The traditional portrayal of women in advertisements was that of being house helps and dominantly being supported by men. This has undergone transformation in the recent past since advertisements have experienced some shifts from the ancient housewife centric to the modern career women.
Women have continued to dominate advertisements. This is largely due to the assumption that women make advertisements appear desirable due to their perceived attractive image. The use of women in advertising has immensely grown despite the fact that they might not be relevant to the advertisement.
Biermann, Gesa. Stereotypes Galore! Women’s Emancipation as Reflected in Advertising. GRIN Verlag, 2000.
The book portrays women in advertisements as housewives and mothers; this is well captured particularly in adverts for food, household and medical products, also according to the book, the use of women in advertising children matters is a demonstration of women as caretakers. Women are portrayed as immaculate and clean as seen in advertisement of detergents.
Carpenter, Courtney and Aimee Edison. Taking it off All over Again. 2010.
This article analyses the use of sexual imagery in media advertisements featuring women which is argued to cast incidence of unrealistic images and stereotyping of women. The analysis dwells on how women are sexualized in advertisements; it argues that women are represented in subordinated and narrower ways, as sex materials in a domestic environment as compared to men.
Soultrot, Shubhaprada. Portrayal of Women in Advertisements. Soultrout Blog, 2006.
This article contains pictures and illustrations on how women are represented in commercial advertisement. The analysis is only based on case studies from Indian magazines and billboards; the article elucidates that women in advertising are often objectified and restricted to their gender role constructions.
First, advertisements portray women as unthinking individuals with shallow and mundane thoughts who are always preoccupied with trivial matters; the article identifies the attractive image of women that provide desirable image and hence the basis for their use in advertisements irrespective of their irrelevance to the advertisement.
The article also captures misconceptions by the target audience concerning prerequisites for a perceived beautiful woman that they should be thin and toned with flawless skin.
Thurm, Nichole. The Portrayal of Women in Advertising: Reflection or Creation of Values? Angel Fire, 2001.
This article explains how women are portrayed in media advertisements by use of two theories: cultivation theory and social expectations theory. Cultivation theory posits that the media affects the perception of the audience; the theory also states that any repeated exposure to frequent media advertising may influence our perception of social reality and in this context it explains that our misperceptions from advertisements in an advert is only good when it appeals to the values and characteristics of the consumers.
The social expectations theory argues that what is often portrayed of women through the media creates an image which gets adopted in the minds of people regarding to women. The article examines sex roles and the image of women presented in advertisements.
Worrel, Judith. Encyclopedia of Women and Gender, Two-Volume Set: Sex Similarities and Differences and the Impact of Society on Gender. Academic Press, 2001.
The book uses content analyses methodology in explaining the portrayal of women in advertisements. The article points out the fact that there are a lot of girls than boys in advertising. It explains the role of race in advertising with the finding that Afro-American are portrayed in dehumanizing form through the use of animal imprints which is a clear indication of sexual stereotype that is related Afro-America women. The book also analyses the portrayal of women in advertisements based on image, depiction of violence and in terms pornographic discourse.