OULI401 COP - Study Task 3 Planning and Structuring an Essay

Chosen question - To what extent does advertising construct our ideas of gender? 
I chose this question as advertising is something that regularly irritates me through it's over sexualisation of women and the objectifcation of womens bodies. I am interested in exploring these themes further and also possibly looking into the affect that advertising has on how we see ourselves. 

Which academic sources will you reference?
Gill, R , (2003) Supersexualise Me! Advertising and ‘the midriffs’ in Attwood, F ed Mainstreaming Sex: The Sexualisation of Western Culture , London, I.B. Tauris

Gill, R (2006), Gender and The Media, Cambridge, Polity Press

Heldman, C. (2012). Sexual Objectification (Part 2): The Harm. https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/07/06/sexual-objectification-part-2-the-harm/. [Accessed 26 March 2016].

Hills, R. )2015). I Failed At Being A Sex Object.... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-hills/failed-at-being-a-sex-object-and-became-something-hotter_b_7933376.html. [Accessed 26 March 2016].

Wolf, N (1990), The Beauty Myth, Chatto and Windus

What images/illustrations will you analyse? 

These are the three images that I have chosen to analyse. After doing some research into adverts and different companies, American Apparels hyper sexual adverts have caused controversy and come under fire from the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority). I chose to analyse these images due to their explicit nature, and their obvious objectification of the female body. 


Essay map

Thesis - American Apparels controversial representation of women in their adverts objectifies and overly sexualises women and their bodies. 

This will be addressed by analysing examples of American Apparel adverts, looking at the sex object.sexual subject argument, midriff advertising, third wave feminism and narcissism  and the male gaze. 

Four main arguments:

• Sex object to sexual subject - No longer seen in passive or victimised objects but in playful sexual subjects, knowing of their sexual power.
• Midriff advertising - four central themes - emphasis on empowerment, objectification to sexual subjectification, emphasis on the body, discourse of choice and autonomy
• Third wave feminism - sex is power, younger females, in line with popular culture
• Narcissim and the male gaze - John Berger

OUIL401 COP - Study Task 2 Reading and Understanding a Text

1 - Tone of Voice: What can you deduce about the authors position in regard to the subject matter from their tone of voice.

From the tone of voice of the author I can deduce that the author is supportive of the role that media has on gender and identity. David Gauntlett continuously makes positive references and comments about the role of media and how this has helped develop gender and identity into a much broader spectrum than the traditional male and female roles that the older generation are accustomed too. Very little mention is made of the negative impact on which the media can have on people who are trying to develop their identities. The discussion towards men and their role is seen as something that has been slower to develop, many men have not modernised to their new role and even though traditional values of what men should be like and should act like are crumbling, the identities prompted to men are still constrained. Very little mention is made of the negative impact mass media can have on how people view themselves, constantly having to live up to the images and ideas promoted in mass media. 

2 - Five key points that the text makes. 
1. Traditional views of both men and women have changed, with mass media being the force behind this change. 
2. Constructing your own identity has become a known requirement, individuals know that they are in control and are in need of making their own choices on lifestyle and identity. 
3. Mass media has changed and become more liberal, spreading ideas of modern values and becoming more challenging of traditional values.
4. Mass media can play a role of making the population more or less comfortable with different ways of living. This encompasses different ideas of identities, different sexualities and overall ways of living.
5 - Mass media puts out these messages with levels of contradiction. The audiences are too widespread to give out one certain message, different areas of the media target different audiences and these audiences receive different messages in terms of gender and identity. 


3 - Five key quotes from the text.
1. "The traditional view of a woman as a housewife or low-status worker has been kick boxed out of the picture by feisty, successful 'girl power' icons. Meanwhile the masculine ideals of absolute toughness, stubborn self-reliance and emotional silence have been shaken by a new emphasis on men's emotions, need for advice and the problems of masculinity."
2. "...modern media is encouraging the other throw of traditions which kept people within limiting compartments."
3. "In contrast with women 'you can do anything' ethos, the identities promoted to me are relatively constrained."
4. "Popular culture offers a range of stars, icons and characters from whom we can acceptably borrow bits and pieces of their public persona for use in our own"
5. "People are changing, building new identities founded not on the certainties of the past, but organised around the new order of modern living, where the meanings of gender, sexuality and identity are increasingly open."


As is known, Gauntlett's introduction to Media, Gender and Identity focuses on several themes, fluidity of identities, the decline of tradition, the knowing construction of identity, the idea of 'role models', masculinity in possible crisis, 'girl power', popular feminism, diversity of sexualities, gender trouble, media power, contradictions and change. Gauntlet introduces to us the different ways in which media can play a role in all of these themes, and how the mass media is mostly responsible for the non-traditionalist values that many of us hold today. He explores the power that the media has in offering new ways of living and presenting ourselves, offering tools for the audience to utilise in creating their own identity and also how these tools can be of no use to some. It also tackles the idea of masculinity in crisis, looking at how as females get stronger and more independent, the males seem to be in a period of crisis, not being able to modernise to this new form of identity where they no longer have to be the sole provider. 

OUIL401 COP - Study Task 1 Image Analysis

The Uncle Sam Range - Advertising image by Schumacher & Ettlinger, New York, 1876

The purpose of this poster is to advertise 'The Uncle Sam Range', obviously referring to the large range cooker in the left of the image. The poster is directed towards a wealthy target audience, clearly shown by the ornamental decor, the lavish clothing of the characters and also the use of a black slave boy cooking to show 'Uncle Sam's' wealth. The audience is both American and Global, with Uncle Sam being shown to literally 'feed the world' as there is a globe sat at the table, with Uncle Sam showing it the food that's been cooked with the oven. The globe is reading through a list of countries and food associated with those countries, most likely a reference to all the different kinds of food that can be cooked using the range. The poster is mainly a celebration of America and they're independence from the British Empire. This poster was produced 100 years after America became independent and the dates 1776 AND 1876 are shown on the clock on the mantlepiece. There are also three characters at the back, Dixie, The West and England, that also show a reference to Americas independence and the union of the states. Nearly all the decorative elements of this depicted scene are covered with the stars and stripes of the American flag, and also Uncle Sam has an eagle on his shoulder, further more referring to this celebration of America and their independence. 

The black slave in the corner is a reference once again to the wealth and power of America, it was seen as a luxury to have a house slave at this time. This also shows America's reliance on slave labour. None of the meal is prepared by Uncle Sam himself, but instead by his slave, representing how Americas world success and power was entirely dependent on it's slave trade. 

Colonial Progress Brings Home Prosperity - Series of posters by Adrian Allinson, displayed 1930-1931

When comparing this set of images to the Uncle Sam poster, the first clear difference is the tone of voice and overall style of the images. The layout of the Uncle Sam poster seems almost messy and focuses most on just shouting about America and how great America is. The Colonial Progress images almost have a sense of calm about them, it is clear that the composition has been thought about and you can clearly see the difference between the overconfident, cocky America and the better mannered social ideals of the British. 

A similarity between these two images is that they are both designed to appeal to the wealthy and the upper class. There is a clear sense of social hierarchy in both of the images with Uncle Sam being centred and well lit, with other characters taking a literal back seat and also the slave boy in the corner being almost over cast by the shadow of the oven. The Colonial Progress posters also show this hierarchy with a well dressed, white man stood at the forefront of the image, looking directly out of the frame, a symbol of looking towards the future of the British empire. Once again, the black characters in this image are in the background, separated entirely from the white man and are physically placed in a lower position to him. There is heavy stylisation of the black figures, with offensive cartoon-like features that further dehumanise them. 

The posters are both trying to sell something, whether this be an actual product or an ideology.Through both images, you can depict a similar set of underlying messages, mainly aimed towards the fact that, whites and western culture are supreme and also that the technology being produced by the white western world is progress and will benefit all. These messages are both conveyed in different ways though, with the Uncle Sam poster being a lot more overconfident and patriotic whilst the Colonial Progress posters kept to the illustrative style of that time and relied heavily on the image to convey meaning. 

OUIL401 COP - Preparatory Task

Social: 

adjective

1. 1. 

   relating to society or its organization.

   • 
     

     
     
2. 2. 

   needing companionship and therefore best suited to living in communities.

   
   

   • 
     

     
     
3. noun

1. 1. 

   an informal social gathering, especially one organized by the members of a particular club or group.

   
   

   
   

In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity. - Erik Erikson

Historical:

adjective

1. of or concerning history or past events.

   
   

   • belonging to the past.
   • (especially of a novel or film) set in the past.

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana

Political:

adjective

1. 1. 

   of or relating to the government or public affairs of a country.

   
   

   Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. - George Orwell

Technological:

adjective

1. relating to or using technology.

   
   

   
   

   
   

All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane, the automobile, the computer - says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness. - Mark Kennedy

Cultural:

adjective

1. 1. 

   relating to the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a society.
2. 2. 

   relating to the arts and to intellectual achievements.

   
   Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions. - Paulo Coelho