The Depiction of Women Through Advertisement

The Male Gaze : A Lens

There are many different ways to define what the male gaze is. In simple terms, the male gaze refers to a heterosexual male objectifying women in a sexual way for their benefit (Oliver, 2017). Proof of the male gaze is everywhere, it is seen often in advertising when women almost look like an accessory for men, where women are hanging off a man to make the man look more masculine and powerful. It is also commonly seen in movies, like the image on the left for the movie ‘Spring Breakers’.

The male gaze essentially filters the media through the lens and perspective of a heterosexual male, with no regard to other perspectives of others. This male gaze can be dangerous as it can increase levels of self-objectification of young women and men, which can then lead into body dysmorphia and general unhappiness as women portrayed through the male gaze is everywhere and has become a ‘social norm’.

The Patriarchy

There is a patriarchal culture to marketing and advertisement, one where men dominate and oppress women by detaching her from her body.

Advertising sexualises on one aspect of a woman’s body predominantly her breasts, reinforcing the idea that her body was made for men. women's bodies have always been used as a commodity for pleasure and exploitation because of the constant reinforcement of hegemonic patriarchal culture.

She is no longer a woman but rather becomes part of the brand. The hypersexualised model of femininity trivialises the violence against women. 51.8% of advertisement that feature women have portrayed them as sex objects , yet when women appear in men's advertisement where the ad catered for men, women were objectified 76% of the time.

Advertisement reinforces the power imbalance that degrade and harm women that it trivialises acts of sexual violence against them.

Advertisement tells women what is most important in the way that she looks, and what can be achieved in order to reach an ideal female beauty.

You almost never see a photograph of a woman considered beautiful that has not been photoshopped or altered in some kind of way. It is anatomically impossible for a women’s head to be bigger than her pelvic bone, yet the picture seen here represents a false and unrealistic depiction of what women should look like

Women in the modelling industry are having their images altered as a way to manipulate the results of the product being sold

The Real World...

But what of the real world? The depiction of women in advertisement is a glamorised fantasy world that consists of unrealistic and naturally unachievable expectations.

Ana Carolina Reston

21-year-old Ana Carolina Reston who was a model unfortunately became victim to anorexia and bulimia was only 40kg at the time of her death. The same weight of a 13-year-old.

The culture that surrounds advertising solely relies on the expectation that women are only desirable when they are young, skinny, and light skinned.

There is an obsession of thinness where women in advertising represents the “skinny” look. A look that only 5 percent of women naturally have. This depiction of women has created an epidemic of eating disorders among women in order to reach this target weight that is not at all healthy nor necessary to be beautiful. Because of this make-believe fantasy world that society created, women are trying to meet expectations of beauty that simply are impossible to achieve.

Objectification

Women are used as an object to sell products in advertisements. Many advertisers have an emphasis on women’s bodies in advertisements and their unnatural and exaggerated beauty standards.

It is almost as if the product itself is the woman in the ad. In numerous ads women are shown as young, thin and attractive and portrayed in a submissive sexual manner. Oral Care, Jewellery, Skyy Vodka and perfume advertisements are some of the many examples of this.