The Cultivation of Womanhood Through Advertisement: Body Image, advertisements, spending habits, and their implications

2956 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Advertising and women's image

In this paper we will explore how advertisements cultivate a woman’s need for consumerism as a part of their own self image. George Gerbner, the founder of cultivation theory, argued that television has the ability to impact the way that people percieve certain message and influence their everyday life. In this study, we will conduct a content analysis of quantitative and qualitative measures that will study fashion advertisements. Each advertisement will be critiqued by a set of questions to help find any pattern or correlation between attributes that may have an impact on female consumers. A sample population will be drawn at random on three different occasions containing women from the ages of 18-30. In the first group each individual that is selected will be given a survey of questions. This set of questions will focus on the shaping of body image with the use of makeup, accessories, and clothing, and help identify trends between fashion and life style. The second sample group will participate in a focus group discussion that will be directed towards how women see themselves with regards to their own body image. The third group of women will complete a written survey before and after being exposed to television advertisements. This will test to see if advertisements entice woman to purchase products or change their personal portrayal.
This research can help understand which marketing techniques are most frequently used, as well as understanding which ones are most successful. It will also help aid in the development of psychology that comes along with the formation of mainstream homogonous views and opinions. Women who are exposed to more advertisements may be more inclined to incorporate items featured in the advertisements...

... middle of paper ...

...eorge. "Cultivation analysis: an overview." mass communication and society 1.3-4 (1998): 175-195. Ebscohost. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Harmon, Mark D.. "Affluenza: television use and cultivation of materialism." mass communication and society 4.4 (2001): 405-418. Ebscohost. Web. 7 Nov. 2013
Hendriks, A. (2002). Examining the effects of hegemonic depictions of female bodies on television: a call for theory and programmatic research. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 106-123.
Myers, P. N., & Biocca, F. A. (September 01, 1992). The Elastic Body Image: The
Effect of Television Advertising and Programming on Body Image Distortions in Young Women.Journal of Communication, 42, 3, 108-133.
Yoder, J. D., Christopher, J., & Holmes, J. D. (September 01, 2008). Are television commercials still achievement scripts for women?. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32, 3, 303-311.

Show More
Related

  • The Effects of Media on the Body-Image of Preadolescent Girls

    1991 Words  | 4 Pages

    These advertisers promote a body image that is completely unrealistic and impossible to achieve (Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006b). It has been instilled in these advertisers’ minds that a thinner model will sell more (Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2003). Media has a direct and indirect influence on the developing body image of young girls.... ... middle of paper ...

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Documentary: Killing Us Softly 4 and the Role of Women in Advertising

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    The documentary Killing Us Softly 4 discusses and examines the role of women in advertisements and the effects of the ads throughout history. The film begins by inspecting a variety of old ads. The speaker, Jean Kilbourne, then discusses and dissects each ad describing the messages of the advertisements and the subliminal meanings they evoke. The commercials from the past and now differ in some respects but they still suggest the same messages. These messages include but are not limited to the following: women are sexual objects, physical appearance is everything, and women are naturally inferior then men. Kilbourne discusses that because individuals are surrounded by media and advertisements everywhere they go, that these messages become real attitudes and mindsets in men and women. Women believe they must achieve a level of beauty similar to models they see in magazines and television commercials. On the other hand, men expect real women to have the same characteristics and look as beautiful as the women pictured in ads. However, even though women may diet and exercise, the reality...

    Read More

  • The Sociological Impact of Media Body Induced Image on Women

    1905 Words  | 4 Pages

    In recent years, sociologists, psychologists, and medical experts have gone to great lengths about the growing problem of body image. This literature review examines the sociological impact of media-induced body image on women, specifically women under the age of 18. Although most individuals make light of the ideal body image most will agree that today’s pop-culture is inherently hurting the youth by representing false images and unhealthy habits. The paper compares the media-induced ideal body image with significant role models of today’s youth and the surrounding historical icons of pop-culture while exploring various sociological perspectives surrounding this issue.

    Read More

  • White Washed World

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    Media is a wide term that covers many information sources including, television, movies, advertisement, books, magazines, and the internet. It is from this wide variety of information that women receive cues about how they should look. The accepted body shape and has been an issue affecting the population probably since the invention of mirrors but the invention of mass media spread it even further. Advertisements have been a particularly potent media influence on women’s body image, which is the subjective idea of one's own physical appearance established by observation and by noting the reactions of others. In the case of media, it acts as a super peer that reflects the ideals of a whole society. Think of all the corsets, girdles, cosmetics, hair straighteners, hair curlers, weight gain pills, and diet pills that have been marketed over the years. The attack on the female form is a marketing technique for certain industries. According to Sharlene Nag...

    Read More

  • Female Body Image and the Mass Media

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    The media is a fascinating tool; it can deliver entertainment, self-help, intellectual knowledge, information, and a variety of other positive influences; however, despite its advances for the good of our society is has a particular blemish in its physique that targets young women. This blemish is seen in the unrealistic body images that it presents, and the inconsiderate method of delivery that forces its audience into interest and attendance. Women are bombarded with messages from every media source to change their bodies, buy specific products and redefine their opinion of beauty to the point where it becomes not only a psychological disease, but a physical one as well.

    Read More

  • Advertisement Analysis: Covergirls

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    The world we are living is a fast paced ruled by the media. We are surrounded by images of, perfect bodies, beautiful hair, flawless skin, and ageless faces that flash at us every day. These images are constantly in our minds throughout our lives. Advertisements select audience openly and target them with their product. The advertisement is implied in order to be like the people in the advertisements you must use their product. This approach is not new to this generation, but widely used today. The advertisements grab people attention and persuade them with the appearance of beauty and happy women that looks sophisticated to people eyes.

    Read More

  • The Media Influence on Body Image

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    Holmstrom, A. (2004). The effects of the media on the body image: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 48(2), 196-217.

    Read More

  • Female Body Image In Media

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mass media is designed to reach large audiences through the use of technology. Its purpose is

    Read More

  • The Effect of Skinny Models in Advertising on Egptian Women's Self-Perception

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    The effects of the exposure to the idealized images presented in advertisements have been an area for extensive media research for a long time. Many researchers suggest that watching repetitive messages presented in advertisements influence people’s behaviors, attitudes and perception. One area that many researchers are concerned about is how the idealized model figures in advertisements affects women’s perception of the ideal body weight. Some researches claim that when women watch skinny models who are perceived in the society as the ideal feminine figures intentionally or unintentionally they compare themselves to those models. This comparison can cause insecurities, body dissatisfactions and it also can affect women’s confidence and self-esteem. Some researchers suggest that this may eventually cause women to engage in unhealthy eating behaviors or excessive exercising to lose weight; moreover it may cause eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Mass Media On Eating Disorders

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Thompson and Heinberg, “Photographic techniques such as airbrushing, soft-focus cameras, composite figures, editing, and filters may blur the realistic nature of media images even further, leading consumers to believe that the models the viewers see through the illusions these techniques create are realistic representations of actual people.” (Thompson, Heinberg 2) In the average home, the television is on more than seven hours in a day. The majority of female characters are thinner than the average woman. Out of 3,452 women, 23 percent said that movie or television celebrities influenced their body image as a child. Children who watch more television than others have a higher rate of body dissatisfaction. In a study, women who viewed television ads with images showing the current societal ideal reported greater levels in anger, anxiety, and

    Read More

  • Eating Disorder Essay

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    If teens are constantly being exposed to television displaying images of beautiful and skinny people, they might think that they must sculpt themselves into fitting that image. According to author K Harrison exposure to fat character television produced dissatisfaction in the bodies of young teens (Harrison, 119-143). When teens become unsatisfied with their looks they may try to resort to unhealthy eating habits to meet their needs. The more exposure a child gets through television media the more vulnerable they are to eating disorders as a result of the weight related topics displayed. The National Institution on Media and Family states that “the commercials aimed at female viewers that ran during the television shows most often watched by icon girls also frequently used beautify as a product appeal (56 percent)”(National Institute on Media and Family,” Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders”). Examples of these are Revlon makeup and spray tan commercials. Both of these are examples of unnatural beauty promotions which lead to teens striving to look like someone of the ideal image.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Garnier Fructis Advertise

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    Curry and Clarke’s article believe in a strategy called “visual literacy” which develops women and men’s roles in advertisements (1983: 365). Advertisements are considered a part of mass media and communications, which influence an audience and impact society as a whole. Audiences quickly begin to rely on messages sent through advertisements and can create ideologies of women and men. These messages not only are extremely persuasive, but they additionally are effective in product consumption in the media (Curry and Clarke 1983:

    Read More

  • Women and Advertisements

    2559 Words  | 6 Pages

    The average American is exposed to hundreds of advertisements per day. Advertisements targeted toward females have an enormous effect on women's thoughts, attitudes, perceptions, and actions. Most of the time, women don't even realize these advertisements are formulating self-image issues. These ideals surround them daily and they become naturalized to the ads. Advertising creates an entire worldview persuading women to emulate the images they see all around them. In order to create a market for their products, companies constantly prey upon women's self esteem, to feel like they aren't good enough just the way they are. This makes women constantly feel stressed out about their appearance (Moore). Advertising has a negative effect on women's body image, health, and self-esteem.

    Read More

  • thin

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    Media contributes to a woman’s body image more negatively than it does positively. The media is always going to be around. There will always be that one person that is influenced by the media negatively. Media has grown so much and it has become one of the biggest causes as to why women have such a problem maintaining a healthy weight. It is important not to get caught up in the commercials, ads, emails, radio ads and even the news. In the long run, one’s health could be damaged further more than it would have been, had one not been influenced by thin women found in media. As people are educated on the benefits of being healthy and as the focus is moved more toward health and wellness as opposed to an emphasis on body image, women may be less susceptible to those ads that create a desire to have a certain image.

    Read More

  • Has the Media’s Portrayal of Women Negatively Affected the Body Image of The Wykeham Collegiate Senior School Girls?

    3125 Words  | 7 Pages

    Women and girls seem to be more affected by the mass media than do men and boys. Females frequently compare themselves to others, finding the negative rather than looking at the positive aspects of their own body. The media’s portrayal of the ideal body type impacts the female population far more than males, however, it is not only the mass media that affects women, but also influence of male population has on the female silhouette too.

    Read More

More about The Cultivation of Womanhood Through Advertisement: Body Image, advertisements, spending habits, and their implications

Open Document