Representation of women in advertising

Read these extracts from an academic essay on gender in advertising by Reena Mistry. This was originally published in full in David Gauntlett's book 'Media, Gender and Identity'. Then, answer the following questions:

1) How does Mistry suggest advertising has changed since the mid-1990s?
'Advertising has increasingly employed images in which the gender and sexual orientation of the subject(s) are markedly (and purposefully) ambiguous.'

2) What kinds of female stereotypes were found in advertising in the 1940s and 1950s?
Looking at women's magazines in the 1950s, 'Betty Friedan claims this led to the creation of the 'feminine mystique': 'the highest value and the only real commitment for women lies in the fulfilment of their own femininity'.

3) How did the increasing influence of clothes and make-up change representations of women in advertising?
In advertising women seemed to increasingly be seen as a 'decorative objects'.

4) Which theorist came up with the idea of the 'male gaze' and what does it refer to?
'Laura Mulvey's (1975)' was the one that came up with it and it means 'scopophilia (the basic human sexual drive to look at other human beings)'.

5) How did the representation of women change in the 1970s?
Distinct images that became 'labelled as the 'New Woman', and that were seen as representative of the 'changing reality of women's social position and of the influence of the women's movement' (van Zoonen)'.

6) Why does van Zoonen suggest the 'new' representations of women in the 1970s and 1980s were only marginally different from the sexist representations of earlier years?
'Roles that women take on in these advertisements appear to be progressive (the employee, the active woman)'.

7) What does Barthel suggest regarding advertising and male power?
That there is no real threat to male power.

8) What does Richard Dyer suggest about the 'femme fatale' representation of women in adverts such as Christian Dior make-up?
That there is a 'misrepresentation of women's liberation'.

Media Magazine: Beach Bodies v Real Women (MM54)

Now go to our Media Magazine archive and read the feature on Protein World's controversial 'Beach Bodies' marketing campaign in 2015. Read the feature and answer the questions below in the same blogpost as the questions above.

1) What was the Protein World 'Beach Bodies' campaign?
To advertise their protein so there is more awareness of the product.

2) Why was it controversial?
The advert had a tanned blond girl and the business was suggesting that, that body is an ideal beach body.

3) What did the adverts suggest to audiences?
That body was an ideal beach body.

4) How did some audiences react?
It made the females feel shameful of their body as it wasn't the 'perfect' beach body.

5) What was the Dove Real Beauty campaign?
To have random all size and colours women shown in their advert to show there is no difference between women.

6) How has social media changed the way audiences can interact with advertising campaigns? 
Social media changed the way audiences can interact with advertising campaigns as it makes it an easier process for them to call out an advert they do not like.

7) How can we apply van Zoonen's feminist theory and Stuart Hall's reception theory to these case studies? 

8) Through studying the social and historical context of women in advertising, do you think representations of women in advertising have changed in the last 60 years?
I think there are a lot of changes from the last 60 years but it is not exactly the best the women are being shown in some of the advertisements. In some advertisements women are still being objectified.