Abstract
This research examines how the ideal white beauty is portrayed in the cosmetic advertisements in a popular women’s magazine named Women’s Health, which is mainly based on the topics of health, diet, fitness and fashion, and how this contemporary women’s magazine uses the stereotypical representations of women in the cosmetic advertisements. With this aim, this paper bases its argument on the cultivation theory, which points out that the media indeed constructs the world that others should live in, and it presents the gender stereotypes that they should embrace (Bögenhold & Naz, 2018: p. 60). Thus, it is the media, which shapes how people understand the gender representations in real life. In this research, the researcher has used social semiotics as a method in order to reveal that. It is seen that the magazine basically uses five different stereotypical representations of women, which are the sex kitten, the classic and feminine model, the cute model or lolita, the trendy model, and the casual model. The magazine creates a perception that wearing make-up is essential for good-looking and attracting the opposite sex and by using most of the models as a decorative object, the magazine uses benevolent sexism. Overall, the magazine shows to the average women how gender roles should be perceived through stereotypical representations so that they can apply them in real life. Nevertheless, the usage of an elderly woman creates a contrast in the stereotypical representation therefore it is seen as progressive. Thus, the magazine, which takes a broad-minded step, breaks the conventional representation of women in the cosmetic advertisements.
Highlights
Women’s Health Magazine is a contemporary women’s magazine, which is mainly based on the topics of health, diet, fashion, and relationships
This research aims to find out how different cosmetic advertisement types related to the stereotypical representations of women are reflected in the Turkish version of Women’s Health Magazine, which consists of several cosmetic advertisements related to beauty and fashion
In terms of stereotypical representation of women in magazines, Acevedo and Tamashiro (2006: p. 63) analyzed the portrayal of women in print advertisements taking place in Brazilian women’s magazines and they found out that women are seen while touching an object by caressing it with their hands or fingers, when they wear body-revealing clothes showing their partial nude body when they are in a decorative role detached from the products, when they are as physically beautiful showing that the main goal in life for a woman is to become beautiful when they are physically perfect showing that a woman should be young, slim and good-looking
Summary
Women’s Health Magazine is a contemporary women’s magazine, which is mainly based on the topics of health, diet, fashion, and relationships. In order to meet the demands of the white ideal beauty, which is mainly about being good-looking by being slim and fit, many urban women globally spend most of their salaries for shopping clothes and cosmetics, and they schedule their leisure time activities for fitness, exercise and diet. Women should go for a change in how they are perceived in general and they should go through a transformation They can start this by going to shopping and trying new cosmetic and apparel products at department stores. Apart from the time outside of office, these women socialize by looking at and purchasing various cosmetics, apperal and accessorize products at shopping malls or on the Internet, and they socialize at coffee shops or hip restaurants with their friends when they go out They take vacations such as skiing in winter, beaches on summer and they go to abroad for touristic trips. Female stereotypes represented in the magazine play an important role in how average women perceive the gender roles, in general
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