Vältrimmade herrar och mjuka kvinnokroppar : En hårresande undersökning om reklamernas värld

Sammanfattning: In today's society, we are reached by media from several platforms and in many cases the media acts as mediators of gender norms. Although, the same product is sold, the design of the advertisements often differs depending on whether the target group is women or men. In this paper, American television commercials for razors have been studied to see what gender norms are conveyed in female and male advertisements as well as the change over time. The survey covers advertisements from the 1950s to the 2010s and the focus has been to study the difference in male and female portraiture and its change. Based on the gender theory, hegemonic masculinity theory and feminist film theory, a qualitative film analysis of the commercials has been made. The film analysis was performed with the support of three models, consciousness scale, gender analysis and a model about the female and male speech. In short, the results show that old gender norms are being replaced by new ones over the years and that American television commercials are moving towards a more equal portrayal of both genders. Women's portraiture has shifted from passive housewife to appearing as natural and active in the public space. The male portrayal has shifted from showing the man as active and independent to being portrayed as a father figure and role model. The change that can be discerned is linked to the development of gender equality in the US. The results also show that changes are taking place slowly and that there is a tendency for certain gender norms to linger from decades to decades. Finally, it has been found that the power of thought patterns plays a role in the changes that occur in advertising and that consumers has the power to influence the image of men and women that TV commercials show. As society's view of gender norms changes, demands are also made for the portrayal in marketing to change.