The Sociological Approach To Gender In The Advertising Industry

In the advertisement by the Brazilian jewelry company Natan, there is a depiction of a man proposing to a woman. In the first image, the jewelry box, held by the man, is closed and the woman’s legs are crossed; in the second image, the jewelry box has been propped open, and, as a result, the woman has uncrossed her legs. There is a clear sexual implication: the woman is inviting the man to have intercourse because he has pleased her in a materialistic way. The advertisement seems to suggest that buying jewelry for a woman is a guaranteed way for a man to gain consent for sex. Using a sociological approach to gender, it becomes evident that women are deliberately objectified and degraded in the advertising industry in order to sell products.

We are not born with gender but experience different expectations and treatment that is linked with how we are perceived by others. With this image from Natan jewelry, just recently we are taught to look at it with disgust and anger, but historically we are not shocked because it is unfortunately something that we have learned over time to be a part of the social norm and what is expected from females as part of their gender role. Also, through this image, we are engaged by the fact that the woman is being shown to easily hand herself over as a ‘prize possession’ to the man. With regards to micro-perspective, this is an example of “doing gender”. It is a role which companies and society has placed upon females, as opposed to males, due to their being the supposedly weaker sex. This advertisement alone has contributed to gender messages by expressing what males have to do for this form of pleasure, and negotiated females’ gender role in order to sell and grow their product. With gender message in regards to this advertisement, the image shows how women somehow lose all self-control when it comes to men, who have them wrapped around their finger. Instead of showing a female proposing to a male with something of their interest, a man is shown being the dominant partner in this situation. This perpetuates the stereotype; males who see this are more likely want to go out and follow in the advertisements footsteps, so to say. The message that we are continually fed by the media is of females being used as objects to making this advertisement successful and to catch the eyes of the