Gender Stereotypes in Advertising

Gender Stereotypes in Advertising The term gender stereotype is used to denote a set of beliefs held about the characteristics, traits, behaviours and roles that, within a specific culture, are considered socially appropriate for men and women. This advertisement for Gardenburgers found in the August 1997 edition of the American magazine Vegetarian Times is reminiscent of the advertising of the 1950s. In this post World War II era, gender stereotyping was common in advertising. The emphasis was on male superiority and feminine domesticity and submissiveness. These stereotypes restricted men and woman to predetermined roles. Roles which, especially for women, were often degrading and humiliating. Far from reinforcing the stereotypical gender representations of men and women during this era, this advertisement is, in fact, portraying the antithesis of these traditional stereotypes. It denounces the stereotype of the ideal woman of the 1950s, whose whole identity revolved around her house, her husband and her appearance. This advertisement turns the tables on man. It emasculates him and creates a sad little life for him in which, just like the women of the 1950s, he subordinates his interests to those of his wife. The hidden intent of this advertisement is to show that just as we should not accept how media constructs and reinforces traditional ideas about women and femininity and men and masculinity, we should not accept that the backyard barbecue is only complete with a traditional meat burger. Just as it is about time that the traditional gender stereotype that empowered men be replaced by a new gender stereotype that empowers women, it is about time that the traditional all American, all meat burger be replaced by the all natural, all vegetable Gardenburger. This advertisement is a satirical look at gender stereotyping. The play on gender stereotypes, the reversal of gender roles is seen in the image used, the headline and the content of the copy. The stereotypical American Dream, created in the 1950s, was to marry the perfect someone, to have a house in the suburbs complete with a white picket fence, an average 2.2 children, a dog and a cat, and to spend weekends in the backyard barbecuing. The image in the advertisement is intended to depict this American dream. You can almost see the white picket fence. While the proverbial man of the 1950s was bringing home the bacon, his wife was cooking it. The stereotypes in advertising in the 1950s limited the role of the woman. She was portrayed as the caring mother, the serving housewife, eager to please, without looking too intelligent. She was pretty and powerless, and she was usually placed in a subordinate position to her husband. However, in this image the stereotypical gender roles have been reversed. It is the man that has been domesticated. He is weak and innocent. With a humbly, obedient, closed mouthed, little smile on his face his ultimate goal is to be a good husband. His place is in the home, cooking and cleaning for his family. The woman, on the other hand, is displaying more active behaviour, a confident, opened mouthed smile and wave of the hand, she is exercising more authority. As if having an authoritarian wife is not emasculating enough, he is portrayed carrying a cooking utensil. All he is missing is his pinny. The theme of advertising in the 1950s was one of contentment and complacency. Despite the degrading portrayal of women, and the disrespectful tone of many of the advertisements, the image conveyed was one of the perfect all American family where both mummy and daddy were happy in the roles society had assigned them. In this advertisement, the headline Fred and Fran are so happy is parodying this idea. Satire is used here to show us that, in fact, in all is not well in the world, the line is even repeated at the end of the copy to highlight this contradiction. Even if [t]hey are having a BBQ, Fred and Fran should not be happy in an environment where gender inequalities exist. Just as the consumer should not be happy in an environment where animals are not respected, especially when meatless Gardenburgers are available wherever frozen foods are sold. Finally, the content of the copy in this advertisement continues the satirical look at the gender inequality of advertising in the 1950s, where women were portrayed as stupid and infantile, men as dominant and macho. The copy in this advertisement is a far cry from the 1950s the foot is now on the other shoe. According to our modern day susceptibility, the tone of the copy is actually quite condescending and offensive. However, just as the women in advertising in the 1950s were more like objects to be looked at, rather than intelligent people to be talked to, in this advertisement it is the mans turn to be dumbed down. How, if he is considered too stupid to hold a job, is poor Fred expected to understand that it is possible to have burgers with no meat? From her position as provider, protector, and boss of the home Fran tells him to shut up and eat it already and in his role as the perfect, submissive husband, always wanting to please his wife Fred always listens to Fran/He eats and eats and eats. The colour and bold type in the first line of the copy Fred lights the fire! Fran claps her hands! continues this idea of gender inequality. Fran condescendingly claps her hand as she is so amazed that Fred can actually light a fire. This advertisement is trying to counter stereotyping by using satire to ridicule the stereotypes that are so prevalent in advertising. Media uses stereotypes as a quick way of getting an audience to understand a person or a group of people based on their class, race, gender, social class and/or occupation. However, by doing so they maintain social prejudices and inequalities. The Gardenburger advertisement wants to open the consumers eyes to the dangers of stereotyping. The advertisers hope that by using satire, irony, ridicule and exaggeration consumers will question stereotypes in advertising and think about healthy alternative advertisements that promote fairness and equality. Just as they are proposing a healthy alternative to the traditional all meat burger, which for decades the food industry has encouraged us to eat despite the dangers for our health. Reference Wholesome Hearty Food, Inc. (1997, August). Gardenburgers. Vegetarian Times, p. 97

The Unrealistic Portrayal of Women in the Media

Media is one of the most influential aspects of modern society. It plays an enormous role in setting societal standards and depicting how people, especially women, should act and appear. In everything from advertising, television programming, newspapers and magazines, to comic books, popular music, film and video games the media sets unrealistic standards for women. These unrealistic depictions of the role that women must play, and the image that women must have in order to be accepted are drastically affecting societies views and the self-worth of women worldwide.In all forms of media, women are grossly misrepresented. Women are most often shown in the home, performing domestic chores; as sex objects who exist primarily to service men; as the romantic interest; as characters who rely greatly on men; as victims who can not protect themselves and are the natural recipients of beatings, harassment, sexual assault and murder. Women rarely play leading roles or roles of significance in m ovies and television shows, and when they do, they are rarely cast as independent or as a hero.Only 16 percent of films feature women protagonists (Richardson, 2011). In 2012, women represented less than one-third of the speaking characters (Eveleth, 2013). For every one female on screen, there were two and a half men. Women are not given enough positive role models. Even in Disney movies, female characters ride off into the sunset at age 16 with a prince they barely know; sending the message that we are reliant on men. Furthermore, almost every single cleaning product advertisement created features a woman cleaning up after her children and husband.Despite the fact that in real life, this concept of patriarchy and women being fragile and weak is largely is outdated, the media continues to portray women in this way. This is sending a entirely inaccurate image of how things should be to society, especially to young girls and women. Women are not only being told to play a certain role in society, but being pressured to look a certain way as well. From young age, women are exposed to the idea that they are supposed to be sexy; tall, have a small waist, be buxom, have perfect skin, etc.All Disney princess movies, however harmless they may seem, show girls sexually. In G-rated children's films, female characters often look just as sexual/revealing as they do in R-rated movies. Many online games for young girls, such as Selena's Date Rush, do a similar thing. The instructions for Selena's Date Rush are simple: â€Å"When Justin comes to pick her up in the morning, she just woke up with no makeup! Please help her complete her makeup before Justin finds out! â€Å"; implying that you are not beautiful enough to be seen until you are in makeup.Additionally, while Barbie is supposed to be a positive role model for children, the proportions of the Barbie doll are humanly unattainable and the outfits that she wears are impractical and revealing. Not only Barbie dolls, b ut other popular dolls such as Monster High dolls and Bratz dolls, promote that same image. These unrealistic role models, that skew the meaning of beauty are present through women's whole lives. There is a constant bombardment of hyper-sexualised, airbrushed images of women as well as messages of needing self-improvement, in all forms of media.Almost all advertisements for cosmetic products and clothing feature digitally modified, underweight models. In fact, the first and only ad campaign featuring average and overweight women is a Dove ad campaign. The Canadian Health Network found that the average female model is not only much taller than the average woman, but weighs nearly 25% less (ojejwow, 1996). Even commercials about obtaining a healthy and physically active, lifestyle feature the presence of very thin actresses with a wide range of body and facial cosmetics. This leads to the assumption, that only thin women can be beautiful and healthy.Also, three-quarters of women's mag azine covers feature articles about overhauling one's physical appearance and studies indicate that nearly three-quarters of all female characters in sitcoms are underweight, and those that are overweight are often the subject of comments or jokes about their bodies made by male characters (â€Å"Portrayal of women,† 2009). Everywhere that young girls and women turn they are faced with the idea that their looks are everything, that pleasing the male gaze is paramount and that hiding their â€Å"imperfections† and making themselves sexy is the sum total of their value.It is only when one looks at all of these things together that one starts to realise the immense impact it might be having on them. The way in which women are portrayed in the media has an overwhelming negative effect on society. Media reinforcing the idea that women are weak and nothing without men continues to create problems with the way that women are treated and viewed by society in the workplace and in many social situations.It also creates problems in the way that women treat and view themselves, especially in relationships. 1 in 3 girls between the ages of 16 and 18 say sex is expected for people their age if they are in a relationship (â€Å"Statistics,† n. d. ). Unfortunately, women are often pressured to conform to societies standards regarding sex and relationships, especially as adolescents. Media constantly creating unrealistic standards for beauty is effecting the physical and mental health of women and girls.In one survey nearly half of nine- to twelve-year-old girls said they wanted to be thinner and had either been on a diet or were aware of the concept of dieting and in another study in one study half of girls ages 16-21 said they would undergo surgery to improve their bodies (â€Å"Body image- girls,† 2012) Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. (2011) says that one out of every four college-aged women uses un-healthy methods of weight con trol- including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self induced vomiting. Eating disorders have become more and more prominent in young women.Psychological factors that cause these disorders include low self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy or lack of control, which are often caused by the unrealistic standards set by media. Even if eating disorders are not an issue, self-esteem problems frequently are. Dove's Real Truth About Beauty research (2011) revealed that by the age of 14, 55% of Canadian girls feel pressure to be â€Å"beautiful†. By the time they are 29, this number increases to 96%. This industry has gone too far in pushing a dangerously thin, unrealistically â€Å"beautiful†, misguided image that women, and young girls, try to emulate.The harsh reality that low self-esteem, low self- worth, and feelings of inadequacy are evident in almost all women's life in some form is not one to be taken lightly. Media, while providing peop le with information and entertainment, also affects people’s lives by shaping their opinions of and attitudes toward society and themselves. This is particularly relevant pertaining to the image of women in the media. Mass media still uses gender stereotypes and unrealistic definitions of beauty to reach the consumer, and the effects that these tactics have on women are severe.With most women facing oppression regarding gender roles of some form and with only 4% of women being able to call themselves beautiful (â€Å"Surprising Self-Esteem Statistics,† 2011), it is clear that change needs to occur. The media needs to stop using underweight women to sell products to every day women, instilling feelings of inadequacy in women in order to sell products, presenting women in sexual, dependent, or domestic roles and need to begin instilling self-worth in young girls and women of all makes and give them positive role models.Changing the media's projection of woman has been a consistent agenda of the women's movement since the early l960s. However, little has happened and it will take an enormous shift in the mentality of media producers and society itself before a great deal can happen. For now, if people become aware of the stereotypes and teach critical viewing skills and the real meaning of beauty/equality to young girls and one another, perhaps they will be less likely to succumb to the effects of the unrealistic standards that the media has put in place for all women.

China and India, Western Influence on Youth Essay

Over the last decade China and India have adopted trends from western-styles. These are two heavily populated countries and their youth are gravitate more to western styles. There are many goods and services that can be offered to their marketers. This paper will describe the products that interest these youth markets. Compare and contrast the micro- and macro-environmental forces that influence the marketing strategies for these goods and services. Analyze the marketing strategies of these two countries and compare them with the U.S. consumption marketers. And finally, what opportunity for U.S. companies I might foresee. There have been many advances in technology that can be great examples of western products that interests youth marketers in India as well as China. Advancements like the cell, IPad, and we can’t forget the many gaming devices such as Playstation and Xbox. Other goods includes, western clothing, â€Å"Apparel company Murjani Group is leading the charge, bringing Western labels such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein to Indian shoppers.† (Jana, 2007) Along with clothing accessories and perfumes, they’ve also adopted westerner’s love of fast foods as well as the purchase of goods and services via the internet including online learning. â€Å"In Eastern education, teachers have absolute authority and the students are not encouraged to question or challenge a teacher’s knowledge (Biggs & Watkins, 1996). On the other hand, in Western education, to challenge a teacher or tutor is seen as part of the self-development process as dialogue and interaction are encouraged in the learning process (Robinson, 1999).† (Xiaojing, et al., 2010) The micro- and macro-environmental forces that influence the marketing strategies for these goods and services include, higher incomes, the Indian and Chinese economy have been recording a yearly economic growth respectively. This also says, incomes in these two countries have been on the rise as well. More and more young people have enough disposable incomes that will enable them to purchase western products as well as remain trendy. The availability of competition in the market place have also enabled the presence of cheaper western products in both  countries, also, more and more western companies such as those from the US are setting up production facilities in the two countries (India and China) because of economic uncertainties in the US as well as the economic boom in India and China.Western products are also readily available in these two countries because of low transportation costs of products from western countries, reduced transaction costs as well as the availability of multiple producers; this has also lowered the prices of western goods and services in the two countries. Western products such as clothes and electronic products can be easily bought from the U.S. by consumers in India and China via the internet as well as delivered within a few days by use of worldwide delivery services such as UPS and FedEx. There are also changes in lifestyles of young consumers in India and China; there are also changes in consumer trends and changes in consumer tastes and preference on the products that they buy and consume Christoff & Eckersley, 2013) The media has also played an important role in enabling Indian as well as Chinese consumers to choose western products over their home countries products. The media in these two countries have constantly shown images of western products as well as provided information regarding them; this has enabled consumers in the two Asian countries to demand the western products as well as to be aware of the various trends and changes in the market place for western products. The marketing strategies of these two countries and their comparison with Western-based consumption marketers include, advertising in these two countries can be made via social media, and pricing can be cheaper because of low incomes in these two countries as compared to the incomes in the US. The products can also be available in stores such as supermarkets because internet connectivity in these two countries is low as compared to internet connectivity in the US where marketers can sell their products via the internet. Producers can also set up production facilities in any of the two countries because of cheap labor offered by both the Chinese as well as the Indian workforce; this will help in reducing their production costs as well as the final prices of their products. (Christoff & Eckersley, 2013) And lastly, the various opportunities that the U.S. companies might foresee are increased demand for their products and services in the two countries due to increased incomes as well as high economic growth. Companies will thus profit as a result of selling western products  in the two countries. Due to the increasing rate of internet usage, in the near future, companies can sell their products via the internet; they can also constantly conduct marketing surveys in order to identify consumer taste and preference of consumers in the two countries. In conclusion, I have described the products that interest these youth markets. Compared and contrasted the micro- and macro-environmental forces that influence the marketing strategies for these goods and services. Analyzed the marketing strategies of these two countries and compared them with the U.S. consumption marketers. And lastly, showed what opportunities U.S. companies might foresee. References Jana, R. (2007). India: Bridging the Fashion Culture Gap. Businessweek Online, 21. Christoff, P. & Eckersley, R. (2013) Globalization and the Environment. Published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. Xiaojing, L., Shijuan, L., Seung-hee, L., & Magjuka, R. J. (2010). Cultural Differences in Online Learning: International Student Perceptions. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 13(3), 177-188.

Technology And The Growth And Expansion Of The Population...

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