The Cultivation of Womanhood Through Advertisement: Body Image, advertisements, spending habits, and their implications

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In this paper we will explore how advertisements cultivate a woman’s need for consumerism as a part of their own self image. George Gerbner, the founder of cultivation theory, argued that television has the ability to impact the way that people percieve certain message and influence their everyday life. In this study, we will conduct a content analysis of quantitative and qualitative measures that will study fashion advertisements. Each advertisement will be critiqued by a set of questions to help find any pattern or correlation between attributes that may have an impact on female consumers. A sample population will be drawn at random on three different occasions containing women from the ages of 18-30. In the first group each individual that is selected will be given a survey of questions. This set of questions will focus on the shaping of body image with the use of makeup, accessories, and clothing, and help identify trends between fashion and life style. The second sample group will participate in a focus group discussion that will be directed towards how women see themselves with regards to their own body image. The third group of women will complete a written survey before and after being exposed to television advertisements. This will test to see if advertisements entice woman to purchase products or change their personal portrayal. This research can help understand which marketing techniques are most frequently used, as well as understanding which ones are most successful. It will also help aid in the development of psychology that comes along with the formation of mainstream homogonous views and opinions. Women who are exposed to more advertisements may be more inclined to incorporate items featured in the advertisements... ... middle of paper ... ...eorge. "Cultivation analysis: an overview." mass communication and society 1.3-4 (1998): 175-195. Ebscohost. Web. 7 Nov. 2013. Harmon, Mark D.. "Affluenza: television use and cultivation of materialism." mass communication and society 4.4 (2001): 405-418. Ebscohost. Web. 7 Nov. 2013 Hendriks, A. (2002). Examining the effects of hegemonic depictions of female bodies on television: a call for theory and programmatic research. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 106-123. Myers, P. N., & Biocca, F. A. (September 01, 1992). The Elastic Body Image: The Effect of Television Advertising and Programming on Body Image Distortions in Young Women.Journal of Communication, 42, 3, 108-133. Yoder, J. D., Christopher, J., & Holmes, J. D. (September 01, 2008). Are television commercials still achievement scripts for women?. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32, 3, 303-311.

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