The Domestication of Women Through Advertising by Allison Hawn A Thesis Presented in Partial ...

240 Pages·2017·4.61 MB·English

Escaping June Cleaver: The Domestication of Women Through Advertising
by
Allison Hawn

A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts

Approved April 2017 by the
Graduate Supervisory Committee

Lindsey Meân, Chair
Majia Nadesan
James Sanderson

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
May 2017
ABSTRACT
June Cleaver, and the women who attempted to emulate her perfectly dressed,
“happy homemaker” ideal, were considered the epitome of “womanhood” in the 1950s.
However, the image of the quintessential domestic diva, in pearls and floral dress is
surely a tired and no longer relevant label for the modern woman, right? This research
aims to examine whether the “domesticated woman” is still the prevalent social script
provided by American advertisers and to determine if there has been a significant change
in how often women are portrayed as having an existence not predicated on the home or
domestic duties over time. To accomplish this 1,250 American television commercials,
spanning from 1970 to 2016, were gathered and analyzed using critical content analysis
via a specially designed test, The June Cleaver Test.
The commercials garnered were further broken down into 11 pertinent categories
(Food, Household Goods, ect.) and results from each of these categories were also
tracked. The overall results showed that 54.4 percent of commercials failed to show
women outside of domestic or caregiving roles. When broken down by decade, not a
single decade managed to pass over 50 percent of those commercials sampled using The
June Cleaver Test. This means at no point over nearly 5 decades were the sampled
commercials able to show women outside of domestic role more than 50 percent of the
time. The implications the continued failure rate above 50 percent across the decades
shows is that the trope of women as homemakers and caretakers, instead of employed or
having other demands outside of the home, is still being mass produced as a cultural
norm. Pertinent and prevalent trends, tropes and stereotypes about women and domestic
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throughout the sample were also noted and discussed. These findings have significant
implications for not only the options available to women in society, but also in moving
towards a place where women find economic equity and fight for equal respect in their
chosen vocations. June Cleaver has not so much left the kitchen; instead she has just
updated her wardrobe.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES..............................................................................................................ix

LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………….x

CHAPTER

1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………...1

1.1 Why Media Representations of Women Matter………………………………......2

1.2 Overview of Chapters………………………………………………………….….7

2. KEEPING JUNE CLEAVER IN THE KITCHEN …………………………………….9

3. LOWERING JUNE CLEAVER THE FEMINIST LADDER………………………...21

4. JUNE CLEAVER SPEAKS HER MIND TO THE GLASS CEILING………………30

5. THE JUNE CLEAVER TEST………………………………………………………...39

5.1 The June Cleaver Test Parameters……………………………………………….39

5.2 The Sample………………………………………………………………………41

5.3 The Categories…………………………………………………………………...45

5.4 Methods of Data Analysis………………………………………………………..47

6. THE 1970S, JUNE CLEAVER GETS GROOVY……………………………………50

6.1 Insurance…………………………………………………………………………51

6.2 Sports…………………………………………………………………………….53

6.3 Hygiene/Personal Care…………………………………………………………...55

6.4 Clothing………………………………………………………………………….58

6.5 Other……………………………………………………………………………..61

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CHAPTER Page

6.6 Entertainment/Technology……………………………………………………….62

6.7 Grocery/Department Stores……………………………………………………...64

6.8 Car Commercials………………………………………………………………...66

6.9 Pharmaceuticals………………………………………………………………….67

6.10 Food…………………………………………………………………………….68

6.11 Household Goods……………………………………………………………….72

6.12 Decade Summation……………………………………………………………..76

7. THE 1980S, JUNE CLEAVER GETS A RAD MAKEOVER……………………….79

7.1 Sports…………………………………………………………………………….81

7.2 Insurance…………………………………………………………………………82

7.3 Clothing………………………………………………………………………….83

7.4 Hygiene/Personal Care…………………………………………………………..85

7.5 Other……………………………………………………………………………..88

7.6 Entertainment/Technology………………………………………………………89

7.7 Car Commercials………………………………………………………………...92

7.8 Grocery/Department Stores……………………………………………………...93

7.9 Pharmaceuticals………………………………………………………………….95

7.10 Household Goods……………………………………………………………….97

7.11 Food…………………………………………………………………………...102

7.12 Decade Summation……………………………………………………………107

8. THE 1990S, JUNE CLEAVER IS TOTALLY DOWN WITH PROGRESS……….111

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CHAPTER Page

8.1 Insurance………………………………………………………………………..114

8.2 Sports…………………………………………………………………………...115

8.3 Clothing………………………………………………………………………...116

8.4 Hygiene/Personal Care………………………………………………………….117

8.5 Other……………………………………………………………………………120

8.6 Entertainment/Technology……………………………………………………..122

8.7 Pharmaceuticals………………………………………………………………...126

8.8 Car Commercials……………………………………………………………….127

8.9 Grocery/Department Stores…………………………………………………….129

8.10 Household Goods……………………………………………….……………..130

8.11 Food……………………………………………………….…………………..132

8.12 Decade Summation….…………………………………….…………………..135

9. THE 2000S, JUNE CLEAVER GETS BURNED……………….…………………..136

9.1 Sports……………………………………………….…………………………..137

9.2 Insurance…………………………………………….………………………….139

9.3 Clothing…………………………………………………………………….…..140

9.4 Hygiene/Personal Care…………………………………………………………142

9.5 Other……………………………………………………………………………143

9.6 Car Commercials……………………………………………………………….145

9.7 Grocery/Department Stores…………………………………………………….147

9.8 Entertainment/Technology……………………………………………………..149

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CHAPTER Page

9.9 Pharmaceuticals………………………………………………………………...151

9.10 Household Goods……………………………………………………………...153

9.11 Food…………………………………………………………………………...155

9.12 Decade Summation……………………………………………………………159

10. THE 2010S, JUNE CLEAVER IS SO NOT ON FLEEK………………………….161

10.1 Sports……………………………………………………………………….…163

10.2 Insurance………………………………………………………………………164

10.3 Clothing……………………………………………………………………….166

10.4 Other…………………………………………………………………………..167

10.5 Hygiene/Personal Care………………………………………………………..169

10.6 Car Commercials……………………………………………………………...171

10.7 Entertainment/Technology…………………………………………………….172

10.8 Grocery/Department Stores…………………………………………………...174

10.9 Household Goods……………………………………………………………...175

10.10 Pharmaceuticals……………………………………………………………...176

10.11 Food………………………………………………………………………….178

10.12 Time Slot Breakdown………………………………………………………..181

10.13 Decade Summation…………………………………………………………..182

11. JUNE CLEAVER TIME TRAVELS………………………………………………184

11.1 Overall Data Across Time…………………………………………………….184

11.2 Food…………………………………………………………………………...189

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CHAPTER Page

11.3 Household Goods……………………………………………………………...192

11.4 Grocery/Department Stores…………………………………………………...194

11.5 Sports………………………………………………………………………….196

11.6 Insurance………………………………………………………………………199

11.7 Pharmaceuticals……………………………………………………………….202

11.8 Other…………………………………………………………………………..204

11.9 Car Commercials……………………………………………………………...205

11.10 Clothing…………………………………………………………………..….207

11.11 Entertainment/Technology………………………………………………...…208

11.12 Hygiene/Personal Care……………………………………...………………..210

11.13 Limitations………………………………………………..………………….212

11.14 Concluding Discussion…………………………………..…………………..214

REFERENCES………………………………………………………..………………..220

APPENDIX

A COMPARISONS ACROSS DECADES……………………………..…………228

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LIST OF TABLES
Tables Page
1 Commercial Categories………………………………………………………………...46
2 Comparisons Across Decades…………………...……………………………………229
3 1970s June Cleaver Test Commercial Results………...……………………………….51
4 The 1980s June Cleaver Test Commercial Results…………………………………….80
5 1990s June Cleaver Test Commercial Results…………...…………………………...113
6 2000s June Cleaver Test Commercial Results……………...………………………...137
7 Early 2010s June Cleaver Test Commercial Results (2015-2016)…………...………162
8 2010s Commercials Broken Down by Airing Time Slot and Medium………...…….181

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figures Page
1 Do the job HE left behind, 1943……………………………………………………….13
2 Successful marriages start in the kitchen, 1958……………….……………………….17
3 Wear a Mustang to match your lipstick, 1967…………………………………………24
4 The Mini Automatic. For simple driving, 1970……………….……………………….26
5 You’ve come a long way, baby, 1967…………………….……………………………27
6 Anything’s possible, 1970……………………………………………………………..28
7 I’m Jo. Fly me. 1971……………………….…………………………………………..29
8 Dolce & Gabanna, 2007…………………….………………………………………….32
9 The Cosmopolitan, 2011……………………………………………………….………33
10 The Rule…………………………………………………………………….………...34
11 Sexy PhD Costume……………………………………………………….…………..92
12 Schlitz, 1952………………………………………………………………………...184
13 Overall Failure Rates From 1970s-2010s…………………………………………...185
14 Food Category Failure Rates 1970s-2010s…………………….……………………189
15 Household Goods Failure Rates 1970-2010………………………………………...192
16 Grocery/Department Stores Failure Rates 1970-2010………….…………………...194
17 Sports Failure Rates 1970-2010…………………………….……………………….196
18 Insurance Failure Rates 1970-2010…………………………………………………199
19 Pharmaceuticals Failure Rates 1970-1980………………….……………………….202
20 Other Failure Rates 1970-2010………………………….…………………………..204
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