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?

In this essay I will be discussing the difference between Maybelline and Score, and how gender roles are played within these advertisements. I will also be discussing who Judith Butler is and her work towards the third wave of feminism and discuss the other waves of feminism we have experienced to make the world we live in today and how these waves of feminism have affected how women are treated today.  

Firstly, Judith Butler a gender theorist discusses with her audience that gender is just performed. By this Butler means that we act our gender and the way we act is how we are perceived. It is not about how long your hair is or whether you wear makeup or not, Butler believes that is the way we act influences the gender we are perceived as. Judith works in the third wave of feminism, within this Butler is working towards stopping women from being looked at as objects and being called names such as a “slut” for showing off skin. Raunch culture suggests the sexualised performance of women in the media that can play into male stereotypes of women as highly sexually available, where its performers believe they are powerful owners of their own sexuality. This culture is a massive part of the third wave of feminism as it presents that face that not just women, but everyone should have the freedom to identify as what they want to be identified as. There is one problem which comes along with Raunch culture which is it may be presenting old misogynistic ways due to the idea of men wanted to identify was women and the idea that women cannot do what men can do but women wanting to be men. This may cause misogyny as a woman cannot become a man as she does not have the capability to-do what a man can do. 

Raunch culture links into the Maybelline advert Bossed up as a man who is in the Advertisement wears the mascara that Maybelline are trying to promote. Manny Gutierrez the male starring in this advert was the first male Maybelline ambassador, the advertisement was released in 2017 which suggests that there is a new revolutionised way to look at gender. Manny wears makeup like the other females and is hired by a female-based company. Manny received little to no scrutiny about this due to the fact that it was becoming more normal the idea that men wear makeup too as men like drag queens have been becoming more seen. Not only that when we see the product being held as it is about to be used it shimmers and once it is placed on the eyelash the eye shimmers. This suggests that the product gives you a glisten in your eye and makes your eyes pop due to the use of the product. 

The idea of men wearing makeup goes coincides with what second wave feminism worked towards, as second wave feminism spoke about equality between male and females. So understandably the second wave of feminism achieved something as men and women can equally use makeup as presented in Maybelline. But Score on the other hand is the complete opposite as the women in the advertisement are lifting a man and the whole advertisement is about men using this hair product and getting loads of skinny women who will love him. The fact that the man is placed higher than the women present the idea that he has more power over them due to his masculinity. Also, the slogan “get what you always wanted” suggests that men always wanted women who would treat them like royalty and women who are heard over heels for them as well as them being dressed in skimpy clothes and are considered beautiful. Jean Kilbourne and Laura Mulvey worked in the second wave of feminism and faught for equality and rights for women. Laura Mulvey spoke about the male gaze and introduced to women that fact that males looked at women as objects and as though women were only there for the males’ eyes and pleasure. Jean Kilbourne said, “You almost never see a photograph of a woman considered beautiful that hasn’t been Photoshopped,” which suggests that the image of women is structured whereas the image of men is not so structured. Which is where the idea of equality is and links into first wave feminism due to the idea that men and women are treated differently and why can men and women do the same thing? 

First wave feminism is all about the questioning on why women cannot do what men do. Before the suffragettes, the world was a brutally sexist place to live-in but when the suffragettes came into play, they changed how women were viewed due to their devotion to change the matter. The suffragettes campaigned for the rights of women and were activists in gaining equality for men and women so that we could live freely and equally due to how much men were place above and how sexist the world actually was. The suffragette’s struggled to make a change in society and change how women are viewed today but without the suffragettes there would not have been change due the fact that women now no longer have to fight so hard for equality as nowadays many people believe that men and women are equal and there is no divide in men and women.  

Overall, the idea of feminism development has been presented in both CSP 3 and CSP 4 as in CSP3, Score we can show the idea of a man being dominant over the women but in CSP 4, Maybelline we can see the development of feminism as both male and female are placed with the same role and there is no dominance of one over the other.  We can also see the change in advertisements due to people with colour now being in ads aswell as men wearing make up which wasn’t seen in the earlier days of advertisement