The Gaze: The Role Of Gender In Advertising

The role of gender within advertising has always been a questionable aspect of how we as viewers connect to these visual images, as well as how they connect to our society. Representations of male and female within these adverts are traditionally coded for our society to read and understand. Since Images are central to invoke meaning into the products, the use of these gender codes has brought forth the debate of empowering vs. disempowering. This analysis will discuss and bring into question how these powerful gender dynamics should be understood as spectators and participants. Through the use of the Gaze, I will be analyzing how females are actually empowered by changing the traditional structure of the gaze, and the ways we make meaning.
One critic of his time even referred to Cheret as “the father of woman’s liberation” (Megg) for his new female characterizations, which in turn were dubbed as ‘Cherettes’. They were idealized representations of cheerful, playful and glamorous girls that broke the old Victorian stereotypes. They were liberating images that depicted woman as independent, strong, elegant and sophisticated in the mass media. These girls were shown engaging in a lifestyle and behavior in places once only thought to be a man’s territory. Not only was the females shown actually taking part, but setting a new standard for the “modern woman” (Nathaniel). The Cherettes inclusion and participation in this new cultural lifestyle broke many taboos in society at the time such as women smoking in public, drinking wine, wearing low-cut dresses, and living life to its fullest
In theory to advertising, the definition of the gaze can be used to “describe the relationship of looking in which the subject is caught up in the dynamics of desire through trajectories of looking and being looked at among objects and other people” (Cartwright). Many ads we see use the traditional gender codes understood within the gaze, which have typically read woman as seductive for the dominating male gaze. However, a reversal of the gaze (i.e. woman as active, powerful, and “looking back”), such as in the DuBonnet campaign, have proven to be successful in changing the dynamic of the gaze. To further understand why these images are successful, we can look to what author Robert Goldman, calls “commodity feminism” in which these traits of empowerment communicate that consumption of such products is comparable to being in control of one’s life (Goldman). French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, focused on the gaze as to how we achieve, or represent our desires we establish within the gaze. He notes how often it takes the form of pursuing other people we desire to be to achieve a state of wholeness (Cartwright). The Dubonnet Wine Campaign gives us next to nothing in terms of detailing their product to us, but instead focuses on the Cherettes holding the product along with a French slogan which translates to “in all cafes”. Rather than detailing