Eviving Goffman's Film The Codes Of Gender

Sut Jhally uses sociological theory developed by Erving Goffman to analyze how advertisers use gender to make their products. In his movie “The Codes of Gender,” he discusses many topics including sex, gender, men and women posing for advertisements, and what their poses represent. Sex is defined as the biological differences in male and female. Gender is the cultural meaning we as a society assigned to sexes; for example, masculinity and femininity. The media uses commercial realism in advertising which presents the world in a way that could be real. Men are often portrayed by the media in a very strong and powerful way. When images are focused on their hands, the environment is often molded around them. If they are holding an object, it is with power and force and symbolizes strength and command. Women on the other hand, are portrayed as the exact opposite. Their hands are used softly to often touch their body with no limitation, mold to the environment around them, and are corrosive. Women are frequently positioned lying down which signifies they are dependent on someone other than themselves, powerless, defensive-less, and display sexual desires.

No matter the gender of the model in an advertisement, we as viewers judge the model based on the femininity or masculinity they show. If a male is presenting himself with feminine characteristics, it comes across as unnatural to society and some believe it is unacceptable. The same goes for women who pose presenting masculine characteristics. I personally believe nothing is wrong with a models posing as the opposite gender. Whether they were positioned that way by a director or chose to pose the way they did, everyone is different and is entitled to making their own