The portrayal of women in online and print advertising

Abstract

Advertising and the media have a significant and influential role in society, because we want to know what is going on around us and they set the agenda for this. Advertisements tell people what to buy, what to look like, and what to desire. Images are used to grab the attention of the potential market. Advertisers often use women for this, and in doing so exploit and demean women’s rights. Consumers are exposed to these negative portrayals of women continuously due to smart phones, social media platforms, and outdoor advertisements, as well as the traditional forms of media. This study investigates a particular group of sexist image adverts, from the years 2007 to 2017, in order to identify what form of sexism is present, documenting trends that occur along the way. A second source of research is in the form of a focus group to gather opinions from a third party regarding the depiction of women, including how/ if this depiction has changed since the 1960s. The 1960s was chosen as a comparative decade as this was the time when the degree of women’s rights was argued, leading to the emergence of the second wave of Feminism. It was found that the female depiction had altered to a different form of sexism, but had not progressed significantly, and did not reflect a modern societal attitude. Throughout the research, the impact advertising has on men, and how women are used to market to a male audience is considered.