Throughout this essay I plan to discuss stereotypes within advertising and the effect these stereotypes have on both men and women and to what extent.
Sheehan, K. (2004) discusses in the Controversies in Contemporary Advertising how men and women react very differently to advertising. This is due to the way men think as they think linearly and respond to the primary message whereas women see multiple clues within a message to build up further meaning based on music, tone of voice and text used within advertising. Consequently men and women’s adverts often feature very different stimulus however women also respond to masculinity in adverts aimed towards them however men don’t respond to femininity in the same way. However despite this many adverts feature gender stereotypes are based on old fashioned beliefs that women should be home keepers despite societies developments meaning that around 50% of the workforce are women. This can be linked to the to Bartsch et al (2000) study conducted in 1998 which looked at 750 tv adverts which indicated women where twice as more likely to appear in adverts featuring domestic goods than men. This is all based on the way men and women are portrayed in advertising as the current representation of men and women don’t necessary accurately represent societal developments as according to Sheehan ‘society still clings to some of the values of the 1950s’ (Sheehan, K. 2004, 91) which is where many of the common stereotypes of men and women stem from.
Sexist stereotypes as discussed by Gauntlett (2008) in Media, Gender and Identity indicates that stereotypes are still prevalent in advertising today. This is not always the case as advertisers have realised some stereotypes can offend their target audience so have attempted to address the use of stereotypes within their adverts. Although this is a positive development it is not necessarily a reflection of advertisers taking note of social issues but more trying to attract the most consumers to their product in a way that doesn’t not damage their brand image. Throughout many adverts aimed at both men and women it can be said that the ideal representation of women is that women must be slim and beautiful and men having to be muscular in order to be accepted. This can be seen specifically in the beauty industry which teaches women at a young age that they need to rely on makeup and skincare to be beautiful. Consequently this is further highlighted by the increase in plastic surgery so women can become a media ideal as discussed by Gauntlett (2008). This further reinforced by Grogan (2016) who states ‘over twenty-million cosmetic procedures were performed worldwide in 2014, 87% on women’. In addition this pressure can also be said for the ‘ideal’ man as according to Grogan (2016) ‘6 per cent of US adolescent boys use steroids to bulk up muscle mass’ due to the ideals portrayed by media for men.
Walters (1998) discusses the stereotypes surrounding the ‘ideal’ woman and the pressure that comes with it. This pressure is not isolated to women as many men feel the pressure arguable more than women, to live up to the ideals the media sets out for them. This can be seen in the study published in Mens Health in July 1996 stating that only 4% of men thought they where physically attractive and 13% would consider cosmetic surgery as discussed by Walter (1998). Consequently indicating men may feel more pressure to live up to stereotypes than women as another study discussed by Walter (1998) found that 80% of women where happy when they looked in the mirror which when compared with the statistic that only 4% of men believe they are attractive seems to indicate men are more heavily affected by physical stereotypes than women. This may stem from stereotypes surrounding masculinity as according to Pleck, Sonenstein, and Ku (1993) ‘society's definition of masculinity may entail a variety of characteristics… such as, according to some analyses, sexual aggression, low self-disclosure, and need for dominance’. Therefor showing men may be more greatly effected my physical stereotypes as they are less likely show or talk about their emotions due to the characteristic associated with masculinity such as low self-discloser as discussed by Pleck, Sonenstein, and Ku (1993). In addition the effects of stereotypes on men is not limited by age as a survey conducted of girls aged 12-14 discussed by Walter (1998) found that younger boys felt more pressure and anxiety in relation to fashion when compared to young girls.
It can be said that both men and women react differently to advertising due to the way they think as discussed by Sheehan, K. (2004) as both women and men react to femininity within adverts potentially resulting in the widespread use of young attractive women in adverts targeted toward both men and women. However it can be said that men don’t react as well to femininity within adverts solely aimed towards them Sheehan (2004) as they are denied feminine objects at a young age as discussed by Walter (1998 p101-105). Consequently the use of young attractive females across advertising could be the reason for the increase in plastic surgery among women as discussed by Gauntlet (2008) as women feel the pressure to live up to an ideal stereotype portrayed by the media through advertising. In contrast however Walter (1998) discusses the effect of the medias portrayal of the ideal man which seems to have a greater impact on men with only 4% of men believing they are attractive whereas 80% of women are happy when they look in the mirror indicating that men are more heavily effected by stereotypes within advertising than indicated by Gauntlet (2008). Consequently indicating that the pressure to live up to ideals is no longer isolated to women as men feel the same pressure if not more so as they are supposed to be in-effected by such stereotypes due to the stereotypes of men portrayed in the media as supported by Grogan (2016) and Pleck, Sonenstein, and Ku (1993).
In conclusion, in relation to the effect of stereotypes on men and women today its hard to draw a definitive conclusion from these sources as they discuss information from different time periods. Despite this it can be said that stereotypes within advertising effect both men and women with men arguably being more greatly effect. Despite the supporting evidence being potential out of date the points discussed and research conducted have taken place within the last 20 years and are still relevant as points discussed by Walter (1998) link to those discussed by Sheehan (2004).
Bibliography:
Gauntlett, D. (2008). Media, gender, and identity. London: Routledge, pp.83-88.
Sheehan, K. (2004). Controversies in contemporary advertising. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, pp.89-94.
Walter, N. (1999). The new feminism. London: Virago, p.p101-105.
Grogan, S. (2016). Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women and Children. Routledge; 3 edition, p5 preface
Pleck, J. Sonenstein, F. and Ku, L (1993). Masculinity Ideology: Its Impact on Adolescent Males’ Heterosexual Relationships. 1993 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, pp 14-15.
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