Advertising: Gauntlett - Gender, identity and advertising
Read this extract from Media, Gender and Identity by David Gauntlett. This is another university-level piece of academic writing so it will be challenging - but there are some fascinating ideas here regarding the changing representation of men and women in the media. If you can't access David Gauntlett's website, the text is also available here.
1) What examples does Gauntlett provide of the "decline of tradition"? How can we link our advertising CSPs (Score hair cream and Maybelline 'That Boss Life') to this idea?
Gauntlett refers to the old traditions and stereotypes that were associated with men and women around twenty or thirty years ago and how these have changed dramatically.
Women were seen as housewives and were related with low-status jobs but are now deemed successful, powerful and intelligent.
Old advert showing the traditional representation of women. A housewife who should be serving her husband and be happy about it.
New advert showing a different approach on the representation of women. Confident and encouraging.
Men were expected to be tough, stubborn and encourage patriarchal views in society but they are now acknowledged for also having emotions and needing advice.
Shocking old advert showing the traditional representation of men. A 'strong', dominant husband who is able to treat his wife whatever way he wants.
New advert showing a different approach on the representation of men. Represents the fact that men need comfort and care too
The Score hair cream offers the dated and traditional view of masculinity and women. Men are presented in an extremely hyper-masculine way while the women are simply sexualised and presented like objects. However, the Maybelline advert shows the 'decline of tradition' by offering a completely polar view. The expectations of masculinity is represented in a much more relaxed and fluid way- Manny (a male) wears makeup and is just as excited about the new mascara as his friend (Shayla) is.
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| Score hair cream advert (1967) |
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| Maybelline 'Big shot' mascara advert (2017) |
2) How does Gauntlett suggest the media influences the way we construct our own identities?
'The construction of identity has become a known requirement.' (Gauntlett) due to the increasing use of social media. People have come out with many different identities and genders and, so, this has led to others having to think about and decide what they want their identity to be. Other forms of media help us decide what we want to be and provide us with 'tools' to shape our identity. Magazines promote self-confidence and provide information about sex, relationships and lifestyles. Television programmes, pop songs, adverts, movies and the internet all also provide numerous kinds of 'guidance'. Some of these tools may be more useful to one individual then they are to another. Ultimately, 'Your life is your project - there is no escape' and, therefore, we must pick a lifestyle which best suits us in order to be happy.
3) How do the two CSPs reflect the generational differences that Gauntlett discusses? Is it a good thing that the media seems to promote modern liberal values?
"Surveys have found that people born in the first half of the twentieth century are less tolerant of homosexuality, and less sympathetic to unmarried couples living together, than their younger counterparts." (Gauntlett) This is true as the attitudes of people is reflected in advertising. The score hair cream advert, published in 1967, reinforces the traditional, narrow-minded attitudes of the people of that time. A patriarchal society was still thriving- with men being dominant and women being objects. However, over time, these attitudes have changed greatly. The Maybelline 'Big Shot' mascara advert (2017) illustrates the changing attitudes of society and how they have now become more tolerant to once taboo subjects.
It is a good thing that the media seems to promote modern liberal values as it reflects how people are becoming more open minded. However, it may not be an accurate representation of the true ideologies that people in society have. For example, the fact that the UK voted for Brexit and the USA voted for Trump is evidence that people are trying to backlash on the liberal society that the media has created. Furthermore, it is important to note that younger audiences are the majority of society that agree with these modern values, while people who are much older are likely to disagree with the values that the media tries to disseminate. "It therefore remains to be seen whether the post-traditional young women and men of today will grow up to be the narrow-minded traditionalists of the future." (Gauntlett)
4) Why might Manny and Shayla be a good example of the role models that Gauntlett discusses - and also demonstrate how those role models have changed in recent years?
"Role models serve as navigation points as individuals steer their own personal routes through life." (Gauntlett) Manny and Shayla are good examples of role models because of the positivity they promote on their YouTube channels. They have millions of subscribers which reflects how influential they are. Manny especially demonstrates how role models have changed over recent years because of the fact that he is a gay man who wears make up. 50 years ago, he would have been shamed, shunned and had hardly any followers at all.
5) Why does the Score hair cream advert provide such a good example of traditional masculinity? How can you link this to Gauntlett's discussion of whether masculinity is in crisis?The Score hair cream advert is such a good example of traditional masculinity because of the hyper masculinity it illustrates. The male is represented as a dominant macho-man while the women are head-over-heels for him and sexualised. Gauntlett believes that masculinity isn't in crisis but that "masculinity is a socially constructed performance anyway." He believes that it's not 'masculinity' that is the problem but, rather, the men who are still tied to the old, traditional role of masculinity and struggle to accept and follow the modern masculinity.
6) Gauntlett consistently argues that masculinity is not in crisis. Can the Maybelline 'That Boss Life' advert be used as evidence of this?
If we take Gauntlett's view that 'masculinity' technically doesn't exist and its just a social construct then yes, the Maybelline 'That Boss Life' advert does provide evidence that masculinity is not in crisis. This is because the male in the advert, Manny, is comfortable and happy with the way he portrays himself. Therefore we could argue that masculinity is not in crisis because of this.
However, people who view traditional masculinity, i.e men being strong and the providers of a family, will say that the Maybelline advert provides evidence that masculinity is in crisis because the Manny wears makeup and this is something that should be associated with females only.
7) Does advertising still reinforce the "conventionally rugged, super-independent, extra-strong macho man" that Gauntlett discusses? Offer examples for both sides of the argument from the wider advertising industry.
Yes, I believe that the media still reinforces the "conventionally rugged, super-independent, extra-strong macho man" that Gauntlett discusses. Men are consistently advertised as having extreme muscles and are often sexualised together with women. They are also represented as 'strong' and are expected to have certain 'male skills', such as the ability to play football. This representation of men is often seen on men's magazine, meaning that the media is telling men that they have to look like this in order to be a man.
Even the 'Gay Times' features gay men on their covers but still portrays them the same way traditional males are expected to look. Some of the men they choose to place on their front covers are famous men who aren't even gay. However, they do sometimes put make-up on the men on their covers.
However, there are a few acceptations to this. Covergirl picked James Charles, a 17-year-old makeup artist from New York, to be the first male and 'Coverboy' to model for them. This challenges the traditional stereotypes of men that other magazines still convey.
I believe that adverts support the idea of 'girl power' to some extent. There are many adverts that promote the idea that women should be themselves, confident and independent. Examples include the Always 'Like a girl' campaign.
However, despite all the positive messages that advertisers convey, women are still continuously sexualised in advertising. This provides the argument that women are still seen as objects and are used for the pleasure of me. An example is the Dove real beauty campaign. Such a beautiful concept about diversity and difference but was it necessary for them to be in underwear?
Yes I agree with Gauntlett's argument that younger generations are not threatened by traditional gender roles and are more comfortable with social changes. This is because they have grown up in a world where men are equal with women, where the LGBT community is continuously praised and supported and where they are surrounded by adverts like the Maybelline one, where a non-binary and fluid representation of gender is created. However, there is a possibility that they can hold views against the modern social changes due to their parents and upbringing. Their parents are likely to hold views of traditional gender roles and this may be passed on to them which they may pass on to their children as well.
10) How do the two advertising CSPs show the changing 'diversity of sexualities' that Gauntlett suggests?
In the Score hair cream advert, a highly heterosexual image of men is created and the consumers are reassured that using the cream won't make them any less masculine ('made by men'). However, the Maybelline advert takes a totally different approach to sexualities. They chose a gay man to feature in their advert and he is just as enthusiastic about the mascara as Shayla is.
11) What examples from advertising does Gauntlett provide for the changing nature of gender in society (from the section on Judith Butler's Gender trouble)?
- CK One fragrance 'for a man or a woman'
- Kronenbourg lager
- Impulse deodorant
12) How can the Maybelline 'That Boss Life' advert be applied to Judith Butler's work on 'gender trouble'?
The Maybelline adverts supports Judith Butler's idea that "The binary division of 'male' and 'female' identities should be shattered, and replaced with multiple forms of identity..." because the male and female in the advert (Manny and Shayla) both have a common interest with makeup and their gender isn't stopping them from doing this.
13) How can our two advertising CSPs be used to argue that power has shifted from media institutions to audiences? (Clue: how did Manny and Shayla from the Maybelline advert first become famous?)
When the Score hair cream advert was published in 1967, advertising companies controlled and dominated the media. There wasn't much room for audiences to come forward and debate the ideas that the media was conveying because social media didn't exist. However, after the rise of the internet and social media, the power of the media can be said to have shifted to audiences. Manny and Shyla both became famous on their own through YouTube which shows how influential an individual can be. Furthermore, if adverts were to represent something in the media that audiences don't agree with, they will receive massive backlash and protests. Audience aren't passive audiences anymore, they fight for what they think is right. An example is the Protein World's 'beach body ready' campaign that lead to much controversy because of its inappropriate message.
14) Why is advertising such a good example of the 'contradictory elements' that Gauntlett discusses with regards to the mass media? In other words, how does advertising continue to both reinforce and challenge gender stereotypes?
Advertising challenges traditional gender stereotypes because of its continuous representation of gender as fluid and non-binary. However, it also reinforces traditional stereotypes by always sexualising both men and women and representing them in a way that fits their corresponding gender roles.
15) Finally, Gauntlett makes a clear case that things change and modern identities are increasingly fluid. How do our advertising CSPs demonstrate the changing attitudes towards gender and sexuality in society?
The Score hair cream advert reinforces traditional views of gender and sexuality whereas the Maybelline advert offers a contemporary and new approach to gender and sexuality. The 50 year gap between the two adverts illustrate how much things can change over time.
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