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 how gender is represented in both the Score and Maybelline advertising campaigns?
In this essay, I am going to analyse and evaluate how gender is represented in both the Score and Maybelline adverts we have studied. I will argue that the way that gender is represented in the Score advert is alarming and conforms to the outdated gender stereotypes of the 60s. Contrastingly, I am going to argue that the advert Maybelline produced in 2018 (That Boss Life) has a progressive view on gender because it seems to adhere to David Gauntlett’s concept that gender is fluid.
Judith Butler believes in society, gender roles play a part in the day to day life. Butler suggests that specific qualities and features don’t define what gender you are and that gender is a choice. Butler suggests that gender is fluid, changeable, plural a set of categories to be played out and performed by individual subjects in individual moments in time and space. Butler suggests things like lipstick lesbian (“Lipstick lesbian” is slang for a lesbian who exhibits a greater amount of feminine gender attributes, such as wearing makeup, dresses or skirts), butch and femme (Butch and femme – French language, meaning woman) are terms used in the lesbian subculture to ascribe or acknowledge a masculine (butch) or feminine (femme).) and girly-girl (Girly girl is a term for a girl or woman who chooses to dress and behave in a traditionally feminine style, such as wearing pink, using make-up, using perfume, dressing in skirts, dresses and blouses, and talking about relationships and other activities which are associated with the traditional gender role of a girl) and how these traits determine the gender of the people based on attributes behaviour and that being born male or female will indefinitely be the way a person acts or chooses to associate to. Judith was part of third wave of feminism, where she worked towards stopping women from being objectified and being called names such as “slut” for showing off skin. Her work helped to normalise Raunch culture, where women play into their stereotypical gender role in a way which empors themselves. By choosing to show skin, and be sexy, women are taking power of their own sexuality. This culture is a massive part of the third wave of feminism as it is seen as empowering and proggressive. The idea at the heart of raunch culture is that by taking power of their own sexual appearance, men no longer have a say in how women ‘should’ look.
Looking specifically at Score, its opinions on gender identity are clearly in line with Gauntlett’s notion that gender is constructed. The advert came out during second-wave feminism, where feminist critical thinking became much more prominent and pronounced. Despite this, the advert is fairly traditional in its views towards gender. This is evident through the mise-en-scene of the advert. By choosing to select 5 young, skinny, attractive female models the advert is suggesting that women must be young and beautiful to be desirable. Jean Kilbourne stated that “You almost never see a photograph of a woman considered beautiful that hasn’t been Photoshopped”, and this statement applies to this advert. Additionally, the one man in the advert is being carried by the women as if he’s some kind of God. He is above them and sitting comfortably, suggesting his power and superiority. By showing the man being carried by the women, it creates a mental concept of masculine power and control. Interestingly, the man is shown wearing a watch (which suggests he is reliable, responsible, and sophisticated), whilst the women in the advert aren’t wearing watches. The man is also a lot older than the women, which links to the idea that gender is constructed because older men are often seen as desirable by modern media. There is no doubt that the representation of men and women in the advert conforms to the constructed identity of gender in the 60s. The girls are objectified, wearing sexualised clothing that appeals to the male gaze (a term coined by Laura Mulvey to describe when women in media are viewed from the eyes of a heterosexual man. These women are usually represented as passive objects of male desire). The women skirts are short, and their matching shirts are tied across their chests, revealing as much skin as was allowed in a 1960s advert. Their tanned bodies, black eyeliner and luscious hair also conform to the constructed identity of women in the 60s. Similarly, the man is dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, carrying a gun, a symbol of power, violence, and masculinity. Guns are also phallic symbols (any object that resembles or might be taken as a representation of the penis), which may be one of the reasons that the man is carrying it in the advert. The indexical sign of the ad – the tagline “get what you’ve always wanted” is especially problematic because it objectifies women, suggesting that they are objects which can be bought and sold. This relates to the ad’s opinion on gender because women were frequently objectified and treated as sex objects. Therefore, by presenting women in this way, the ad is adhering to the constructed identity of women in the 60s. Furthermore, the indexical sign, animal skin, is evidence of his success as a hunter, and it suggests to the audience that they too will have success if they wear Score. Also, the man’s short-sleeved shirt reveals his muscular arms. Muscular arms are a symbol of strength, dominance, and power. The binary representation of masculinity and femininity is obvious. Liesbet van Zoonen argued femininity is traditionally represented as passive and subservient, whilst masculinity is traditionally represented as dominant and powerful – the women and men in this advert certainly reflect that identity.
Contrastingly, Maybelline’s advert, That Boss Life, takes a more open-minded approach to gender. This is most evident through the choice of model, Manny Mua, who is an openly gay beauty blogger. Manny adopts a more gender-neutral look, wearing full make-up, and wearing feminine clothing. This links to the idea that humans are becoming less and less binary. It’s no longer expected for humans to fit into a constructed gender identity. Harry Styles stated that he wants to ‘dispel the myth of a binary existence.’ This is an example of how the once tall barriers of toxic masculinity, homophobia, and gender constructs are being broken down. Styles says “I’ll often see a colour on a flower or a specific wallpaper and think ‘Oh, I wanna put that on my nails’”. The Maybelline advert attactches to a similar viewpoint to Styles, believing that gender is fluid and unfixed. Maybelline uses a number of signifiers to show this. The most obvious signifier is the colour gold. It’s a gender-neutral colour, and it symbolises luxury. The advert also uses clothing to break down gender stereotypes. Both the man and woman in the advert are wearing similar clothing, and this clothing changes from casual to luxurious mid way through the ad. The dialogue in the advert also adheres to a more gender fluid identity. Manny speaks in a stereotypically feminine tone and says ‘camp’ things such as “giiiiirl, this room is everything”.
In conclusion, I believe that the two CSP’s we studied are juxtaposed in their representations of gender, with Score taking a stereotypical approach to gender, and Maybelline taking a more non-binary approach. This can be seen through the power dynamics at play between men and women. In CSP 3 (Score) the man in the advert is presented as strong, dominant, and on a higher social class to women. Whereas, in CSP 4 (Maybelline) women and men are as equals, with stereotypical gender constructs being disregaded in favour for a more non-binary approach.
