1. Feminine touch
4.1.2. Ritualization of subordination
4.1.3. Relative size
4.1.4. Function ranking
4.1.5. Body display
4.1.6. Self-assertiveness/independence
4.1.7. Objectification
4.2. Courtney and Lockeretz’ stereotypical variables
4.3. Discussion
Chapter 5: Conclusion
5.1. Limitations
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this dissertation is to investigate the portrayal of women in magazine advertisements within France and Russia, specifically examining whether women are depicted as sexual objects. By conducting a content analysis of the magazine Elle, the study explores the correlation between cultural differences and the degree of sexual appeal used in advertising across these two distinct markets.
- Cross-cultural analysis of gender representation in French and Russian advertising.
- Application of Goffman’s gender categories to contemporary magazine advertisements.
- Evaluation of standardization versus adaptation strategies in international marketing.
- Assessment of the role of sexuality and body display in advertising products.
- Comparison of high-context communication styles in French and Russian fashion media.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1.3. Relative size
A significant difference could be found in relative size among Russian and French advertisements. All men in French advertisements were taller than females with 2.1 % although the amount was slightly lower in France than in Russia 2.2. %. Just 3 women could be found looking straight in camera rather than avoiding were in Russian Elle. In French advertisement just one woman looked straight in camera whereas two were avoiding it. One woman was even taller than the man in Russian Elle as she looked confident in camera, while he was standing behind her. In Elle France, there were 2 advertisements where there was one man sitting between 2 women. It was a fashion and shoe wear advertisement by Chanel. There were 3 more advertisements where women looked straight in camera.
Giving an example, one woman felt attracted to a man in one French advertisement by smelling his perfume. In two more advertisements in French and Russian Elle, a woman felt attracted to the man or needed his protection as the woman was next to the man who was ignoring her. When one touches his shoulder and is dependent on him both closed their eyes, a Calvin Klein watch advertisement whereas the Russian Dolce & Gabbana perfume advertisement showed a woman dependent on the men who was ignoring her. She went closer to him while they were lying on a boat.
Summary of Chapters
Chapter 1: Introduction: This chapter outlines the purpose of the dissertation, which is to investigate and compare the portrayal of women in French and Russian Elle magazine advertisements.
Chapter 2: Literature Review: The chapter covers the historical development of women's depiction in advertisements from the 1920s to present day, alongside cultural theories and marketing communication strategies.
Chapter 3: Research methodology: This section explains the quantitative content analysis approach, the justification for selecting Elle magazine, and the specific coding categories used for data collection.
Chapter 4: Analysis and discussion of advertisements: This chapter presents the empirical findings derived from the coding of French and Russian advertisements, analyzing them through Goffman's variables and comparing the results.
Chapter 5: Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the findings, confirms the hypotheses regarding the use of women as sex objects in France versus Russia, and addresses the study's limitations.
Keywords
Content analysis, Elle magazine, gender roles, sexual appeal, France, Russia, cultural differences, advertising strategy, standardization, adaptation, Goffman, body display, objectification, female portrayal, marketing management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The dissertation primarily investigates how women are portrayed in French and Russian magazine advertisements, with a specific focus on the use of sexual appeal and gender stereotypes.
Which magazine was selected for the study?
The study uses the women's fashion magazine "Elle" to compare advertisements across its French and Russian editions.
What is the main research question?
The study seeks to answer how women are portrayed in these two cultures, whether there are distinct gender roles, what types of products utilize sexual appeal, and if women are being used as sex objects.
Which scientific method is applied?
The author uses quantitative content analysis, applying Ervin Goffman's gender classification system and additional variables related to body display and objectification.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main part of the dissertation includes a comprehensive literature review of the historical portrayal of women since the 1920s, a detailed methodological setup, and a comparative analysis of the data collected from French and Russian advertisements.
What are the key descriptive terms for this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as gender representation, cross-cultural marketing, content analysis, and sexualization in advertising.
How does the author define "objectification" within this study?
Objectification is defined as the disembodiment of the female body, where the focus is restricted to specific body parts (such as legs or lips) while the head or face is cut or obscured, effectively reducing the woman's human presence.
What did the analysis reveal regarding the "standardization" of advertisements in Russia?
The study concludes that standardization is prevalent in Russia, as many fashion and beauty advertisements mirror international, Western-oriented campaigns rather than being locally adapted.
- Citation du texte
- Christin Thieler (Auteur), 2014, The portrayal of women in Elle magazine advertisements. A comparison between France and Russia, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/441297
