Gender Stereotypes in Advertisements

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Women are often sexualized in advertising. 

   Although we might not inherently see it, advertising promotes the concept of gender stereotyping. Women are sexualized in advertising to such a degree that is is almost ordinary. Not only are women seen as sex objects, but they are also perceived as weak, dependent, and inferior. Over 4000 examples of this concept can be seen in pictures here.
   Below is an advertisement for Sky Vodka. At a quick glance, we might assume that the brand is simply trying to illustrate how refreshing their vodka is by placing their advertisement in a beach scene. However, upon further inspection, we see a different story. Notice how the girl in the advertisement is laying down with her eyes closed, legs straight, and her feet slightly distorted. This body language shown is promoting an image of weakness. This image is enhanced especially as there is a man (in a suit) who towers over the woman. This highlights the dominant/submissive roles of men and women respectively. Another feature of this advertisement that illustrates the dominant/submissive relationship is the hands of both the man and the woman. If you look closely, the hands of the man are grasped incredibly tightly on the objects that he is holding. This illustrates the "firm" control that men have on their surroundings: thus showing the power men have. The man's hands are in direct contrast to the woman's hands. The woman's hands are shown as very limp. They are limp to the point where it appears that the woman is barely gripping the object she is holding. This demonstrates the lack of control that women have on their environment; including men. It is important to note that the breasts of the woman are the main focus of the advertisement. This is showing that the main focus on woman is their sexual "assets".  In his satire of American culture (Body Ritual Among the Nacirema), Horace Miner draws upon the idea of the high value our culture places on sexual "assets" such as breasts. "General dissatisfaction with breast shape is symbolized in the fact that the ideal form is virtually outside the range of human variation. A few women afflicted with almost inhuman hypermammary development are so idolized that they make a handsome living by simply going from village to village and permitting the natives to stare at them for a fee." (Miner, 84).

Although gender stereotypes in advertising is not a new phenomenon, it has changed slightly in recent decades. In the 1960's, advertising was more direct in terms of gender stereotypes. Women were objectified as their main job was to cook, clean, and maintain the home. Picture (2) explicitly represents the notion that women are weak. The advertisers wanted to emphasize that the new bottle cap is so easy to open that even a women could do it. Picture (1) emphasizes the idea that women are in charge of homemaking duties by showing that "power" in women is directly related to the power of cleaning. In her 1997 article How History and Sociology Can Help Today's Families, Stephanie Coontz shows the impact of the idea of girls being the homemaker. "Up through the 1960's an adolescent girl typically had more responsibilities at home, from washing dishes to taking care of siblings, than she does today. While such tasks may have prepared girls for adult roles as wives and mothers, they also held girls back from further education or preparation for future work outside the home." (Coontz, 10). In today's society, women have a much stronger presence outside the home. This trend is reflected in modern advertising by making the gender stereotypes far more indirect (as seen above).

More insight into gender stereotypes can be seen in "The Codes of Gender". 

Available here.    

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To this day, certain advertisements portray women as homemakers.

Works Cited:

1) Coontz, Stephanie. "2: How History And Sociology Can Help Today's Families." The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology. By Lisa J. McIntyre. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2006. 14 15. Print.

2) Miner, Horace. "9: Body Ritual Among The Nacirema." The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology. By Lisa J. McIntyre. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2006. 83-84. Print.