Women in Advertising: Changing Perceptions

Advertising s portrayal of gender roles is a representation of the long-existing unequal relationship of dominance and subservience between the two sexes. Women have been exploited by advertisers for decades. They have frequently been stereotyped in the traditional roles of homemaker, or have been projected as the 'visual prop' to enhance the appeal of an advertisement. However, since the early 2000s, the frequency and the number of such demeaning and exploitative advertisements in the print and the electronic media have reduced. With the growing concept of women's liberation and the recognition of women s individualism by society, the advertising industry has felt the need to finally come to terms with its social responsibilities and portray a more realistic picture of women. As a result, we now see the emergence of the liberated woman - economically independent, in control of her life, and self-involved, a welcome change from being merely a source of attending to man s creature comforts. The scope and objective of the book is to provide a comparative study of the traditional portrayal of women and men in advertising, and bring out new trends in gender equations as reflected by the advertising industry. It is also an attempt to analyze the impact of advertising on society and the role played by media and advertising in social conditioning.