Cosmetics Argument Analysis

Advertisements tend to perpetuate stereotypes, often sexualizing models and displaying them in ways that conform to social norms. I struggled with finding an ad for men’s cosmetics, and found it very interesting that the best example I came across, a L’Oréal ad, had the slogan “Be yourself, and never let go.” This slogan says a lot about the socially constructed concept of masculinity, while the highly controversial ad for Benefit eyeliner clearly perpetuates the construction of femininity. The drastically different ways in which these products are advertised relates to the social phenomenon of gender and its social construction.
While searching for men’s cosmetics ads online, I found it very interesting that most of the first Google results advertised cosmetics sold in other countries, mainly in Korea. The fact that I really had to dig to find men’s cosmetics reflects a generally socially accepted norm that makeup is associated with the female gender. This is troubling for multiple reasons, since it encourages women to cover their natural faces and discourages men from doing so. America’s tendency to mainly promote the use of makeup by woman is rooted in the expectations for the female gender that our society has created over many centuries. It is …show more content…
Society expects that men will not wear makeup, for makeup has become constructed to be a dominantly female obsession. To me, this slogan tactically uses a reassuring tone towards its users, implying that they will not be any less masculine for using the moisturizer, and that essentially no one has to know that they are using it. The makers of this ad were clearly very concerned with the masculinity of the product, and knew that if it admitted to glamorizing a man’s face it would not