The document discusses the feminist approach to analyzing portrayals of women in advertising over time. It provides context on the waves of feminism and the goals of each wave. It also summarizes several studies that analyzed the shifting depictions of women in magazines from the 1950s to 2000s, noting that while women have more roles today, sexism and objectification still exist. The document also discusses how some feminist magazines and campaigns challenged sexist advertising and promoted alternative portrayals of women.

1. The Feminist Approach in Advertising
Danianese Woods

2.  “…And what about the women?"
 In other words, where are the women in any situation
being investigated? If they are not present, why? If they
are present, what exactly are they doing? How do they
experience the situation? What do they contribute to it?
What does it mean to them?
 "How can we change and improve the social world to
make it a more just place for women and for all
people?"
 Lengermann & Brantley, 2004

3.  “Sex makes us male or female; gender makes us
masculine or feminine.
 Sex is an ascribed status because a person is born with
it, but gender is an achieved status because it must be
learned.
 Sex and gender were differentiated — the former being
biological, and the later a social construct that varies
culture-to-culture and over time
•Lengermann & Brantley, 2004

4.  Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
 How do you define the term feminist?
 Equal opportunity in education
 Equal opportunity in employment
 Equal pay
 A woman’s right to control her body
 Sexual freedom
 Violence against women (rape, domestic abuse, etc.)
 Maternity leave
 Childcare

5.  1st wave
◦ consisted largely of White, middle-class, well-
educated women
 2nd wave
◦ Focused on women’s issues; interwoven with war
protests, civil rights, black power & LGBT
movements
 3rd wave
◦ More opportunities and less sexism, self esteem and
girl empowerment; individual difference—in
gender, ethnicity, race, etc.
Krolokke & Sorensen, 2006

8.  Content analysis is used
to evaluate portrayals of
women and men in
United States magazine
advertisements over a 50-
year period, 1950 through
2000.
 7, 912 portrayals of
people from 3,212 ads
covering 50 years of U.S.
magazine advertising
 Two women’s magazines
(Cosmopolitan and
Ladies’ Home Journal)
 Two men’s magazines
(Esquire and Popular
Mechanics)
 Two general editorial
magazines (Reader’s
Digest and National
Geographic)
 1 news magazine (Time)
•Mager & Helgeson,2010

9.  In 1950, females and males fulfilled almost exclusively “traditional”
roles, with men portrayed in the public sphere and women portrayed
primarily in the private sphere, usually within the home
 By 2000, Magazine advertising presents a more balanced, equal
depiction of women and men in the more objective/easily identifiable
role positions.
 Showing women in the private and public sphere, and fulfilling a
variety of roles not only maternal but also executive.
 However, women are still shown as dependent on men and are used
increasingly as sexual objects in ads.
 Mager & Helgeson,2010

10.  In 1968, for example, feminist activists staged a highly
public protest at the Miss America Pageant which, they
argued, epitomized “the degrading mindless-boob girlie
symbol” that dominated images of women in popular
media.
 Feminists organized campaigns to cover advertisements
which they deemed objectifying with stickers and graffiti
that read ‘This ad exploits women’
 And some activists even established alternative forms of
media to create public spaces for feminist dialogues that
were free of such exploitative imagery
 (Hatton &Trautner, 2013)
 (Ferguson, J. H., Kreshel, P. J., & Tinkham, S. F., 1990)

11.  The editors of Ms. magazine explained their approach to advertising in
their first regular issue:
 “We don’t spend half our money on makeup . . .and the other half on
food, as traditional women’s magazines would make it appear. We also
buy cars, books, airline tickets . . . and the many products that aren’t
usually directed to women at all.”
 Secured nontraditional advertising accounts in an effort to change the way
advertisers and readers thought about the “women’s market.”
 Ms. Magazine encountered problems in trying to attract advertisers and
 the ways in which the so-called content of mainstream women’s
magazines reflected the ideology of the advertisers.
 Ms. barred not only sexist images, but also those promoting dangerous
goods like cigarettes and feminine deodorant products
 (Howard, 2010) (Lazarus, 2001)

15.  “With an attitude that is fierce, funny, and proud to be
female, BUST provides an uncensored view on the female
experience. BUST tells the truth about women's lives and
presents a female perspective on pop culture. BUSTing
stereotypes about women since 1993”
 strategies that indicate how sex functions in Bust
advertising:
 (a) sex appeals: that equate sexual commodities with a tenet
of feminism
 (b) sex appeals that foster feminist political protest
 (c) sex appeals that promote a feminist commitment to
alternative identities.
 D’Enbeau, 2010

19.  Dove announced its challenge to the dominant
ideology of beauty: it would feature “real” women
and girls of “various ages, shapes and sizes”
 Dove’s campaign echoes feminist and feminist media
studies scholarship that addresses how
representations in popular culture convey often-
problematic meanings of gender and beauty.
 Messages of women’s freedom in the marketplace as
“empowered consumers”
Murray, 2013

20.  The construction of CFRB was based on Dove’s 2003
global research study, “The Real Truth About Beauty.”
 This research involved the participation of 3,200
women, ages 18 through 64, in ten countries, in a
twenty to twenty-five minute long telephone interview
 The study found that less than 2 percent of women feel
beautiful; 75% want representations of women to
reflect diversity through age, shape, and size; and 76%
want the media to portray beauty as more than physical
Murray, 2013

21.  D'enbeau, S. (2010). Sex, feminism, and advertising: the politics of advertising feminism in a competitive
marketplace. Journal of communication inquiry, 35(1) 53–69.
 Duan, N. A brief history of selling feminism. http://www.elle.com/culture/g8780/history-of-feminist-ads/
 Ferguson, J. H., Kreshel, P. J., & Tinkham, S. F. (1990). In the pages of Ms.: Sex role portrayals of women
in advertising. Journal of advertising, 19, 40-51.
 Hatton, Erin, and Mary Nell Trautner. 2013. “Images of Powerful Women in the Age of ‘Choice
Feminism. Journal of Gender Studies 22(1): 65-78.
 Howard, E.(2010). Pink Truck Ads: Second-Wave Feminism and Gendered Marketing. Journal of Women's
History 22(4), 137-161. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
 Krolokke, C. & Sorensen, A. S. (2006). Gender communication theories and analyses: From silence to
performance (50). Sage.
 Lengermann, P. M. & Niebrugge-Brantley, J. (2004). Modern feminist theory. Modern sociological theory:,
302-349.
 Lazarus, M. (2001). Producing feminism. Feminist Media Studies, 1(2), 245-249.
 Mager, J. & Helgeson, J. (2011), “Fifty Years of Advertising Images: Some Changing Perspectives Along
With Enduring Consistencies,” Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 64, 238-252.
 Murray, D. P. (2013). Branding “Real” Social Change in Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty. Feminist
Media Studies, 13(1), 83-101.