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Abstract

The representation of women in advertisements, has been subject to many debates within the media. The media industry has played an influential role in projecting certain ideologies and stereotypes into society, as well as constructing women’s identities through what they consume surrounding their gender. Due to stereotypes such as women being objects of lust, housewives and the inferior sex, women will see images that reflect this and feel forced to equate themselves with this, and what society deems acceptable.

This dissertation will analyse advertisements from both the 1970s and the 21st Century as well as the continual discriminatory representation of women within them, whilst discussing how society overtime has changed its views on women and in turn perpetuated this into its respective advertisements. This dissertation also seeks to analyse the correlation between identity and the advertisements women consume. This dissertation will argue that advertisements in the 1970s, to a considerable extent did not leave a lasting legacy, due to technological advancements, more awareness of stereotypes and inequality as well as economical and financial gain. However, this dissertation will also highlight how controversial this is in terms of existing representations of women in 21st Century advertisements with elements of discrimination and sexualisation, much like in the 1970s, arguing that to a small extent the legacy of these representations is still present today. The term legacy, in the case of this dissertation, refers to representations of women that exist today that were carried over to the 21st Century. The chapters within this dissertation will not only discuss the representation of women in the 1970s and its lasting legacy in the 21st Century, but will also specifically analyse the sexualisation of women, taking into consideration the context of these times. Each chapter will analyse a specific aspect of womanhood and how women were represented in these areas in advertisements in the 1970s and the 21st Century and draw the conclusion that 1970s advertisements have not, to a considerable extent, left a lasting legacy behind for those in the 21st Century. Furthermore, each chapter will focus on specific aspects of each element within womanhood in order to gain a deeper understanding of the context of both time periods and the representation of women in these elements. Chapter 1 will analyse advertisements surrounding women in domestic roles and motherhood and how advertisements mirror existing values and ideologies. Chapter 2 will analyse advertisements surrounding fashion and beauty, the controversial term ‘sexual liberation’ and the appeal of sex within advertising. Chapter 3 will look at women in the workplace in both the 1970s and 21st Century and how these representations reflect the context of the time, whilst analysing how gender stereotypes contribute to this. This dissertation illustrates the negative representations that advertisements have produced and are still producing surrounding women, however in the 21st Century the legacy of 1970s advertisements is to a considerable extent not present due to increased awareness surrounding sexism and misogyny, technological advancements as well as an increase in monitorization of advertisements.

Course: Media Studies - BA (Hons) - C1346

Date Deposited: 2022-08-08

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13965.html