Advertising and Women

Persuasive Essay # 102833

Advertising > Gender Issues
Business > Marketing
Communication > Mass Media

This paper looks at body image, female sexuality and debt within the field of advertising.

1,692 words () | 13 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper examines advertising and how it impacts women in three ways: body image; sexuality; and consumer spending habits. Specifically, the writer argues that advertising has been - and continues to be - shaped by stereotypical depictions of the two genders, and that women remain faced with a popular media that glorifies unhealthy body images at the same time as it sexualizes women and impresses upon them the sense that they need to dress and act a certain way in order to be "true" women. Finally, the paper looks at how consumer advertising has placed women in a position where they are now expected to consume both like women - and like men.

Outline:
Abstract
Introduction
Advertising and women: Body image
Advertising and Women: Sexuality
Advertising and women: Debt
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Advertising in America and throughout the western world impacts women in many ways - most of them negative. In the pages that follow, the impact of advertising upon women in the realms of body image, sexuality, and consumer impulses will all be discussed, with the general argument being raised that advertisers seize upon female insecurities and self-perceived inadequacies in order to make money - even if the process ends up sparking eating disorders and psychological disorders among young and old females. In the end, women need to appreciate that advertisers are not interested in social welfare but in making money - often by appealing to shop-worn notions about gender roles."

Sample of Sources Used:

Andersen, Arnold E., and DiDomenico, Lisa. (1992). Diet v. shape content of popular male and female magazines: a doseesponse to relationship to the incidence of eating disorders? International Journal of Eating Disorders, 11(3): 283-287.
Baker, Christina N. (2005). Images of women's sexuality in advertisements: A content analysis of black and white-oriented women's and men's magazines. Sex Roles, 52(1-2): 13-27.
Dittmar, Helga, and Blayney, Miranda. (1996). Women's self-reported eating behaviors and their responses to food and non-food television advertisements. European Eating Disorders Review, 4(4): 217-231.
Fay, Michael, and Price, Christopher. (1994). Female body-shape in print advertisements and the increase in anorexia nervosa. European Journal of Marketing, 28(12): 5-18.
Feit, Monica N. (2001). Exposure of adolescent girls to cigar images in women's magazines, 1992-1998. American Journal of Public Health, 91(2): 286-288.