Selling Gender: Gender-roles in Advertising

"The Language of Advertising", Charles A. O'Neill's essay, talks about how advertising language mirrors the fears, quirks, and aspirations of the society that creates it. One major issues that encompass all of the above is gender.

Masculinity or the perception of what it is to be a man is depicted from physical appearance to social behavior. Mass media fills people's minds with images of strong or rebellious men in order to promote different types of products and services. Modern advertising campaigns have adapted to incorporate a more open sense of femininity amongst their ads for men. However, they still maintain a strongly define boundary regarding masculinity without making them look effeminate.

How did they manage to do that with skinny jeans?
I don't know.

Femininity or the perception of what it is to be a woman doesn't scape advertising's equal subjectivity. Beauty and sensitivity are some of the major attributes which are utilize to sell products to women. The ingenuity of modern advertising incorporates independence and freedom of expression in their ads for women. Yet again, such ads are very careful not to include imagery that might be deemed unfeminine.

Madame President does not need makeup in order to do her job better that any man.  

In the battle to brake gender stereotypes the GLBT community advocates for freedom of gender expression. Drag Kings have populated the annals of history in America since WWII. Women had to work in factories and wearing dresses and makeup amongst other women under such conditions seemed like such a bother. However, mass media sometimes reluctantly allows women ads the lack of femininity but never over masculinization.

There is no better gentleman than a woman. And you can quote me.

As for Drag Queens, men have been dressing in what now is been perceived to be as feminine since...

There is a reason for what we all do every morning is still called to-dress-up. GLBT ads use Drag Queens until this day not to represent what it is to be a woman but to glamorize freedom of gender expression. Something mass media is absolutely terrified to accept.

If a man puts on a dress, he is a transvestite. 

If a gay man has way-to-much-fashion-sense for one gender, he is a Drag Queen.

Man, masculine, masculinization, feminization, femenine, woman are gender definitions. 

People's social behaviors perceive and project gender stereotypes.

Mass media incorporates gender-role stereotypes into their ads. 

    It all starts with one simple question.
Is it a boy or a girl?

sources:

Gorman, Greg, and RuPaul. "A Face Is like a Work of Art. It Deserves a Great Frame." L.a.Eyeworks. TypePad, 19 Feb. 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
     <http://laeyeworks.typepad.com/lae/rupauls-drag-race/>. 

 Millenium Glub, Katana. "Dare To Be - Your Favorite MAC Poster/Ad." Makeuptalk. Huddler Fashion & Lifestyle, 17 Mar. 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. 

     <http://www.makeuptalk.com/t/115609/dare-to-be-your-favorite-mac-poster-ad-march-8-march-22-2011>. 

 Mortierbrigade. "Louise Finally Earns as Much as Any Man." DragKing.be. WorldPress, 30 May 2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. 

    <http://www.dragking.be/2006/05/30/genderqueer-ads/>. 

 Moss, Hilary. "David Beckham Bodywear: H&M." Mymag. New York Media, 18 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. 

     <http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/01/photo-david-beckhams-new-ad-for-hm.html>.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

 (LEGO Friends - LEGO & Gender Part 1) <http://youtu.be/CrmRxGLn0Bk>

(The LEGO Boys Club - Lego & Gender Part 2) <http://youtu.be/oe65EGkB9kA>

"THINNER" by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman

Stephen King's novel "Thinner" was published by New American Library in1985 under the pen-
name Richard Bachman. According to his biography Stephen King was born on September 21, 
 1997 and is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy. 
King has published 50 novels, including seven under the pen-name Richard Bachman, and five 
non-fiction books. The novel "Thinner" is the story of overweight middle-age family man and 
lawyer William Halleck. Halleck 'having killed an old Gypsy woman with his car and let go un- 
punished' was then cursed by an old Gypsy man with a rotten nose by caressing his face with 

a finger and whispering the word "thinner" right after the trial. As the story progresses Halleck 

begins to notice the rapid weight loss and leaves his comfortable upper-class suburban  little 

town of Fairview Connecticut to search for the traveling Gypsies in order to make him remove 

the curse. Thus,enrolling in a most unparalleled quest filled with vengeance and repercussion.

'Justice hath no fury as a Gypsy scorned'

"Thinner" is most definitely a page turner with exiting plots and unraveling self-discovery. The 

old adage, "an eye for an eye makes the world go blind" takes a more macabre tone in a series 

of events which makes the main character re-evaluate the gain from vengeance and who real-

ly are the ones affected by it. Amongst one of my favorite quotes is "Sure, we need Gypsies. 

We always have. Because if you don't have someone to run out of town once in a while, how 

are you going to know you yourself belong there?" (284). Another one is "Some guys -a lot of 

guys- don't believe what they are seeing, especially if it gets in the way of what they eat or 

drink or think or believe. Me, I don't believe in God. But if I saw him, I would. I wouldn't go a-

round saying 'Jesus, that was a great special effect. The definition of an asshole is a guy who 

doesn't believe what he's seeing. And you can quote me" (220). I've review the summary of 

the movie from the same book and from what I gather the movie had to incorporate an extra 

plot in order to give meaning to the end. However, I feel that the book has a very cohesive 

main plot and a deeper message at the end, just the way it is. Personally I believe "Thinner"

 embodies the darker side of the human psyche and masterfully depicts the deeper meaning 

                             of revenge versus accountability.