Judith Butler describes gender as “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. In other words, it is something learnt through repeated performance.

How useful is this idea in understanding gender is represented in both the Score and Maybelline advertising campaigns?

I am going to be discussing how gender ‘the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between femininity and masculinity.’ is presented through the score and Maybelline advertising campaigns. I will also be discussing the changes of gender and gender representation.

Judith Butler, is an American philosopher and gender theorist. Butler argues that gender is a performance and not something that we are simply born with, we learn and adapt to become a certain gender; Contrasting to Laura Mulveys’ idea of ‘fixed gender’. Butler believes that gender is fluid, changeable and plural, being born into a certain sex, does not determine behaviour, people simply adapt and grasp onto the ways of society, whether it be male characteristics such as: football, video games, or more feminine characteristics such as: makeup and shopping “Our genders are culturally rather naturally formed”. Harry styles, an inspirational singer and activist has lead the way in breaking negative stereotypes surrounding gender, identity and sexuality. This brand ‘pleasing’ is a range of beauty products aimed at all genders. Styles, being an influential opinion leader, voices his views on masculinity and femininity in a radical way by presenting himself in a feminine manor. Styles is a perfect representation of Butlers gender being performative. Harry Styles claims that he aims to “blur the boundaries” of the gender binary and show that regardless of what you identify yourself as, beauty cosmetics is for everyone, not just women.

Butlers theory relates to the past norms of society, such as the idea from the 1900’s where the men would go to work while the women would stay home and do ‘feminine’ tasks such as: cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Women were often stereotyped as weak, incapable and treated subordinately to men, The expectations and stereotypes of men and women are massively defined in the score advert.

The score advert is a historical artefact from 1967, we are presented with the contrast in gender roles and sexuality. The mens hair cream product features a frenzy of women dressed in little clothing posing voyeuristically. They are holding up the dominant signifier the man symbolising a hunter in what we are presented as Africa. We can see the man holding a presumably “loaded gun”, possibly corresponding to the sexual theme of the ad. Laura Mulveys theory of the male gaze is hugely displayed in this advert, the product aimed at men, displays a hierarchy through the mans placement above the women. It could be suggested that the women are the hunters pray. The man is above the women, at the top of the mice-en-scene, connoting his higher power, strength, and possibly in control of the women. Three of the women are staring at the man in absolute awe of his presence. The placement of the women is crucial in this advertisement, we can see the blonde woman at the back reaching for the male, accompanied by the brown haired woman looking directly at the viewer suggesting, they too can have this female attention and praise if they buy this hair cream. We can see the expectations of women presented in this ad, the women are all conventionally attractive, white with small body types. We can also see the indexical animal skin sheet which the man is sat on, this is referring to his success in ‘slaying’ the women. The triadic modal of signs, the representation of the man being worshiped and carried by the women, creates a mental concept of masculine power and control. The patriarchal society of the 1970s allowed the sexualising, demeaning attitudes towards women to be presented even in the media, this lead to a growing number of women desiring equality and freedom of male oppression.

In comparison to the score advert, the maybelline campaign presents male characters, such ad Manny Gutierrez, he is the first male brand ambassador for the make-up brand Maybelline. After decades of limiting makeup ads to women, beauty brands are finally getting the hint that makeup isn’t just for girls; it’s for guys too. This helps fight the battle of toxic masculinity and negative stereotypes for men, removing the barricade between men and femininity. The maybelline campaign links to Judith Butlers ‘gender performance’, it outlines gender fluidity, identity is constantly changing and adapting to the ways of society.

Similar to Butler, David Gauntlet wrote about how gender is fluid and changeable, gender is how you perceive yourself. Gauntlet explains identity in 4 categories, Fluidity of identity, Constructed identity, Negotiated identity and Collective identity. In his investigation into the fluidity of identity, David Gauntlet noted how the representation of gender in the media was beginning to break down the old binary definitions and was now offering a more diverse range of identities. Women, who were simply stereotyped as housewives and passive in the past, were now represented as empowered and assertive. Instead of the physical and combative masculine identity, men could now be seen as sensitive and introspective without any ridicule. Gauntlets theory of fluidity of identity is displayed in both the score and Maybelline ad. In the score ad we are presented with the traditional reactionary form of a man, muscles, adored by women, seen as god like. On the other hand, in ‘That Boss Life’, Manny epitomises this blurring of masculinity and femininity. He wears trousers and a jacket, typical of masculine dress codes, but his verbal and non-verbal codes, such as his final pose to camera, are quite feminine. He has facial hair but he is also confident in his identity to use mascara.

In conclusion, i believe Judith Butlers theory to be true and helpful. It has been proven from both the score and maybelline adverts that gender is a performance, although you are biologically male, you can share characteristics and traits of a female.

Introduce the overall aim and argument that you are going to make

Establish your first main critical approach

Develop approach by using key words, phrases and quotation (Mulvey, Kilbourne, Moi, Wander, Wollstonescraft, Woolf, de Beauvoir, Van Zoonen, Dollimore, Woolf, Levy)

Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist. She was educated at St Hilda’s College, Oxford. She is now professor of film and media studies at Birkbeck University of London.

Laura Mulvey is a feminist film theorist from Britain, best known for her essay on Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Her theories are influenced by the likes of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan whilst also including psychoanalysis and feminism in her works.

“It is said that analysing pleasure, or beauty, destroys it.”

Apply your theoretical ideas to either or both of the set CSP’s

Show some historical knowledge about societal changes

Establish a secondary theme or idea that you wish to raise (1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th wave feminism, Raunch Culture, Queer Theory, Intersectionality)

“Male and female identities are not naturally configured” – You can choose who you want to be (butler).

“Popular culture within the process of constructing their sense of identity” – The general idea of genders is constructed by opinions and stereotypes.

“Audiences learn how to perform gender via the media.” – The media in today’s society constructs our own gender identity for us.

“Society constructs a binary view of gender” – A binary view is a social construct made up of two parts that are framed as complete opposites (e.g. male and female).

“Audiences realise they can change their identities”  – They can be whoever you want to be without being held back by society.

Develop this approach by using key words, phrases and quotation

Apply your theoretical ideas to either or both of the set CSP’s

Show some historical knowledge about societal changes

Similarly, feminist critical thought became much more prominent and pronounced during the counter cultural movements of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, which heralded, among other changes a greater acceptance of birth control, divorce, abortion and homosexuality.

There was also the abolition of hanging and theatre censorship, and the Obscene Publications Act (1959) which led to the Chatterly trial. Nevertheless, as Johnathon Dollimore wrote: ‘all this should not be seen as a straightforward displacement of dominant conservative attitudes‘ (1983:59).

However, the Score advert was produced in the year of decriminalisation of homosexuality and as such, the representation of heterosexuality could be read as signalling more anxiety than might first appear. The reference to colonialist values can also be linked to social and cultural contexts of the ending of Empire.

Establish a contradictory argument that shows your ability to think and engage

Develop this approach by using key words, phrases and quotation

Apply your theoretical ideas to either or both of the set CSP’s

Summarise your main arguments

Ensure you have a summative, final sentence / short paragraph

most people think gender is just male and female. butler is like nah.

Judith Butler describes gender as “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. In other words, it is something learnt through repeated performance. How useful is this idea in understanding gender is represented in both the Score and Maybelline advertising campaigns?

Numerous different ideas have been presented circulating the topic of gender, implying that it is “an identity instituted through a stylised repetition of acts”. In this essay I will be stating arguments about this idea and the waves of feminism.

Judith Butler discusses many ideas involved with gender representation such as gender fluidity and changeability. She states that gender is a “Social Construct” and that our gender identities aren’t established at birth, childhood or adolescence, but are formed through our consistent performances of gendered behaviour. She has stated that historically, gender has been viewed in a binary fashion – divided into categories based on stereotypes/characteristics that can’t be changed.

In the first wave of feminism Barry makes the point that although the women’s movement was not the start of feminism. In other words, the issue of women’s inequality has a history that pre-dates the 1960’s, for example Mary Wollstonecraft, (1792) A Vindication of the Rights of Women. ‘Sexism was coined by analogy with the term racism in the American civil rights movement in the early 1960s. Defined simply, sexism refers to the systematic ways in which men and women are brought up to view each other antagonistically, on the assumption that the male is always superior to the female.

In many ways Judith Butler counterpoints earlier ideas of gender representation, for example, some of the ideas presented by Laura Mulvey seem to suggest that gender is fixed – male/female – that it is structured by institutions and those powerful individuals who are able to exert power and control for example Weinstein. While still recognising those arguments presented by Mulvey, Jean Kilbourne, Butler suggests that gender is fluid and changeable and can be altered by anyone at any point in time depending on how they see fit.

Putting it another way , it suggests that we can have multiple identities that are presented to different people in different ways whilst under different social settings, and different social conditions. For example, looking at a category such as butch and femme, girly girl etc., which illustrate the multiple, plural nature of identity, representation and performance with feminist critical thinking. Which can be explored and mapped out into similar studies on male identity and example of this would be the work of Dollimore, Sinfield and others.

The idea of identity performance is explored further in another post: Representation, Identity and Self However, to understand the approach of gender as performative and how to recognise it as a ‘phenomenon that is being reproduced all the time‘, which perhaps suggests that ‘nobody is a gender from the start.’ The question for Butler (and for students of media and cultural studies) is therefore: how can gender get established and policed? Which, of course, is why we look at her ideas in subjects like Media Studies.

The Score advertisement from 1967 is a genuine representation of advertising methods and techniques. It was first shown during a period of time when first wave feminism was starting to have a larger impact on society as a whole. This wave of feminism was trying to resist against the common thought of how men would be seen as superior over women, mainly their partners or counterparts. Score follows this strategy by having five women carry a man on a sort of platform, whilst they are reaching out to touch his arms and clothes. On the topic of clothes, the women are not wearing very much, whereas the man is fully dressed. One of the women, rather than looking at the man on the platform, is looking straight at the camera to give the impression of the reader being involved with the advertisement. This just about confirms the advert’s target audience being men around the same age as the male model. This contradicts Judith Butler’s theory of how identity is represented by choice and repetition of actions.

Maybelline took a very alternative approach. There were two actors in the first video advertisement. One was a straight black woman, the other a gay white man. This contrasts hugely from the Score advertisement as all six models were white and presumably straight. These choices also shows how the world’s methods of advertising have changed in a relatively short period of time. The same approach is taken in the second part of the advertisement series. The same actors, Manny and Shayla, are pictured with two other actresses, one being white and the other of Asian decent, varying the contents of the advertisement even further.

Judith Butler describes gender as “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. In other words, it is something learnt through repeated performance.

How useful is this idea in understanding gender is represented in both the Score and Maybelline advertising campaigns?

Judith Butler displays the idea that “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. This idea has been represented and utilised within adverts and media ever since media was created and products were being advertised. For example the idea that football is for men and netball is for woman, however Judith argues that “Stereotypes and opinions do not decide who you are.” but also publicises her idea because she believes that “Even though its all a lie, the stereotypes have a big effect on people.” which displays the idea that the repeated acts and stereotypes do have an affect on almost everyone and not many people actually accept who they are and change themselves, however when those people do they are looked down upon and seen as different. We can see this within the “First and Second wave of feminism”, after woman spoke out for the first time in 1792 with a book called “A vindication of woman’s rights” by Mary Wollstonecraft, they still didn’t get the vote until The British Suffragettes started to make statements and bringing attention to their points and ideas. In 1913 a woman under the name Emily Wilding Davison took it upon herself to break into the track of a horse race and being trampled/hit by King George V’s horse “Anmer” to make a point and publicise the suffragettes movement. As well as this the suffragettes supporter, “Miss Nell” chained herself to the railing of Buckingham palace to make a point about woman requiring a vote.

We can see this idea being represented through the “Score liquid hair groom” advert made in 1967 where we can see 5 woman carrying a man who has recently shaven using the product advertised, making him seem like a king. The company is advertising the product within the ideal male world and within the male gaze by including the five woman worshipping the man. The male gaze is the idea of woman being oversexualised within media and advertisements for male attention. However it can be noted that shaving cream is not only for men, this is because woman also shave, and they also use shaving cream. This is an example of Judith Butlers idea of repeated acts making us our gender, we can see that the idea of men using shaving cream is a stereotypical, repeated action by men, therefore this company advertises it for men and it is seen as an action performed solely by men. As we can see with products like “Veet Shaving cream for woman” are being made and shaving cream is not only for men and shaving cream is a unisex product.

In addition to this we can see the strap line “get what you’ve always wanted” paired with the advert, this line gives the idea that men’s ideal situation is one with many woman, using a typical stereotype of men always wanting the sexual attention and company of woman, and utilising a stereotype of woman being submissive to men who are attractive and doing anything they say. The idea of the woman in the advert being submissive goes with the idea of the “damsel in distress” by Anita Sarkeesian on her YouTube channel “Feminist frequency” where woman are seen to be useless and require saving by a man, in this case the man is saving the women from non-shaven men who aren’t using the product, I know this because the woman in the back right of the advert is reaching out to the man, giving the idea that she is desperately reaching for him to bring her in and save her. Accordingly this supports the work and research of Laura Mulvey who researched the idea of male drive within films and adverts. The score adverts fits within Laura Mulvey’s research as it utilises the idea of a man with multiple woman being “what you’ve always wanted” and having the attention of attractive woman being the main incentive to buy the product. The woman here are being used as a selling point, implying that when you use the product you will be worshipped by woman and many will all of a sudden become interested in you, this further proves the advert is targeted towards men and it can be described by one of Mulvey’s quotes, ‘Woman as image, man as bearer of the look’ .

Furthermore we can see in Maybelline’s large scale adverts since 1999, they’ve used curvy, oversexualised and glamourous woman to advertise their products. Resulting from this, Maybelline goes against Judith Butlers work and conjoins the stereotypes of genders to their products to increase sales and interest, they have done this by making it seem like woman are the only people to use makeup, however this isn’t true men have been starting to use makeup and expressing themselves through it, for example bands like Fall out boy, and celebrities like Johnny Depp have used and continue to use eyeliner when turning up to social events and shows. However as Judith Butler comments “gender is not a identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts” and Maybelline is ignoring the idea of men using their products and wasn’t advertising them towards other genders until 2017 after they realised other genders had started to wear and buy makeup more regularly and it becoming more normal. Most importantly after they hired Manny Gutierrez to advertise their products for all genders it displayed that Maybelline was able to change their adverts and give the idea to their customers that they can display who they are and who they want to be through Maybelline’s products.

Lastly, as Maybelline has expanded their adverts and company, they made a product called “Big shot like a boss” in May 2017. Within this product they released adverts where the newly recruited Manny Gutierrez put on the make up and got “bossed up” which supports the idea of gender fluid representation by showing that males can use makeup and it be supported by the company and it is part of their advertising. This is because later within the part 2 of the “Big shot like a boss” adverts it shows a woman getting “bossed up”, this shows Maybelline’s support of Judith Butlers idea of genders being fluid and only being up to the biological way you were born, instead of the way you act and what you do.

In conclusion I believe both Maybelline and Score have gone against Judith Butlers idea of the fluidity of identity, however Maybelline has caught up and changed their style and changed their adverts to fit more with the current state of society and people choices on gender.

• Feminist = a political position
• Female = a matter of biology
• Feminine = a set of culturally defined characteristics

Naomi Wolf:

Naomi Rebekah Wolf is an American feminist author and journalist. Following her first book The Beauty Myth, she became a leading spokeswoman of what has been described as the third wave of the feminist movement. 

First-wave Feminism:

First-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that occurred during the 19th and early 20th century throughout the Western world. It focused on legal issues, primarily on securing women’s right to vote. The goal of this wave was to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage.

Second-wave Feminism:

The second wave feminism movement took place in the 1960s and 1970s and focused on issues of equality and discrimination. Starting initially in the United States with American women, the feminist liberation movement soon spread to other Western countries. American feminist writer Betty Friedan helped ignite the second feminist wave with her book “The Feminine Mystique.” Released in 1963, Friedan builds on the foundation of Simone de Beauvoir’s work.

Third-wave Feminism:

The Third Wave of feminism was greatly focused on reproductive rights for women. Feminists advocated for a woman’s right to make her own choices about her body and stated that it was a basic right to have access to birth control and abortion. Influenced by the postmodernist movement in the academy, third-wave feminists sought to question, reclaim, and redefine the ideas, words, and media that have transmitted ideas about womanhood, gender, beauty, sexuality, femininity, and masculinity, among other things.

Fourth-wave Feminism:

Fourth-wave feminism is a feminist movement that began around 2012 and is characterized by a focus on the empowerment of women, the use of internet tools, and intersectionality. The fourth wave seeks greater gender equality by focusing on gendered norms and marginalization of women in society. Its main focus’ was on sexual harassment, body shaming, and rape culture, among other issues. A key component was the use of social media to highlight and address these concerns.

In this scene I can see that there is a man sitting down on a platform dressed in safari clothes with a shotgun in his arms, he is well groomed and smiling and looking pleased with himself. In addition there are five ladies wearing safari clothing too but they are less covered up than the man, their chests, midriffs, arms and necks are on display and they have big hair styles and makeup. The ladies are looking up to the man, as if they are admiring and worshipping him, they are holding some kind of cheetah or leopard skin and one of the ladies is reaching up as if to stroke the man and another is holding onto his cowboy boot. The women are at a lower level than the man. There also some plants in the background to create the illusion that the people in the advert are in the jungle.

The dominant signifier is the man, as he is the ‘masculine’ person and he is showing what effect the liquid hair product will have on women. There is anchorage where there is an image of the product and a description of what it will do for the potential customer. There is a strapline ‘Get what you’ve always wanted’ to show to the customers that by purchasing this product the consumer can get what they have always desired.

In this advert there is no representation, as there are only white males and females. The idea being represented is that by purchasing this product men will be superior to women, that is to state thut women will admire and worship the man that is using the product to amplify his hair.. At the era when this advert was created, women’s rights were given more rights such as a right to birth control and there was the decriminalisation of abortion (in some countries) so why are they still stooping down to what could be seen as following patriarchy?

Manny Gutirrez is a very well known youtuber as a popular makeup artist and beauty blogger, and more specifically he was the first man Maybelline had posted.

Persuasion is used by exaggerating the place the apartment is shot at ‘This place is everything!’ And the Bell Boy being dressed up in what would would typically be seen as someone who one would see in a 5 star hotel, it makes the audience believe that anyone can attain that, and so anyone can attain luxury by purchasing this makeup product.

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