UK Gender Study Part II

many of the ads were like these last two with an emphasis on sexuality and the objectification of women. In general, I noticed less sexist representations of women on British television than counterparts in the United States. Interestingly, some channels featured uncut movies, such as Eyes Wide Shut, and this was one noticeable difference. Within the world of print advertising, magazines and newspapers, I would suggest that the sexism is more pronounced than in the U.S. The first few images (#s 3-7) are taken from the popular British daily papers, tabloids if you will. Rags like the Daily Sport use promises of scantily-clad women on their covers to lure their consumers to purchase their newspapers. Images like #6, from the Daily Star, are found on a daily basis in the paper. Many of students commented on how they were surprised to see these images and to see early-morning commuters reading papers like the Star.


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▪ More Images:Some additional initial images are presented here. The first, #8, is a feature from the free newspaper, The Metro, that is given out each morning on the underground. What, exactly, is the journalistic value of this story? That's something to think about. The next, #9, is a cartoon that a student presented. She thought it was interesting given the numerous telephone booths wallpapered with ads for call girls and exotic dancers. The next, #10, is a common image. Throughout the underground and in many popular print sources there are

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many images of scantily-clad and objectified women selling cds for artists representative of many genres of music. Image #11 is from a popular men's magazine that advertises the slogan, "For Men Who Should Know Better." I believe that the "Reef Girls," pictured on this page from the magazine, were part of a controversy that finds objectified women in sporting events like the Olympics, beach volleyball and tennis. The concern that has been raised relates to using sexualized women to act as ball girls and in other roles at sporting events.

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▪ Males: In many ways, image #12 reflects the level of objectification that is present in U.K. popular culture. If "Anglomania" is to mean that people appreciate the U.K. as an objectified woman, then clearly such adoration for the British is misplaced! The next set of ads (#s 13-21) would be placed in the Males category on the main page of the Gender Ads Project. A number of them objectify males and stereotype them. I have noted more objectified images of males in U.K. print ads than in U.S. ads. (Image 13 above)

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▪ Male Sex is also found in ads like the following, one the focus on a new James Bond video game (#23). Bond remains, perhaps anachronistically, the image of the sophisticated and virile British male. The Phallic signifier also seems to be implied in images #24 and 25.

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▪ Sexuality: Further ads from a number of U.K. publications show similarity with the tropes common to U.S. advertising. Sex is everywhere, ads #26 - 30, and clearly the reliance on sexuality to sell products and services is not limited to the U.S. market. "Instant Attraction," as Image #28 emphasizes, is pictured not as a union of man and woman, but as a man and woman through a product. Image #30 uses the suggestive phrase "get off" to sell its products and to appeal to a male audience. Image #29, an ad for a new Sims game, takes an interesting, rationalistic approach to look at infidelity. Anyone who has had to deal with a cheating partner would certainly not look at the "choices" in the way presented in the game ad.


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▪ Female Ads: The next set of ads are reminiscent of the Nature and Women as Consumer tropes from the main page. Image #31 reads, "I've carried a ruck sack...I've carried our children...I've carried you piggy back...I always carry a torch," and this ad, in my view, uses the ideology of woman as nature--her being connected to child-birthing—to make a lasting connection between diamonds and relationships. The second trope, Women as Consumer, is summarized in a silly article from The Metro (#36), suggesting that the female desire to shop is rooted in our evolutionary lineage. The remaining ads further cement the cultural construction of women as consumers and the value of materialism in everyday life (see ad #32).


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▪ Sex Objects: As we continue the journey through the print ads of British popular culture, we continue to find parallels between the types of ads found in this country's print media and those of the U.S. The next set of seven ads (#s 37-43), portray Women as Sex Objects. Image #41 is shown in two versions, one with a bare-chested women, the other not.

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▪ Products: A number of the ways in which women are objectified to sell products reminds us of the No Product Connection trope from the main page. These ads are seen in the following (M #44 - 47).

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▪ Violence: Unfortunately, just as we see with examples of Death and Violence Against Women in U.S. ads, the same representations are found in U.K. print ads. Here are some samples. If you compare image #48 (below), 49 to some of the ads from these sections on the Gender Ads Project you will note similar layouts, composition of ads and approaches. In fact, some of the same companies are represented in these ads from different countries. Image #50 is another of the magic series identified on the left column of this page. #54 would fit into the Fear section of the Gender Ads Project. #51, somewhat hard to see due to the image quality, depicts a woman on the floor seen through a door. Such an image may evoke a smut film.


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This next image (#55) is a disturbing image of a woman being eaten by an alligator. Clearly, this image illustrates how the concerns of the Gender Ads Project are global in nature.

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▪ Normalization is another trope identified in U.K. print ads (#56). One also notes a prevalence of Surreal depictions of women (#s 57-61) as can be viewed in the U.S. advertising context.


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▪ The Gaze: In the U.K. women's bodies are also written upon (#s 62, 63) and are gazed at (#s 64-67). #66 is a very obvious depiction of the male gaze—all in good fun, as we are led to believe. #67 is an interesting ad in its reversal of the gaze onto the male in the ad.


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The last set of ads includes objectification of women through their body parts (#s 68, 69), the association of sexuality with automobiles (#s 70, 71), and an ad that would fit in the Nagging category (#72).


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▪ Conclusion: As I close this particular page, think for a moment about the similarities and differences between the U.K. and U.S. images. I would not say that there is more optimism in U.K. gender relations as compared to the U.S. Of course, some of my critics will still doubt the basis of this project...as if this last ad (# 73) were intended for all audiences! Look at the ad and, simply, THINK ABOUT IT.

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▪ Resources: There are many interesting Internet resources related to UK gender, advertising and popular culture. Recently, I discovered a very interesting report on gender and the UK that referenced the Gender Ads Project. The author is Catherine Redfern, and she focuses on the ordinary images of advertising in London. You can view the project here. What an excellent project and an example of why we need more public studies of gender and advertising. This makes me think that more of us should collaborate and create similar studies of public gender of cities throughout the world.