Abstract
People’s visual culture has a significant link with larger issues of gender. “The ability to recognize someone as either male or female is unquestionably fundamental to one’s ability to interact with others, and there is nothing natural about that recognition” (Goffman, 1961, p.55). The mass media refers to “any form of communication that simultaneously reaches a large number of people, including but not limited to radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards, recording, books and the internet” (Wimmer & Dominick, 2006, p.3).
People are informed through the mass media when they read or watch the information which has been displayed. The mass media has a huge responsibility of informing and educating the society. Information transmitted in the mass media has a massive impact on the perceptions of the public. As a result, mass media are often used to influence the attitude of the society. The mass media has a significant influence on the socialization behavior of children.
On the other hand, children consumer socialization is based on three components: background factors, socialization agents, and learning mechanism. The background factors include socioeconomic status, social class, religious background of the family, the stage of cognitive development of the child, and sex of the child. The socialization agents are those individuals who are directly involved with the child, have influence on them because of their frequency of contact and importance.
These agents include parents, brothers and sisters, peers, teachers, the media and media personalities such as sports stars, famous television or movies stars. Therefore, advertisements should not be presented in a manner that implies gender inequity, but present an environment within which both males and females can make free choices.
Media and Gender
The mass media refers to “any form of communication that simultaneously reaches a large number of people, including but not limited to radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards, recording, books and the internet” (Wimmer & Dominick, 2006, p. 3). People are informed through the mass media when they read or watch the information which has been displayed.
The mass media has a huge responsibility of informing and educating the society. Information transmitted in the mass media has a massive impact on the perceptions of the public. As a result, mass media are often used to influence the attitude of the society.
In addition, people’s visual culture has a significant link with larger issues of gender. “The ability to recognize someone as either male or female is unquestionably fundamental to one’s ability to interact with others, and there is nothing natural about that recognition” (Goffman, 1961, p.55). However, this is dependent on certain signals that allow people to categorize others as either male or female.
Thus, people must properly understand or read those signals; this will assist people to interact in socially acceptable terms. In order for people to fit in the society and function properly, they have to learn how to send out signal and read out signals sent to them by other people (Jhally, 2012). In his book titled Gender advertisement, Goffman (1961, p. 56), “does not concentrate on addressing the effect of advertisements on people, but what advertisements tell people about themselves”.
Gender identity is an artificial phenomenon, whereby people tend to embrace certain attributes which define them in gender terms (Goffman, 1961). This phenomenon is significantly influenced by the mass media. Therefore, “people need to analyze how the society constructs the categories within which they fit” (Goffman, 1961, p. 67). This can be understood by first defining the terms gender and sex. Sex refers to “people’s different biological characteristics at birth” (Goffman, 1961, p. 67).
On the other hand, gender refers “to cultural definitions given to physical differences, male or female which are further defined by unique characteristics” (Goffman, 1961, p. 67). Males are often presented in advertisements as masculine, strong, intelligent, and competitive. On the contrary, females have been given a feminine nature by being presented as dependent, emotional, and empathetic people. This is a socially created phenomenon and not natural.
As such, people need to learn how to send signals to others in socially recognizable terms. This is achieved through “gender display whereby people carry out roles expected of them by social convention” (Goffman, 1961, p. 67). This paper aims at discussing gendered messages as portrayed in different objects through the mass media.
Four advertisements are evaluated in this paper: two adverts, which target males and two which target females. A close observation of these products revealed significant differences and similarities alike.
Starting with deodorants and personal advertisements, femininity and masculinity were brought out as the leading aspects in the advertisement of these products. To begin with, advertisements of female hygiene products had striking colors. Captivating pictures were dominant in these adverts. In addition, hands are represented in adverts to show gender differences.
Female hands were shown in a manner that suggests nature was controlling them. Women were shown holding the product in a delicate manner. In contrast, male adverts indicated a masculine touch. Men on male adverts appeared assertive and powerful. Instead of tentative, “male hands were shown as utilitarian, controlling, and bold. Males appeared to be manipulating their environment, molding it according to their desires’ (Goffman, 1961, p. 56).
Analyzing the magazines that were sampled, female bodies on magazine covers were presented as delicate and precious. Female pictures on the covers of magazines had been sexualized. On the contrary, male magazines presented males as masculine, active alert, and ready to defend themselves. One similarity between male and female advertisements of body products is that both emphasized on masculinity and femininity respectively.
By observing the advert on top, people do not need further clarification to differentiate a female body product from a male one. Males were presented in a manner that suggests they have power, control and strength. Females were presented in a manner that suggests they are submissive and under the control of male actors. In addition, female bodies appeared sexualized. Female adverts were the most abundant when compared to male products and products had been grouped according to gender.
Goffman evaluates what advertisements reveal about people but not the effect of advertisements on people. Goffman notes that the ability to recognize someone as either male or female influences one’s interaction with others and there is nothing natural about that recognition. As such, gender inequities are as a result of visual cues that have been created in society over time (Slattery, 2003).
Thus, such cues suggest that some products are meant for a particular gender. In fact, advertisements that show males who possess feminine cues or females who possess masculine cues receive condemnation from different quarters (Darity & Mason, 1998).
Furthermore, young children increasingly influence families purchase decisions as soon as they acquire the basic communication skills needed to interact with other family members. Even a two year old is allowed to select treats at the grocery store, express a desire for fast food and indicate preferences for toys.
As they grow old, children develop sophisticated buying skills and abilities. They become aware of different information sources, seek out information about important functional aspects of products, and utilize attribute information in evaluating products and adopt their buying response to the environment they face.
Children’s consumer socialization, according to Goffman (1961, p. 80) refers to “the process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge and attitudes, relevant to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace”. Children consumer socialization is based on three components: background factors, socialization agents, and learning mechanism.
The background factors include socioeconomic status, social class, religious background of the family, the stage of cognitive development of the child, and the sex of the child. The socialization agents are those individuals who are directly involved with the child, have influence on them because of their frequency of contact and importance. These agents include parents, brothers and sisters, peers, teachers, the media and media personalities such as sports stars, famous television or movies stars.
Thus, the media has a significant influence on the socialization behavior of children. When young children flip through the pages of magazines and newspapers, they come across various advertisements, which influence their thinking and ultimately their socialization. Media and advitisemenst have been found to influence children in three different ways. Advertisements in the mass media are thought to shape the cognitive behavior of children.
Media and adverts gave been found to influence the feeling of children, and also the overall behavior of children. Young boys often associate themselves with adverts which show muscular men, while young girls often associate themselves with pictures of female superstars who appear in magazines. Thus, adverts found in the mass media influence the socialization of kids.
This paper has noted that people’s visual culture has a significant link with larger issues of gender. The ability to recognize someone as either male or female influences one’s interaction with others, and there is nothing natural about that recognition. The most disturbing issue is that the creation of feminine and masculine cues has created division in society.
Males are often presented in advertisements as masculine, strong, intelligent, and competitive. On the contrary, females have been given a feminine nature by being presented as dependent, emotional, and empathetic people. Such cues influence significantly the way people act in the society thus they impose unnecessary social pressure.
As a matter of fact, social cues that define feminity and masculinity are not natural and are as a result of certain attributes, which people think are appropriate to themselves in gender terms. As such, people need to learn how to send signals to others in a manner which will state how they need to be understood in socially recognizable terms.
This is achieved through “gender display whereby people carry out roles expected of them by social convention” (Goffman, 1961, p. 67). Advertisements should not be presented in a manner that implies gender inequity, but present an environment within which both males and females can make free choices.
References
Darity, W. & Mason, P. (1998). Evidence on Discrimination in Employment: Codes of Color, Codes of Gender. Journal of Economic Perspective, 2 (12), 63-90.
Goffman, E. (1961). Gender advertisement. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
Jhally, S. (2012). Codes of Gender. Web.
Slattery, M. (2003). Key Ideas in Sociology. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.
Wimmer, R. & Dominick, J. (2006). Mass Media Research: An Introduction. London: Oxford Press.