Portrayal of Women in Print Media

Advertising has grown to be present all around us. It has brought about brand bombing and now occupies a special position in modern society. We are faced with advertisements even when sitting in a classroom. From logos on t-shirts and sweatshirts that can be easily identified, to water bottles like ‘Poland Spring’ and ‘Aquafina’ that are placed on desks, it has become impossible to avoid being influenced by advertising. Todd Gitlin, in his book ‘Media Unlimited’ states that the torrent of the media is omnipresent. It tends to over whelm us by presenting ideas, attitudes and values, through advertising which embed its meanings into the beliefs and values of society. In addition, it causes us to be unsatisfied, and makes us believe that we are not good enough, thus lowering our self image. Although we are fully aware of the impact advertising has on us, we still succumb to it each time and buy products that will apparently make us fairer or help us lose weight.



Advertising is continuously telling people what it means to be desirable. These advertisements make women believe and measure themselves against what society and culture believe ‘ideal beauty’ is. McChesney says,"Advertising often relies on convincing people that there is something wrong with them and that purchasing a product or service will solve their problem."(McChesney, 143) “The average American woman is 5'4" tall and weighs 140 pounds whereas the average American model is 5'11" tall and weighs 117 pounds. Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women. Four out of five American women say they're dissatisfied with the way they look. On any given day, almost half of the women in the United States are on a diet.”(http://www.inch-aweigh.com/dietstats.htm)These models in advertisements lead readers to believe that in order to be considered beautiful, you must be thin, perfectly toned, and have flawless skin. They also bring about a sense of insecurity and low self esteem amongst viewers. By making them feel this way, they increase sales of the products they are advertising. The underweight Barbie doll image created by advertisers is impossible to attain and in trying to fit that image, women today end up having eating disorders or are sickly underweight. Since a young age girls fantasize of growing up to look like Barbie, not knowing that with Barbie’s weight and height they would not be able to stand on their feet.



Similarly the women in these advertisements, who appear to be perfect, are taken up as role models. These advertisements influence societal notions about beauty which in turn pressurize women to resort to a stereotypical mold.In a recent study by Dove, the researchers found that out of the survey respondents,only 2% considered themselves to be beautiful and 81% agree that “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve.”(http://www.dove.us/#/CFRB/arti_cfrb.aspx[cp-documentid=7049726]/) Through the Dove Campaign, we can see how images of women depicted in magazines look nothing like they do in real life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U

Magazine advertisements portray women to be weak, childish, dependent, irrational, domestic, subordinate beings in comparison to men. These advertisements further objectify and sexualize women. In the Dolce and Gabbana advertisement, it can be seen that the woman is portrayed to be weak. She is pinned down by her wrists under the gaze of several other men. It seems as though she is getting gang raped while the men, who are shown to be fit and strong, are watching and looking down at her. This advertisement further questions a woman’s role in society and the idea of violence towards women. Is she expected to satisfy the whims of men or can she create and identity for herself? Dolce and Gabbana through its controversial advertisement is successful in capturing the readers view.



Abercrombie and Fitch when marketing to children, in their summer catalog had images of teenage looking models groping each other. In addition, they also started advertising a line of underwear for girls between the ages of 7 and 14 with words like ‘sexy’ and ‘eye candy’ on them, thus promoting sex to children.



In India, where society is quite conservative, Levis, in its advertisement for jeans, sexualizes women once again. One can see the model wearing just a pair of jeans and covering her upper body with her arms and a bead necklace. In these advertisements women have been sexualized and reduced to an object of exploitation.

McChesney, in his book ‘The Problem of the Media’ discusses the concept of hyper commercialism which is solely based on intensified profit making that serves only the market perspective. There are several instances where the product sold has nothing sexy about it, and the advertisement is yet sexualized. In a print advertisement for a vacuum(http://inventorspot.com/articles/ads_prove_sex_sells_5576),a German Company selling appliances, uses images of women in fishnet stockings, and men tied up to sell its product. This just shows us that sex sells. If you were not aware of what the ad was for, you would be confused; since the vacuum is visible only on the extreme right hand corner of the image.



Dolce and Gabbana through its advertisement is selling sex. It targets its clothing to everyone. Through their gay advertisements, and provocative images, it stirs up controversies and grabs the attention of viewers. Although these advertisements are targeted to homosexuals, there are no advertisements in favor for them or their rights; such as encouraging marriage rights; instead marketers focus on only profits from their increase in sales.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVQxkqVek0

It can be seen that in advertisements, women are depicted to be more feminine and sexual. They are exposed sexually and are also represented in limited roles. Rarely are they shown in successful business roles, work settings, or position involving authority. In India, an advertisement for ‘Movado’ features Twinkle Khanna, as a successful actor. The text in the advertisement associates the actor's artistic talents with the quality of the product. Her brand image as being a talented successful actress is stressed on in order to promote the product. Although we have a few of these advertisements,the portrayal of woman in this positive light is very limited.



The portrayal of woman has not changed much over the years. Women in advertisements represent what the society holds as an ideal image of her. They are continuously depicted as sexual beings, thoughtless, dependent, caretakers, who believe in the stereotypical definition of beauty. The representation of women considered weak and sexual objects, perpetuate the notions of femininity and reinforce them every time these advertisements are read by the audience.