The Portrayal of Female Figure on Greek Interwar Cigarette Packs as a Form of emancipation, Allure and Sexism

Abstract

The Greek interwar period is indicative of the formation of the social class and moral profile of women in the rest of the twentieth century. It is the period during which small, but significant changes were observed in the personal and social status quo of the hitherto oppressed women in the province, but also in the large urban centers of the country. At the same time, many innovative changes took place in several mass production fields, rendering thus the interwar period an important experimental, but also pioneering era. One of these changes was the decision of the local tobacco companies to expand the sale of their products to the female consumer audience, following the promotion and sales model of western markets. The depiction of the female figure on Greek cigarette packs constituted a bold business initiative, as it was believed that in this way women would initially become familiar with and later would fervently adopt a product that was traditionally addressed to a male market. This research focuses on the dual interpretation of the use of sensual female figures in cigarette packets of the Greek interwar period both through the concepts of emancipation and liberation on the part of female consumers and through the concepts of sexism and gender inequality on the part of male consumers.