A Critical Comparison of the Gender Representations in Two Print Adverts.

A Critical Comparison of the Gender Representations in Two Print Adverts

Introduction

The representation of men and women in a stereotypical sense is very different. The representations of women in mediated stereotypical adverts are delicate, feminine, gentle and very beautiful, whereas men are represented in a stereotypical way very differently. Men are represented as powerful, strong, athletic, dirty, aggressive, emotionless and have a strong camaraderie with other men. This representation of the sexes is not a representation of reality though. Images for magazines are mediated. Anything such as an image is mediated, this is because the image is not the same as reality. If a picture is taken of someone’s head that is not reality, it is a mediated close-up on someone’s face. More mediation can take place of the image is taken though, images can be airbrushed, stretched, smoothed and changed to how the advertisers want. This is the reason that people want to look like the men and women in the advert because the seam physically perfect.

Adverts have a large affect on men and women, women especially on who they should be and what they should look like. The problem with this is that it is an unachievable goal for most people. Women and men who don’t feel comfortable with their self appearance can then become very self-conscious on how people view their outer self. This can lead to depression, due to this people can become very upset and have negative emotions because they see them selves not to be a ‘perfect’ person.

The beauty myth is the influence that mediated representations of people is how everyone should look and are able to, but they can’t because they choose not to do so. Advertisers do not do this on purpose though. Companies especially cosmetic companies want people to think that if they use a certain product they are advertising that they can look like the beautiful person selling it. This is the reason that some people think gender representations to be so important that they can make people believe in cosmetic products. Gender representations also work in other adverts such as cleaning adverts which portrays the stereotypical housewife as doing the chores and that the product is seen as so good that even a professional housewife uses it and gives a good point sell for the product.

The Ben Sherman advert uses the entire page of the advert fitting model, bike and logo into it. The advert is under lit, this could show the men are emotionless and without the light you cannot clearly see the face expression of the models face. Without light he cannot show his emotion in an image because there is no sound on a printed advert, this links with the stereotypical view of men being emotionless. Without light there also a sense of mystery and that you cannot know about him. The mysterious effect works like a shell and that you can only see parts of the model and he is hidden. This gives a chance to go against the stereotypical view because if you cannot see the model clearly then a strong stereotypical view cannot be place on this man.

The model is looking down into the advert, this gives the model a feeling of superiority and dominance, and he is so powerful he looks down onto people. The camera is shooting up to the model and this makes the audience seam inferior because of where they stand compared to the model. Being looked down on can be intimidating for the audience. This can give the impression to the audience that a Ben Sherman shirt can make you more superior and respected.

The advert for the perfume has an image of a woman’s neck and lower face, there ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

The advert for the perfume has an image of a woman’s neck and lower face, there is also a flower (possibly poppy) out of focus behind her. The image takes up one third of the page and the part of the woman’s body takes up half of the total image. The part of the models body is positioned right of the image. Underneath the image there is “FLOWERBYKENZO” which if the words are separated says FLOWERS BY KENZO. The word is most likely the name of the perfume and the company is made by. Next to that there are 3 cylindrical glasses or plastic containers with a flower in each of them, next to the cylinders is the company logo.

The part of the woman’s body cannot give any indication to her emotions but does show how clean and smooth her skin is. Using the woman’s neck shows the smoothness of her skin but also it is where women usually spray or place perfume on themselves. The neck is though to be very delicate indeed because it is very sensitive to touch and has a main artery passing through it as well as the windpipe which makes it vital for life. The Part of the model’s face that can be seen is the woman’s mouth. The mouth is the most sensitive part of the body and the colour of her lips correspond to the colour of the flower in the background.

The advert about Ben Sherman has the model placed on top of a Triumph motorcycle. Triumph is a British Make of motorbike, Ben Sherman is a British brand of clothing and the Model is a British Footballer. All of these things give a feeling of patriotism to the advert and that if you buy a Ben Sherman shirt you are purchasing part of your county and have a stronger part in it. Using the bike as a prop not only allows the advert to give patriotism but that it is a powerful machine, a piece of technology and bold. Motorbikes are also seen as a rebellious tool and non-law abiding people ride them and wreak havoc. Men are known for causing more trouble than girls and the bike can lead into means ambitions to be rebellious but other things in life hold them back. A motorbike like many powerful things are known as ‘big boy’s toys’ and that it is respectful to have something such as that. Motorbikes are also noisy and dirty, they have oil dripping out of them and make a loud noise when started up. Men are also seen as dirty and resembles a stereotypical feel that men even if wearing smart clothes are dirty.

The model has no hair and is bold. Hair can be used as an image but so can boldness, it can be seen as a statement but also as a personal thing. Social groups can have stereotypical hair cuts, such as spiked coloured hair for skaters, shaved side and long hair (mullet) for motorcyclists or heavy metal enthusiasts. Hair can show a person and who they are because to look after hair can take a long time and being bold doesn’t take time to brush hair which leaves more time. This can show than men are busy and hard working, they don’t have time to style hair because they have so much to do. The flower is the same colour as the models lipstick. Lips and lipstick can be related to passion according to certain people, subsequently a kiss is very romantic and passionate. The fragrance advertised can be seen by some people as passionate and romantic as well.

The clothes that the model wears are a Ben Sherman shirt, jeans and motorcycle gloves. The shirt is used to show the audience the product the company are advertising. The gloves are used for motor biking but can be seen by the audience as life is heard wearing and the gloves are used to stop like wearing away so quickly. The gloves are also used to protect hands and fingers which show that men do feel pain and want to protect them from it showing a sign of emotion. The gloves can also be a stylish accessory.

On the Kenzo advert the model is wearing a white silk shirt. White is seen a being related to purity and the purity of women reflect onto the perfume. The woman is looking upwards away from the camera as if she is looking up to someone else or to the future.

The two different materials used for clothing can also have an affect. The leather gloves can be seen as tough and resistant, this is also the way a man is stereotypical represented that they are tough and resist their emotions. Whereas the Kenzo advert has a silk shirt. Silk is seen as being soft and comforting. This too can relate to how a woman is stereotypically represented that the are emotional and affectionate and comfort each other.

Lighting in the advert is different for each advert. The Ben Sherman advert is back lit and the model in poorly lit. The lighting is important because light can reveal detail of someone. The Kenzo advert attempts to look as if it is lighted naturally. This give the audience a feeling that the model is outside on a warm summers day, consequently this can trigger memories in the audience and memories of smells. Smell is very strongly linked to memory and because the advert is advertising a fragrance that is called “FLOWER” then it may be in the interest of some of the audience to purchase the perfume. They may buy this because it reminds them of a happy memory and can create a strong connection between the audience and the advert.

The props used in the adverts (motorbike and flower) are very different. Flowers are seen a delicate, beautiful, calming and sweet smelling where as a motorbike is aggressive, powerful, noisy and dirty. They are very different props which can relate to genders. Men and women are very different species of humans. Men are seen as the motorbike tough, powerful and dirty where women are seen as a flower delicate, beautiful and sweet-scented.

The prop in the Ben Sherman advert is a bike is mechanical. This means that the bike is unnatural and man made. In the Kenzo advert the prop is a flower. Flowers are natural and this is important because women are stereotypically seen as more natural that men. This means that the prop connects with femininity very well and serves as a very good prop, one as the same name as the fragrance advertised and the femininity shared with it.

The model in the Ben Sherman advert is Rio Ferdinand who is a famous English football player. This makes him more than just a model for the advert but a role model for men and women. Many men enjoy football and having a link with a well know footballer makes a relation to the audience. If they are a fan of the certain footballer or just believe that because the model is a talented footballer they might buy the Ben Sherman clothing item and look like that person. Football is also seen as a mans game and is masculine this can also relate to the male audience in persuading them to buy the product being advertised and is a successful advert because of it.

It is represented that men look at motorcycles differently than woman do. Men supposedly see powerful machines like cars and motorbikes as a thing of beauty and creations that are so delicate yet powerful and masculine. This can be due to early influences such as friends and toy adverts. It is represented that men sometimes see flowers as worthless, that its just a plant and has no real purpose than a good present for Mothers day and a girls birthday. This is what upsets the beauty myth. Everybody perceives everything in a different way and this is why people can say that the beauty myth does not exist. An example for this is a motorbike, because men are supposed to see it as an accomplishment of mankind and a sculpture whereas women are represented see a motorbike as just a form of transport to get you from one place to another and don’t see the motorbike as men do. This relates to the beauty myth because even is one person or a few people may find something beautiful or repulsive many people may see it completely differently and this is why some people believe the beauty myth no longer exist or ever did exist.

The two adverts do fit well as stereotypical adverts for men and women. The Ben Sherman advert relates to men using a footballer as the model to advertise the product which can then relate to many people on different levels. The advert for Kenzo perfume relates to women in that there is a beautiful woman on the front of it which encourages women to buy it in hope they may become more like that model. Men and women can be used to create tension though because they are opposites and can be seen as good and evil.

What I believe is that if there was no diversity in how people look then everybody would look the same and eventually we would get tired of looking at each other, and then maybe different and unusual may become attractive. This is the reason why people don’t look the same because each individual person enjoys different things and want different things. Most people think being able to have many different things is a luxury and that is why there will never be a time when everyone is the same.

Ben Wilkins