Masculinity vs. Femininity in Teen Magazine Advertising

The men versus the women the old clique that never goes away no matter how hard people try and battle it out. No one side ever truly wins or loses but one always thinks they have the upper hand on the other. Advertising is no different than the men and women going outside and playing an old fashioned game of tug-a-war. Each is portrayed how the other may see them and stereotypes continue to add to the growing industry that is advertising; this does not stop at the magazines young adults read these stereotypes are even now featured in teen advertising. Before a researcher can delve into the advertising stereotypes they have to look back at the research done on the masculine and feminine stereotypes.

Research on the common stereotypes of men and women

According to an anthropological study, “the masculine stereotype has been said to imply ‘aggressivity, the possession of dominating and manipulative attitudes toward persons and the environment, and the tendency to create boundaries between the self … and the ‘other (Daly 1973).’” Within this same study women are said to have personalities based on relations and connections with others. From looking at advertisements it is often shown that a man by himself can dominate an entire picture, whereas women are most often portrayed as in a collective and being together. The traditional traits for men are that they are dominant, aggressive and strong; whereas women are known to be the nurturer, submissive and rational. Gender roles are established at a young age and it all begins with the advertisements that children see growing up. Girls see a thin, tall blonde in the ad for the latest clothing line and believe that they have to look like that as well (Brown, & Gilligan, 1992).

While it has been argued that people may actively resist media messages by making their own claims (Mills, 1963) we can never get away from the stereotypes that have been put on men and women.

Research on the stereotypes found in teen advertising

            The most often seen advertisements are for girls and seem to only have girls in the ads. A fascination had been played out in the media and has been increasingly centered on girls in particular. Teen girls especially idolize what they see in the magazines, anorexic models in the fashion magazines, and this to the girls is seen as the ideal physical shape (Mann, 1994). Girls receive distinct signals about what is considered “feminine” and “appropriate.” Similarly boys may see a muscular man in an advertisement and think that is the sort of physical shape they need to be in (Mann, 1994). In many studies teens have shown a decrease in self-esteem and believe that they have too many short-comings (Orenstein, 1994). The displays of masculinity and femininity within teen ads play a role in the mental health of the girls and boys that read the magazines. Gender assumptions are dotted all over the advertising world, with girls being pictured as mostly thin and beautiful girls that are flirty. The boys on the other hand are pictured as detached, athletic guys that will show the girls that they are strong individuals who can be real men (Bakan, 1966).

Content Analysis of Teen Magazine Ads

There are many aspects that are involved in a person from their facial features to their body language; models are supposed to portray certain ideas and expressions in ads. Teen advertising is no different. Within this content analysis I looked at the facial expressions, physic and body language of the models; I then broke up into the females and males. As well the girls have a different way of viewing their body image than the boys do and so I broke down the expressions even further to reflect this. The five magazines that I looked at were Seventeen, Teen Vogue, Girl's Life, American Cheerleader, and M Magazine. These magazines are considered the top selling magazines that teens read and look to for the image that they believe is the right one. 

 Each magazine contains different contain ads but after looking at the magazines they all have roughly the same ads; all the ads are geared toward the teens and the aspects of their lives that the research has shown.

 

Facial Expressions                                                  Physic:

Girls                        Boys                                         Girls                          Boys

Averted Eyes          Catalogue (artifical)                      Thin                          Thin

Laughing/Smiling      Carefree                                      Tan                           Tan

Connection             Concentrating                               Curvy                        Rugged

Straight at Camera   Exaggerated                                 Long-Legged            Athletic

Soft (sleep-like)      Clean Shaven                               Showing Skin             Muscular  

Conclusion: In conclusion the girls appear to be mostly thin, tan, relaxing and smiling girls trying to display a good time. The girls in the ads follow the stereotype of long-legged beauties who relax on beaches and flirt with the guys. The trend seems to just keep going from one magazine to the next. Girls get the idea that they have to be thin and blonde and wear certain clothes from the ads that are displayed in their reading material. Girls are more easily prone to change their image based on what they see, because they are the ones that the magazines are targeting.

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