How the stereotypes of Gender has changed with Advertising 

Over the years the roles and expectations of what a man and woman can do has changed, and still continues to change as time goes on. There are several reasons for this, a remarkable time in history for females was when Margaret Thatcherr served as Prime minister from 1979-1990. Following on from that many women began to have major roles in society, musicians, actresses, models, Ceo's, Founders and managers of big companies. Over time the roles that females serve in society  have dramatically changed, single mothers are expected to do both roles; provide and be home carers; therefore they are going for higher positions, education is available for all so more women are becoming more qualified, giving them the opportunity to apply for higher paying jobs. Of course the higher up you are in a company the more you are respected by your co workers, so the level of respect has overall increased for females. We have proved to do all the things men can do, from driving, mechanics, engineering, construction, corporate jobs, selling out concert stadiums etc.

Not only are women doing 'men' jobs but men are also doing 'female' jobs, some are hairdressers, make up artist, teachers and even home carers'.

Furthermore laws have helped us, no one is allowed to discriminate and make a decision based on our gender, and work places are required to have a particular percentage of women hired. Females have become more empowered also because of status's set by celebrities in the media. From Beyonce' making the song 'Who run the world'  to highly respected people like Oprah and Michelle Obama the capability of what we can do has grown tremendously over the years.

So how does this link with advertising?

Well we all know that when adverts are made, they are made around their target audience. If a man is typically known to use a product then it would be advertised with a man using it, and vice versa for females. The same goes with young children, an advert for a barbie would be used with little girls and one for something like 'bay-blades' would have young boys in the adverts- simply because that is the audience they are appealing to.

So if roles are becoming more diverse more things would appeal to both sexes that didn't before. For example Auto service adverts can no longer just be advertised using men, but both sexes, because women drive and have car troubles too. Cooking adverts no longer only advertise to just females, because more and more male chefs have interest in cooking products, as they too use them.

Depending on where you are in the world, adverts to both genders do vary. In the Western society that I live in, there are obvious stereotypes that remain the same with genders.A make-up advert would usually involve women, likewise a Calvin Klein advert would be used with men in boxers, as only men can wear them.

Not only are the roles changing but it is becoming more and more sociably acceptable to be gay/ bisexual. With this, more females are actually behaving like a typical man, and more males are behaving like typical females. With this no one is legally allowed to discriminate against them in regards to selling products, hiring or using a service.

Lets see how gender roles have changed in advertising over time.

As I mentioned earlier women are typically known to be housewives, and back in the day it was acceptable to advertise in a slightly sexist way. Have a look at these adverts.

This advert shows a man stepping on top of a women. Indicating that he is superior to her, especially with him stepping on her head it shows so much disrespect. This would not be an acceptable advert in this society that I live in today. The women is also being represented as tiger print carpet, indicating that she is there to be walked all over. Now both genders are seen much more equal, therefore when advertisers create their adverts today, they try to represent equality as much as possible because it is a popular opinion in society. 

 This is a more updated advert, it shows love and equality between men and women. The lady is hugging the man from behind, looking at him playing with his hair suggesting she is happy and all over him. The man is cooking, with a cocky smile on his face, suggesting that he feels honored to do the cooking. This advert is suggesting that cooking is a sexy attractive thing for males to do and sometimes it is okay for a woman to kick back and just smother her man with love.

Comparing the two above adverts we can clearly see the changes in the stereo types of roles in a relationship. It is more honorable for a man to treat a women with equal respect and treat her sometimes by taking over the kitchen, in return the woman will love and respect him. It is looked down upon in society for a man to belittle women, especially with the rate of domestic violence cases, woman are seen as delicate creatures you should look after in every way.

As male Chefs are now socially acceptable, more adverts for food are now under male names.

Men like Jamie Oliver, Gorden Ramsey, Ainsley Harriot have also helped this image to grow.

This advert shows a man holding his wife looking her in the eyes, with a confident look as if he is 'proud' of her. She is wearing cleaning attire, suggesting that she does the cleaning in the house, and the man is wearing the business suit suggest that he has the corporate job, taking care of the family financially. The statement suggest that a women who cleans and takes care of the home are the most attractive and sexy. The ideal way for a woman to attract a man is to be able to clean, cook etc and the best way for a man to a attract a woman was to be in a good job earning a high amount of money. Also the whole status of marriage was much more desired, look at see how the statement says 'Wife'. The advert is saying if you want to qualify as a wife, you need to ideally be like this woman.

In today's society, being 'cute' or extremely attractive consists of wearing as minimal clothing as possible and not having to lift a finger. This advert shows a woman on a car in a bikini, displaying most of her body. Many years ago car adverts were aimed mainly at men, because they purchased and drove them.  Now women also can afford to buy their own cars and the stereotype today is for a man to drive a nice expensive car in order to get a sexy lady. Not necessary someone to marry, but the theory is 'get a cute car, you get a cute girl'. 

 
If we compare both of the adverts, the way in which women are portrayed is significantly different. From a fully clothed wife with cleaning items in her hand to a lady in a bikini, exposing her body to the world lying down on a car, suggesting she deserves men who drive cars like this because of her image.

This poster suggest that men are superior to females, along with the statement alone 'Show her its a mans world', the man is in a suit suggesting he has come in straight from work and into bed without lifting a finger. His hands behind his head, with a grin on his face looking down at the lady, suggesting that he is waiting to be pampered like a prince. The lady is at the side of the bed kneeling down , serving him food and drink looking like she is serving her master, almost like she is a slave. She looks very happy to serve him in the illustration, this tells us that at the time that the advert was made women were generally happy to kneel down and serve their man.



In today's society female empowerment is greatly admired, and an advert like the one above wouldn't be accepted by society. We have things like international women day, and musicians like Beyonce carry the whole 'female empowerment'  image, so whenever she is used in an advert you automatically think 'female empowerment'. Other things like reality TV shows that show the lives of successful females ( Real Housewives, Braxton Family Values, Blood, sweat and Heels etc) also contribute to this image.

Other significant ladies that have led to woman empowerment are: 

Nawal El Saadawi- Egyptian Doctor, Psychiatrist, university lecturer and writer. 

                                              Carol Bartz - CeO of Yahoo

Gareth Peirce- Lawyer who had an impact on changes in the legal system 

Martha Lane Fox - Founder of  Last minute. com 

Doris Lessing - Nobel Prize winner for best novelist 

                      Oprah Winfrey- Talk show host, actress, philanthropist 

Caster Semenya- Athlete who overcame stereotypes that females can not win global championships. 

And of course the list can go on and on, these are just a few examples. Just a nice ending, below is a commercial for 'international woman's day'. This shows how far we,as woman, have come, and how much we contribute positively to society.

 Due to the differences we are making to society, we have earned all respect, everything is deserved, so there are less adverts that give off the message that men are superior to woman. However, women are seen as more sexual objects which can be seen negatively whereas in the past it would have been an insult for a women to show her body to the public eye. Men are also becoming more open minded to doing 'feminine' roles, its not looked down upon but rather honored in this day and age if a man can do a woman's job.

These views and stereotypes in gender changes over time have had an incredible effect on the way in which products are sold , and who they aim to appeal to.

Watching this awareness advert, I learnt so much, on how much we have invented, and what big differences we have made to society. Please watch it- It will make you smile.