Learning to Sell Sex(ism): Advertising Students and Gender PDF
Preview Learning to Sell Sex(ism): Advertising Students and Gender
L E A R N I N G TO S E L L S E X ( I S M ) Advertising Students and Gender Aileen O’Driscoll Learning to Sell Sex(ism) Aileen O’Driscoll Learning to Sell Sex(ism) Advertising Students and Gender Aileen O’Driscoll Dublin City University Dublin, Ireland ISBN 978-3-319-94279-7 ISBN 978-3-319-94280-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94280-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018958771 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and trans- mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover image © elenabs/ Getty This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Acknowledgements This book represents the culmination of a number of years of research, kindly funded by the School of Communications at Dublin City University. I am especially grateful to my colleagues Debbie Ging, Neil O’Boyle, and Pat Brereton for their invaluable encouragement, advice, and feedback throughout the process. More generally, the intellectually stimulating environment and inspiring research outputs at the School of Communications provided the conditions needed to undertake and thoroughly enjoy the whole process. Additionally, I wish to acknowl- edge and express my gratitude to the people who participated in this study, without whom it would have been impossible for the research to progress. Special thanks to Dawn Wheatley, in particular, for her constant friendship and availability for chats, cups of coffee, and something stron- ger when required. Special mention also goes to both Katayoun and Caspar for practical help with this project, it is much appreciated. I fur- ther wish to extend my gratitude to Amelia Derkatsch, at Palgrave Macmillan, for always providing quick and efficient responses to various queries in the months before completing the final manuscript. Final thanks go to my family. To my wonderful parents, John and Bridget, who taught me the value of hard work and integrity. I could not have succeeded in completing this project without their love and enthu- siasm. Huge gratitude goes to my sisters, Ciara and Clare, and my v vi Acknowledgements brother-in-law, Richie, who are always so generous and kind. Here’s to spending much more time with my lovely nieces, Olive and Ida. This work is dedicated to my brother, Barry O’Driscoll, who played no small role in motivating me to undertake and complete the writing of this book. Massive thanks to him for time spent proofreading, asking insightful questions, and providing constructive advice. In particular, his unwavering support, friendship, curiosity, and good humour mean everything to me. Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Gendered Advertising: From Text to Industry to Classroom 17 3 We’re Just Different (But Equal): Unpacking Students’ Gendered Views 67 4 The Reverse Stereotype and the Double Standard: Expressions of Concern About Advertising’s Treatment of Men 113 5 The Catch-22 of Advertising Practice (and Other Deflections): Perceived Challenges to Creating Less Sexist Content 155 6 Conclusions and Reflections 199 Index 209 vii List of Tables Table 3.1 Questionnaire question—Please tick. Do you think …? A. Men and women exhibit naturally different characteristics because of their biological make-up. B. Gender differences are learned. Explain/further comments 69 Table 3.2 Survey question—What does the term ‘gender’ mean to you? 71 Table 3.3 Questionnaire question—What key words describe (stereo) typical male characteristics? 74 Table 3.4 Questionnaire question—What key words describe (stereo) typical female characteristics? 74 Table 3.5 Questionnaire question—What does the term ‘feminism’ mean for you? 76 Table 3.6 Survey question—What is a feminist? 77 Table 3.7 Questionnaire question—Do you think feminism is still rele- vant in today’s society? 77 Table 3.8 Survey question—Are you a feminist? 78 Table 3.9 Questionnaire question—Do you think equality between men and women has been achieved in Western society? 79 Table 3.10 Survey question—What kinds of expectations of women are there, typically, in our culture? 86 Table 4.1 Questionnaire question—A lot of people claim that advertising damages young girls’ and women’s self-esteem. What do you think about that? 114 ix x List of Tables Table 4.2 Questionnaire question—Traditionally, feminists have been con- cerned with the objectification of women’s bodies in advertising. Do you think this is still an issue? Explain/further comments 115 Table 4.3 Questionnaire question—Do you think men’s bodies are objectified and eroticised in contemporary adverts in the same way as women’s? 117 Table 5.1 Questionnaire question—Does it matter how advertising represents people or groups of people (e.g. gay people, Black people, women)? 163 Table 5.2 Questionnaire question—Do you think advertising has an influence on the public beyond encouraging them to buy the products being advertised? Explain/further comments 164 Table 5.3 Questionnaire question—In general, do you think the advertising industry is viewed in a positive or a negative light by the general public? 167 Table 5.4 Questionnaire question—If, in a professional situation, you were told by your boss to create a campaign that was deliberately sexist (whether ironic or to create controversy, or both), how would you feel about that? What do you think you would do? 169 Table 5.5 Questionnaire question—Should adverts that are controver- sial and /or receive a lot of complaints from the public be banned? 171 Table 5.6 Questionnaire question—When you are working on group projects in college, are there specific roles that males and females are more likely to adopt? Explain/further comments 179 Table 5.7 Questionnaire question—What role in the advertising industry would you most like to have? 180 Table 5.8 Creative vs. Executive role breakdown by sex (final-year BA class) 194 Table 5.9 Creative vs. Executive role breakdown by sex (MSc class) 195 1 Introduction On the day that I interviewed Pauline,1 an advertising art director, who told me that her male creative director ‘hates the way men are always or quite often perceived to be the bumbling idiot in ads next to the woman …who is the smart, logical one’, the comment was significant for the fact that it mirrored a belief expressed by a number of the advertising students who participated in this study, and who likewise felt that advertising’s representation of men has become increasingly problematic. Indeed, these students referred to the trend of misandrist advertising as one of notable concern. Such a conviction, among others, clearly warranted closer scrutiny. This book has come about as a result of two questions that germinated in my mind for a considerable time. Firstly, why does advertising seem to be central in pushing an aggressive ‘war of the sexes’ cultural narrative, intent on positioning men and women as opposites (albeit a ‘war’ con- structed in ways to suggest sexual frisson as well as tension and differ- ence between the two)? And, secondly, who makes these ads? While both questions began more as casual talking points, before tackling them through academic enquiry, they did point to an intense concern with what I saw as the advertising industry’s continued trotting-out of sexist and © The Author(s) 2019 1 A. O’Driscoll, Learning to Sell Sex(ism), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94280-3_1
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