Gender Advertisements

100 Pages·2008·53.32 MB·English

GEIITIERAT NENTISEIIEIIT$

GETIDEART IUERTISEIIEIITS
ErvingG ollman
(
HARPERT ORCHBOOKS
Harper& Row,P ublishersN, ew York
CambridgeP, hiladelphiaS, anF ranciscoW, ashington
London,M exico City,S io Paulo,S ingaporeS, ydney
cENDEARD VERTTsEMCEoNpTysr.iS hOt 1976b y €rvin8 Coffmanl ntroduc-
tion copyrightO 1979 by Harpera nd Row PublishersIn, c All riShts
reservedP.r intedin the UnitedS tateosf AmericaN opartofthisbookmay
be usedo r reproducedi n any mannerw hatsoevewr ithoutw rittenp ermis-
sione xcepti n the caseo f briefquotationse mbodiedi n criticala rticlesa nd
reviews.F or informationa ddressH arper& Row,P ublishersl,n c., l0 East
5lrd StreetN, ewY ork,N .Y.10022.
FirsHt ARPrEoRR cHBooKesd itionp ublished1 987
rsBN0r -06-132076(-p5b k.)
93 94 95 15 14
GOIITEIITS
Acknowledgements
Introductiobny VivianG ornick vii
CenderD isplay t
PictureF rames 10
CenderC ommercials 24
RelativSe ize 2A
TheF eminineT ouch 29
FunctionR anking 32
TheF amily 37
TheR ituailz ationo f Subordination 40
LicenseWd ithdrawal
Conclusion 84
[l'
AGIIII0WIEIIGEiIEIITS
Apart from a few changes,t his monographf irst appeareda s
vol. 3, no. 2 (F all 1976) of Studies in the Anthropology of
Visuol Communicotion, a publication of the Society for the
Anthropologyo f VisualC ommunicalion|- am very grateful
to its thene ditor,t hel ateS olW orth,f or supporti n workingo ut
theo riginale dition and for permissionto usei ts platesa nd
glossiesI. am alsog ratefult o ElsaV orwerk,m anaginge ditor
of the American AnthropologicalA ssociationf,o r a great
dealo f help with the originall ayout.T he slidesf rom which
the reproductionsw erem adew eret hemselvedso nef rom the
originalsb y Jo hn Careya nd LeeA nn Draud.
For Coffman, social situationsa re settingsf or ceremonies
"to
whosef unction is affirm sociala rrangementas nd announce
ultimated octrine."I n the socialo r public situationt he most
minute behaviorh as meaning.C esture,e xpressionp, osturer e-
veal not only how we feela bouto urselvesb ut add up, asw ell, to
an entirea rrangement-a scene-that embodiesc ulturalv alues.
Within theses cenesG, offmanp ositsh, umanb ehaviors_cabne
"displays."
seena s Explainingth at in animalsa displayi s an
IIUTROTTUGTIOT
"emotionally
motivated behavior lthat] becomesf ormalized,
provideas readilyr eadableex pressioonf [thea nimal'ss] ituation,
byVivianG ornick
specificallhyi si ntent[,a nd]t his...allowfso rt hen egotiatioonf an
efficientr esponsefr om and to witnesseso f the display,"C offman
goeso n to sayt hat,s imilarlyi,n humanb eings" ...ani ndividual's
Thec ontemporarfye minismt ovementw, ith all itsc lamora bout behavioar nda ppearancien formtsh osew how itnessh im...about
them eaningo f thel ittled etailsin dailyl ife,h asa cteda sa kindo f his sociali dentity,m ood, intent.. .. [T]hesea re displayst hat
electricp rodt o thet houghot f manys ociasl cientistgs,iv ingn ew establisthh e termso f the contact,..fort he dealingsth ata ret o
impetusa ndd irectionto theirw ork,t hev erys ubstancoef which ensueb etweent he personsp rovidingthed isplaya ndt he persons
ist heo bservatioonf concreted etaili n sociall ife.B ecausoef the perceivingit ."
"but"
feministst he mosto rdinary verbale xchangeb etweenm en and But,C offmana dds-and this ist he hearto fthe mafter-
"The
women now reverberatews ith new meaning;t he most simple humanu seo f displaysis c omplicatebdy theh umanc apac-
gesture,f amiliar ritual, taken-for-grantedfo rm of addressh as ity for .eframingb ehavior..f.D. ]isplays(i n humansa) rea symp-
becomea sourceo f new understandingw ith regardt o relations tom,n ota portrait....lits nots o mucht hec haracteor f an entity
betweent he sexesa nd the social forcesa t work behind those thatg etse xpressed..[,E. ]xpressioinn the maini s not instinctive
"a
relationsO. peratingo ut of politicst hato riginatews ith one's but sociallyl earneda nd sociallyp atterned..f.l.n dividualsal re
own hurtf eelings,t"h ef eminisths avem adev ividw hatt hes ocial learningt o be objectst hat have a character,t hat expresst his
scientishtsa vea lwaysk nown:l t isi nt hed etailso f dailye xchange cha.actera, ndf or whom thisc haracterologicaelx pressingis only
that the discrepancyb etweena ctual experiencea nd apparent naturalW. ea res ocializetdo confirmo uro wn hvootheseasb out
"
exDerienceis to be found. our natures....
Turningt hen to the specifics ubjecto f the work in hand,
"What
ErvingC offmanis a brilliants ociasl cientiswt ho hass penht isl ife Coffmano bserves: the humann atureo f malesa nd
observings ocialb ehaviort he way a fine literaryc ritic reads femalesr eally consistso f then, is a capacityt o learnt o provide
literature.H e does not sacrificet he text to theory,h e knowso ne andt o readd epictionosf masculinitayn df eminitya nda willing-
readsoutofi t ratherthani nto it, he neverf orgetsth at botht he text nessto adheret o a schedulefo r presentingth esep icturesa, ndt his
ands ocietya rea live. capacityt hey have by virtue of being persons,n ot femaleso r
At the samet ime, Coffman'sr eadingo f the text is informedb y males."
a pieceo f systemattich oughat bouts ociabl ehaviotrh ath asb een It isa roundt hisl ast,w holly persuasivep erceptionth atC endef
gatherings hapea ndf orceo vera greatm anyy ears.H e knowst hat Adveltriementi is organized.A dvertisementds epict for us not
thed etailso f sociabl ehavioar res vmptomatirce velationosf how necessarihlvo ww e actuallvb ehavea sm ena ndw omenb ut how
a senseo f selfi se stablisheda nd reinforceda, ndt hat thats enseo f we think men and women behave.T hisd epictions ervesth e
self,i n turn,b oth reflectsa ndc ementsth e sociali nstitutionsu pon sociapl urposeo f convincinSu st hatt hisi sh owm ena ndw omen
whichr estsa culture'sh ierarchicaslt ructureL.i ket he reallyf ine are,o r want to be,o r shouldb e, not only in relationt o themselves
teacherh e is, Coffman is alwaysw orkinSt o demonstrateth at if but in relationt o eacho ther.T heyo rientm en and women to the
onee xaminetsh ed etailso f socialli few itha highlyc onsciouesy e ideao f men and women actingi n concertw ith eacho ther in the
one learns -deeply-who andw hat one is in the socially largerp layo r sceneo r arrangementht ati s our sociall ife.T hat
organizedw orld. orientatioanc complishethse t aska societyh aso f majntaininagn
In this wonderfullyd ensea nd lively monographC offman essentiaol rder,a n undisturbedo n-goingnessr,e gardlesso f the
turnsh is aftentions, pecificallyto, the waysi n which mena nd actuael xperiencoef itsp articipants.
women-mainlyw omen-are picturedin advertisemen(ttsh ose ln a crucial passageC offmana rguesth at in one senset he job
highlym anipulaterde presentatioonfs r ecognizablsec enesfr om of thea dvertisear nd the job of a societya ret he same:" Both must
"reall ife"),a nds peculatersic hlyo n whatt hosea dst ell usa bout transform otherwise opaque goings-on into easily readable
ourselvesw; hatthe interplayi s betweenf ashionedim agea nd so- fotm." Otherwiseo paqueg oings-on!A wonderful phraset hat
calledn aturalb ehavior;t he de8reet o which advertisements speakvso lumesW. hate xactiya ret heg oings-otnh ata reo paque?
embodya n artificialp oser eflectingo n perhapsy et anothera rtifi- Theya ret he murky,m uddlede ffortso f the half-consciousm ind,
cialp ose-that is,t hep rocesbsy whichw e comet o thinko f what thec onfuseds pirit,t he unresolvedw ill to comprehendth e nature
we callo ur naturasl elves. of actuale xperiencer athert hand escribede xperiencef,e lt emo-
Thiso uestiono f mena nd women in advertisementiss interest- tion rathert han cued emotion, perceivedt ruth rathert han re-
"So "willingness
ing and important,C offman says,b ecause deeply doest he ceivedw isdomA. ndt he to adhereto a schedulefo r
male-femadleif ferencein formo ur ceremonialilf et hato nef inds presentintgh esep icturesi"s the inclinationb otho f individuals
herea verys ystematic'o ppositen umber'a rrangement,o" ne that ando fsocietiest o fall backf rom the consciouss truggleto under-
allowsu st o thinkp rofitablya boutt hew ay in whichs elf-defini- stando urselvest;o learna bouto urselvesa t a remove;t o accepta s
tion isg uideda nde xternalldy etermined. reala n almostw hollya ssumesde lf.
viil INTRODUCTIOI{
Speakinign a senseto thish ighlys ignificanint clinationC, off- phenomenian advertisinags t hef ollowing:1 )o verwhelminglay
manr emarks-withh isg eniusfo rb rillianat nalogy-thati t isn ot woman is tallert han a man only when the man is her social
at all" uhnalvikinegl yt hata familyo n vacationm ightt akei ts cuesf or inferior2; ) a woman'sh andsa res eenju stb arelyto uchingh, old_
what a goodt ime" isf rom externals ourcesa nd might,i n In8o r caresstng-nevegrr aspingm, anipulatingo,r shaping3; )
fact,c ontriveto looka nd act liket he ideajizedfa mily-on-vaca- whena photograpohf mena ndw omenj ljustrateasn instruction
tion in a Coca-Colaa d. By the samet oken, it hardlyn eeds ot somes ortt he man is alwaysi nstructintgh e woman_eveni f
stressingm, en and women taket heir cuesa bout,,eendebr e_ the mena ndw omena rea ctuallyc hildrenl thati s,a malec hild
havior"f romt he imageo f thdtb ehaviotrh ala dverti:ineth rows will be instructinag femalec hild!1;4 ) when an advertisement
backa t them,a ndt heyc ontrivet o becometh e ,,peoplei,n, those requiresso meoneto sito r lie on a bedo r a floort hats omeoneis
ads.
almosat lwaysa childo ra woman,h ardlye vera man;5 )w hent he
Reflectingo n the intimateg ive-and-takeb etweenh ow pho- heado r eyeo f a man is avertedit iso nly in relationto a social.
olof,gC raopffhmeaadndc voenrcllrusdeems"e:l nna tsrsee m eiandgwe h,a antdp w ichtuarlt emh eayka errescm aandm eao kuet wpoolmitaicna ilso, ra vinetretelldei ct tiusa salul wpaeyrsio inrb, uretl wahtioenn tt oh ewe hyaeto erv heef madaon f ias
of situationaml ateriaiosn e can begint o seew hatw e ourselves picturedw ith her; 6) women are repeatedlys hown mentallv
mightb ee ngagedin doing." driftingfr omt hes cenew hi lei n closep hysicaI l ouchw ith a male,
theirf acesl osta ndd reamy,,, asth oughh is alivenestso the sur_
The picturest hat Coffman has chosen and arransedf or our roundingsa nd his readinessto cope were enough for both of
cpoemrupsliacilna C teedmn daeftreAro dfv "ewfhtlaiet wmee onaulrjr es,le hlevens,am cigohmt bmee e-nngtaaorgyne tdhi ne tphicetmur"e 7da) tctohneck oinmdoi tfa pnstylycw,h oomloegni,c malolu scsoh r m reomreo tvhefar no mma e sno, acirael
doin8."T hatc ommentarcyl earlyd emonstratethsa tw hilea dver- situationth at leaveso ne unorientedfo r action( e.g.s, omething
tisementasp peart o be photographinmg alea nd femaleh uman terribleh ash appeneadn da womani ss hownw ithh erh andso vei
beingsw hat theya re actuailyp hotographinigs a depictiono f herm outha nd here yesh elplesws ith horror).
amsat os cmualikneiita ty fn udnf ecmtioinnisn oitcyit ahlalyti .sf ittedo r matchedin sucha wav d.o aT sheenssedeo e ft tahiilnsag rsteh a abtps roersbsineogasn n tdhg era alpehrtiecd,um nidnedr,tl hineir negac set phteivye
Nowthisp erceptionis n otoriginawl ithC offman( asC offman rmagindtionI.h ey makey ou know betterw hal you have
hjmselwf ould be the firstt o admiti he is eminentlyfa ir about "known" before;t hey inducet he vigorousn od of the head,t he
identifyinhgi ss ourcesO). neo fthem aiorp ointso f concentration murmured"o h yes,"t hes urprised,, 1h adn,tt houshto f that!,,
in thef eminisst trateghya sb eent he imageo fwomeni n advertis- But Coffman'sm ajorc ontriburionin this bo;k of ,,depicted
ing.M anyf eministhsa vep aide laborataet tentionto thef righten- femininity" (whatC enderA dvertisementsis really about) is the
ingu sesto whichw omenh aveb eenp uti n adse ithera sc reatures continuouse,v er-deepenincgo nnectionh e makesb etweeno ur
of embodieds exuaul sageo r ast horoughlym indlessd omestics imageo f women and the behavioro f children.I n a shrewd
thrown into ecstasyb y a waxed floor or depressionb y an un- discussiono f the child-parenrte lationh e notest hat a child,s
bleachesdh irt.M oreovett hef eminisths avea lsop ointedo utt he behavioro fteni ndicatest hat ,A lovingp rotectori s standingb y in
sociaal ndp oliticapl urposesse rvedb y advertisemenrtesi nforc- thew ings,a llowingn ots om uchf ordependencays a coppingo ut
ing the notiono f men as naturallyd ominanta nd women as of or relieff rom,t he 'realities,t,h at is, the necessitieasn d con-
naturallsyu bordinate. strainttso whicha dultsin sociasl ituationasr es ubject.H,, e then
Whati s originawl ith Coffmani st heq ualityo f the insighht e addsp ointedly":Y ouw ill notet hatt herej s an obvjousp ricet he
bringsto bearo n male-femaliem agesin advertisingM. osto bser- childm ustp ayf or beings avedf roms eriousness.,,
vationo nt hiss ubjecht asb eeno f a blunta ndf undamentanla ture: Beings avedf rom seriousnesjA. notherw onderfulo hraset hat
originals padeworks,o to speak;d iggingu p the issue.W hat echoese ndlesslyl.n seriesa fters erieso f the photographss hown
Coffmand oesh erej n CenderA dvertisement5,by virtue of his hereC offmanl eadsu st o the repeatedu sagein advertisementosf
penetratinegy ea ndh isc omprehensivceo ntext ist o contribute womenp oseda sc hildrena, ctingl ikec hildrenl,o okinel ikec hil-
an observatiosno shrewda nd subtiei t takesu sf artherth anw e dren:u nerlyd evoido f then aturasl obrietyw hicho nea ssociates
haveb eenb eforeF. ora readera lreadyfa miliarw ith thef eminist with the adultm ien.C rown womena res eens tandinqw ith the
angleo f visiont rainedo n the imageo f women in adst his,o f headc ockedw ay overt o thes idep aralletlo thes houlderf,a ce_
coursei,s p urep leasurea,n unexpectegdi ft:t heg ifto f renewed front,e yesa nd mouth:s miling;o t the head tuckedi nto the
stimulationth, oughfti redo ncem ore,m entatle rritoryin creased. shoulder,f ace-front,e yes looking up from under lowered lids,
Insteado f lookinga t clutchedd etergentsa nd half-naked seductive-gamsinty le;o r handst wistedb ehjndt he back;o r the
bodies,C offmanc oncentrateso n hands,e yes,k nees;f acjal ex- toeso f one foot standingo n the toeso f the other in a child,s ,Aw
pressionhse, adp osturesr,e latives izesp; ositioninagn d placing, goshg ee"p ostureo; r armsa ndl egsf lyingo ff in alld irectionsli ke
head-eyaev ersionfi,n gerb itinga nds uckingH. e alsog roupsth e a clown;o r handsd ugd eepi ntot hep ocketst,h ef aciael xoression
picturesso t hatt heb ulko f themi llustratein a singles eriesw hat "wicked" or "merry"; and on every lastf ace that damned, ,daz-
we thinko f asa naturapl oseo r pieceo f behaviofro r oneo f the zling"s mile.
sexesa, nd then he hast he lastt wo or threep icturesi n the series Underscorintgh eseo bseryationosf womeni maseda s chil_
show the samep oseo f behaviorw ith the sexess witched.B e- dreni sa n extraordinardyi scussioinn wordsa nd pictureso f the
tweent hef inenesso fdetail that receivesC offman,sa ttentiona nd way in whichw e perceivem en andw omenw earinsc lothesi n
the shockv alueo f the switched-sexp icturesw e experienceth at adverli5pmqnIlnr. t hisd is(u ssionC offmanp ointso ui thatw hat_
inners urpristeh atp recededse epenedp erception. evera man is wearingi n an advertisemenhte wearss eriously,
"inLgicU,e"n" nTdseherehd R e iatudainligzlsiak teio" oTnfh SeuF b eomrdii nnainteiTo onu,,c,,,h R,e",, lFautinvSceti zjoeRn., aa, nnkd- wonn,e aresta hswo uhagthet hveer ca l wotohmeaswn e isr ewa e acorisntgus mheea n,p opte thaers at op bpero trpyriniagte
Withdrawal,G" offmanm akesu ss ees ucho bservable coveringo f a personb eings eriouslyp resentedlf. a man in an