Sexism In Food Product Advertising

Advertising can be defined as:

“The manipulation of social values and attitudes through which false needs and desires are disseminated with the aim of regenerating desire for the consumption of an ever- increasing volume and diversity of goods”

In relation to this, sexism can be defined as:

“Attitudes or behaviour based on traditional stereotypes of gender roles”

These definitions are largely comparable to food product advertisements both past and present in relation to my own findings, supporting that the portrayal of food products are based on gender, with women used as the selling point.

This is evident in the following 1960’s advertisements:

Characteristics in these advertisements reflect the social norms and values of this time period,

It was our job to buy and sell the product”

This statement can be reinforced by Pollay (2014), defining women in the 1960’s as: “Domestic, dependent and used to sell a

However, as previously stated, food product advertisements in the present are likely to possess qualities that have been extended from past eras. This includes the incorporation of sexualisation to a female figure (Figure 3), how they should appeal to the male eye (resulting in stereotyping and an increase of male status, authority and empowerment within society), what they should be like in a society (Figure 4), what they should eat, (Figure 4) as well as the homemaker stereotype portrayed in 1960’s advertisements being carried through to the present. Findings in the cross-cultural questionnaire sustain this concept when respondents were asked the