Essay Plan & Feedback

This was my very first essay plan for my chosen question on gender. I had almost everything in mind such as the images and sources I would use. However after the feedback I realised the ideas I had formed up to that point were very vague and had little direction. I needed to revisit the question, and refine the information I had gathered and go from there.

Peer feedback

• Find more examples of adverts where typical gender roles are subverted

• Look at the extremity of perpetuating gender roles

• Think about why these roles are presented - where the values come from

"To what extent does advertising construct our ideas of gender"

I think with this question it would be easy to veer off into many different subjects, or magnify one aspect far too much and ignore all of the others.

What to do next

• List and examine 'gender roles' and other ideas on gender - what they are, what roles exist, why?

• Find adverts that endorse or reflect these ideas

• Look at sources that address the relationship between advertising and gender, its effects on us as people, HOW it informs our concepts of gender.

• Look at sources that may explain the ORIGINS of our ideas on gender; e.g. what is masculinity? why is something considered masculine/feminine?

Source Notes | 'The Hidden Persuaders'

Another recommended source for the essay question on gender was 'The Hidden Persuaders' by Vance Packard (pages 65-95).

This publication focused primarily on the advertisement industry, however there were still sections that examined the relationship between gender and advertising that I could choose to integrate into my essay at a later date.

It is also worth noting that the book was published in 1957, and so the advertisements and the values they convey reflect the historical context of that time.

Unlike the previous article I looked at from Berger, Packard takes an unbiased stance and doesn't argue or point out the wrongs of these advertisements, nor does he comment on how they may affect audiences (e.g. perpetuating roles, stereotypes). Could this also be attributed to the year it was published? Or is this just the author's voice?

Notes

• People buy products that project images of themselves

• Brand loyalty (petrol, cigarrettes, cars..)

• (in buying a car) 'I am looking for a car that expresses who I am'

• Buick car ad 'It makes you feel like the man you are'

• P92 - a Midwestern ad agency found 'buying a shiny, new, and more powerful car every couple of years' gives the buyer a 'renewed sense of power' and 'reassures him of his own masculinity'

• Study for 'The Chicago Tribune' by Social Research, inc - 352 car owners in the Chicago area, investigators found that a minority of the populations (mostly men in lower class), have any real interest in the technical aspect of cars.

P70 - major finding is that automobiles are 'heavily laden with social meanings' and are esteemed because they provide ways for expressing 'character, temperament, and self concept' of the owner

P71 - words associated with cadillac 'proud, flashy, salesman, middle-aged, good income…'


• American Airlines - fear of dying from customers, drop in sales. Money spent on image/campaign with an emphasis of safety

Dr Dichter - projective tests that permitted travellers to imagine themselves being killed in an air crash

Investigators found that the thought in men's minds wasn't death at all, but how their family would receive the news - they didn't fear death but post-humous embarrassment

Airline took this fear by aiming its campaign at 'the little woman' to persuade her that her husband would get home faster via plane, and to get her in the air through family flying plans.