Essay On Gender Stereotypes In Advertising

In modern days, advertising has become a matter of gender representation and categorizing both men and women, rather than a commercial aiming to advertise a certain product. An effective endorsement is usually associated with some sort of portrayal of gender, as well as social values. It is rather doubtful for a successful ad to lack controversy regarding the illustration of women in particular. This is because, gender identity is not natural- it is deliberately created by the media and society around us, as well as adopting the traditional portrait of femininity and masculinity. We are taught to believe in the stereotypical ideas of how someone should look like, remembering to fall in between the margins of society, either categorized as a strong, powerful man or a weak, delicate woman. Pantene’s “Whip It” commercial challenges the traditional American gender …show more content…
Despite these challenges against gender stereotypes, the advert does reinforce the main idea of a woman being someone to be looked at- hair shining, fit, beautiful, well-proportioned, young, desirable. This somewhat objectifies women because they are expected to be sexy which tends to be a male view on it. It emphasizes the stereotype of women being beautiful by taking a woman that is basically a super model. This is done because looking at a professional, high-class, successful person tends to be more effective. It motivates the audience to work hard and determines them to use the figure as their idol. It is also suitable for a wider audience rather than if the advert possessed someone less educated and finding themselves in the lower-class of society. This is done in order to fulfill the purpose of the ad, by projecting an image of a young and successful career man and woman for persuasive reasons. Therefore, excluding the less successful not only contributes to the ad being more compelling but it also appeals to a larger