Advertisements by the mass media. Gender stereotypes in media.
In the description of multivariate phenomena such as advertising, researchers
use different terms "advertising", "advertising text", "advertising text", "advertising discourse", "advertising communication". In this work object research is an advertising text as a specific linguistic unit, as if the text refers to "any statement made of one or more sentences, bearing the intention of the speaker complete sense", that an advertisement satisfies such definition. If we consider advertising a cultural phenomenon, then under advertising text we will understand not only verbal but also non-verbal education.
The advertisement is, in our opinion, particularly deserves close attention and careful study since the changes, what happens in society is reflected in the language, and in the language of advertising in features, because the text of advertising absorbs and reflects these changes faster all other text types.
The study of advertising text in socio-cultural terms makes it is possible to assess the impact of advertising on the lifestyle of society, and in General culture. In turn, the perception of the advertising text affects ethno-cultural factor that determines the susceptibility of the addressee to advertising effects. In the advertising text in social and cultural terms the picture of distribution of gender roles in the structure of society is reflected, the features of the ideal personality are formed, which are set implicitly.
Linguistic and culturological aspect of the advertising text reflects the language picture the world of society, which is part of the overall linguistic picture of the world. Research of gender specificity of the advertising text allows to determine the variety of language forms presented in the modern English.
The advertising text reproduces gender roles within the society. In mass media advertisements, sex stereotyping tends to be at its greatest because the intended audiences are normally either male or female. Men are seen in further occupations than women; women are seen generally as house-keepers and mothers. Men have greater possibilities to be seen advertising car companies or marketing products; women are mostly advertising household products. Men are more likely to be shown outside or in a big business backgrounds; women in domestic settings. Men are more often seen to represent authority. Craig writes, ‘As far as advertisement is concern, with older men gaining more authority than the younger men, at the same time as women seem to fade away. Television and radio commentary represent the interpretations of what is actually seen by the initiator of the TV or radio program me’ (13; p.82). These commentary or voice over is the tone of power or authority. A recent figure shows that television commentary majorly male. Even though the number of female voice-overs in recent years has been on the rise, women still engage in their regular, domestic products and feminine care products advertisement. Male voice-overs are more likely to be linked with a far wider variety of products.
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According to the media, the kind of woman women want to be is one that is “caring, emotional, home-loving…guided above all by their feelings”. Women are to take a back seat in comparison to males. Often, women are depicted as “willing and eager to serve men” [18; p.45]. For example, Marie Barone from the television series Everybody Loves Raymond spends all her time caring for her son and ungrateful husband. Unfortunately, these women also tend to make mistakes, and “when things go wrong, and of course with women they often do, they’re shown as clumsy, helpless, and panic stricken” [18; p.9]. For example, Lucy of the classic series I love Lucy is consistently depicted in scenes in which her clumsy behavior results in over-dramatic failure which leads her to become panicked and helpless.
The media also defines what a good and bad woman aught to be like. A “good” woman is “submissive, sensitive, and domesticated” [21; p.3]. Women contrary to this description are seen as bad and rebellious. “A woman who stands up for herself is no longer a woman” [18; p.88]. She is often viewed as masculine and unappealing to men. This concept of acceptable and unacceptable women is also reinforced in literature. “Historically accepted stereotypes of female characters in literature are projected as passive or active, frigid or lustful, selfish or generous” [19; p.165). These contrasting descriptions correspond to the respective good and bad characteristics of women, usually linked to a happy or miserable woman. This is evident in the classic childrens’ story Snow White in which Snow White, having the good characteristics of women, was a beautiful and well-loved woman. The queen on the other hand, having the bad characteristics of women, was unattractive and lacking of any feminine appeal. This contrasting presentation encourages young women to either act a certain way, or live as miserable crones. The presentation of lifestyle versus happiness gives the media the power to “promote some lifestyles and dissuade the audience from valuing others” [20; p.6]. The media presents two lifestyle choices for women by glorifying a good, obedient woman and making the bad, disobedient woman miserable and horrid. This image is embedded in the mind and helps a person decide how they should be.
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Men, on the other hand, are shown as “fearless, tough, decisive, a man of action” [18; p.6]. Men are often portrayed as commanding and authoritative. They have no fear, and never show any weakness. The most extreme example of this stereotype are Saturday morning cartoon superheroes such as Superman, Batman, and Spiderman; super-powered men fighting for justice and the safety of a helpless community. The media leads viewers to believe that this masculine stereotype is “natural, normal, and universal” [21; p.3]. Men also tend to have more important speaking roles, while women are “rarely heard” [20; p.91]. In these speaking roles, males’ voices generally “carry more authority” [22; p.42]. Men are the decision makers and leaders. Their word is final. Women, on the other hand, are rarely seen as an authoritative figure.
These two stereotypical gender definitions are not entirely separate entities. Rather, they co-exist–playing off of each other to form a single social stereotype. The male and female stereotype “continue to be put together to make stories, and these stories suggest how men and women should relate to each other.…In this relationship, men and women help bind each other to their traditional roles. Men can only be strong as long as women remain weak, so women are often shown as totally dependent on them for all kinds of help and support” [18; p.16]. This dependence reinforces the idea that women are weak and men are strong. In this depiction, women must have a man when they are weak and emotional, and a man is incomplete without a woman. However, the woman must remain “discretely in the background” so as not to detract attention from the male [18; p.29].
The media has improved greatly in the past few years. Women are slowly gaining leading roles, and it is not uncommon to see men and women depicted as equals, working along side each other in equally challenging settings. However, this is not yet a standard in the entertainment industry. Women and men are still misrepresented as stereotypes in the majority of the media. This stereotype becomes embedded in the human mind, and is passed on from generation to generation as an acceptable view of male and female gender roles.
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