Stereotypes Galore! Women’s Emancipation as Reflected in Advertising

A woman rushes across the screen, cleaning the floor with the latest “turbo power 3”
multifunction vacuum cleaner, feeds her baby with the new and improved baby formula
and marvels at her almost blindingly clean dishes, then turns to the camera with a
smile on her face that suggests she could not imagine a more satisfying life. This
description might sound a little old fashioned and restricting, but it is commonly
conveyed to us through advertising, even today. Is this truly the concept we have of
modern women? Has not the women’s movement brought about more change than just
in legal status? As advertising is one of the most powerful educational mediums in
modern society, the image of women it conveys is not only quite interesting, but also of
great importance. There is such an overload of advertising surrounding us; we’re
bombarded daily with a vast amount on the radio, TV, online, on billboards, in
magazines, even on the most common things like a pen—there is no way to escape its
influence. Advertising’s key objective is making money; selling an image of perfection to
consumers makes great business sense, because it sends people on a never-ending
quest, trying to achieve the impossible, all the while spending endless amounts of
money. Advertising does not only sell a product, but, through stereotyped characters,
also provides us with an exemplary way of life. The concepts of beauty, love, and normalcy it promotes, might have changed in the course of 40 years, but the central
message remains the same, “you have to buy this or otherwise you will be
unacceptable”. It seems that in the 21st century, women’s emancipation is an issue that should long
since have been checked off the list as accomplished. The great effect of the feminist movement, with better educated, working women, participating in every aspect of life, is undeniable, yet the
influence it has had on advertising’s portrayal of women remains questionable. Have
stereotypes been banished, did they evolved or maybe even stay the same? The focus
is on the 1950s and the 1990s as representative decades for the pre-and post-feminist
attitudes, in order to explore the truth of advertising and finally be able to answer the
question: does advertising’s image of women match their place in society?