Gender, Gender, Gender

By February 16, 2016 BlogPost One Comment
0a54b5d2bb25e7b856a58e354a32a517

One of my favorite lines from Helen Damon-Moore’s book is a question: “how do commercial media images affect the gender construction of women and men in a given culture or time?” In response, I would ask another question: “how doesn’t media imagery affect gender construction?”

In my opinion, modern-day advertising and media has become the ideal and preferred place for our culture to create and reinforce gender norms. Commercials for womens’ razors show us that women need to be hairless. Even more than that, the advertisers don’t even show a woman with actual body hair shaving; the women in the commercials run their razor over soft, hairless legs. The social perceptions of what it means to be a woman trump actually advertising the product in question!

While the Ladies Home Journal may have been the breeding ground for female-specific advertising, it is certainly different from the modern-day. Damon-Moore explores the idea of these various advertisers selling products that women would have previously made in the home. I’m guessing this included certain foods, soap, fabric, etc. In the late 19th century, these ads were trying to sell products to make female lives easier. Now, it seems more like ads are catered to making women feel bad. “You’re fat, but if you use this specific exercise plan you’ll be skinny!” “Your hair is gross, but this shampoo will give it volume and make it soft!” Advertisements focus on showing a woman what she doesn’t have and offers the product as a savior-like solution.

Gender constructs are enormously interesting in all realms of our society. However, I have to wonder when advertising switched from what it originally was in the Ladies Home Journal to the rather critical commercials we see today.

One Comment

  • Michelle C says:

    I like what you took away from this article, but I think that the mass production of certain goods may have made women’s lives more difficult. Sure, it was easier to get ready made clothes and nicely ground flour, but I think that mass advertising started the theme of “better than.” Because based on advertising, individuals became aware of which soap was better, what skirt was more expensive, and which brand was recommended by the latest issue of said magazine. I think this was the beginning of advertising to a woman’s insecurities. Insecurities created by advertising making women feel like they “NEEDED” to have something they didn’t already have. I’d be really interested to see what the advertising said: “Don’t be the last wife on the block without an icebox.” It’s so interesting!

Leave a Reply