Fashion advertising mens magazines.docx

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Fashionadvertisingmensmagazines

UniversityofSouthFlorida

ScholarCommons

ThesesandDissertations

6-1-2008

Fashionadvertising,men'smagazines,andsexin

advertising:

Acritical-interpretivestudy

JenniferFord

UniversityofSouthFlorida

ThisThesisisbroughttoyouforfreeandopenaccessbyScholarCommons.IthasbeenacceptedforinclusioninThesesandDissertationsbyan

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ScholarCommonsCitation

Ford,Jennifer,"Fashionadvertising,men'smagazines,andsexinadvertising:

Acritical-interpretivestudy"（2008）.Thesesand

Dissertations.Paper246.

http:

//scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/246

FashionAdvertising,Men’sMagazines,andSexinAdvertising:

ACritical-InterpretiveStudy

JenniferFord

Athesissubmittedinpartialfulfillment

oftherequirementsforthedegreeof

MasterofArts

SchoolofMassCommunications

CollegeofArtsandSciences

UniversityofSouthFlorida

MajorProfessor:

KimGolombisky,Ph.D.

ElizabethBell,Ph.D.

KennethKillebrew,Ph.D.

DateofApproval:

March28,2008

KeyWords:

advertising,communication,gender,visualrhetoric,women

©Copyright2008,JenniferN.Ford

Dedication

Thisprojecthastrulybeenajourney.Iwouldliketothankeachpersonwhohas

helpedmeachievethissignificantmilestone;thispaperalsobelongstoyou.FirstIwant

toacknowledgemyfamily（Mom,Dad,andAmber）fortheirendlesslove,

encouragement,andunderstanding.ToTim,youhavebeenarockandacheerleader;

thankyouforneverlettingmegiveup.InhonorofmygrandfatherwhomIlostduring

thisprocessandincelebrationofmygrandmothers,youareallinspirationstome.To

Kim,thankyousoverymuchforpushingmebeyondmyownlimits,alwaysbelievingin

meandleadingmetosuccess–youhavebeenamentor,friend,andinspiration.ToDr.

Bell,Dr.Killebrewandthemasscommunicationsfaculty,andotherswithintheUSF

community,yourexcitementforknowledgesetafireinsideofme.Thankyouforpassing

onyourpassion.And,finally,tomypeers,youhavefeltthegrowingpainsjustasIhave;

Icouldnothavefinishedthisjourneywithoutyoutoleanon.Thankyouallagainand

again.

i

TableofContents

Abstractiii

ChapterOne:

Introduction1

ChapterTwo:

Background5

ChapterThree:

LiteratureReview8

SexandSexuality9

Men’sMagazines11

SexinAdvertising12

Stereotyping15

AudienceInterpretations18

ChapterFour:

TheoreticalFramework20

VisualRhetoric20

Foss’Method23

ChapterFive:

ResearchQuestions25

ChapterSix:

Methodology26

Theoriginalstudy:

“FashionFauxPas:

FashionAdvertising,SexyWomen,and

Men’sMagazines”26

TheNewStudy28

ChapterSeven:

Analysis33

TheVisualElements34

DenotativeandConnotativeMeanings43

RhetoricalFunction48

ChapterEight:

Discussion54

ChapterNine:

Conclusion64

References73

ii

Appendices79

AppendixA:

BananaRepublic80

AppendixB:

CalvinKlein81

AppendixC:

DavidYurman82

AppendixD:

Rockport83

AppendixE:

Sketchers84

iii

FashionAdvertising,Men’sMagazines,

andSexinAdvertising:

ACritical-InterpretiveStudy

JenniferFord

ABSTRACT

Thisstudyexaminessexualizedportrayalsofwomeninfashionadvertisingfound

inmetro-sexualmen’smagazinesasvisualrhetoric.Historically,studiesonsexual

imagesofwomeninadvertisinghavefocusedoncontentanalysesoftheseimagesand

howtheyaffectwomen.Thisstudyaskshowsexualizedimageryofwomenfunctions

rhetoricallyaspartofabrandingmessagedesignedtosellproducts.Theexemplar

advertisementswerechosenspecificallyfortheirsexualimageryfromanearlierstudyby

theresearcheronsexualimagesofwomeninfashionadvertisementsfoundinmen’s

magazines.

Themessagesinterpretedwithinthevisualsofthisstudyrevealacurrentsliceof

historyintermsofgenderandsexuality.Inthecaseofthisstudytheconstructed“ideal”

heteronormativeviewofgender,masculinity,femininity,andsexualityarewhatarefor

sale;theyarethemerchandisetobepurchased.Womenarepresentintheexemplaradsas

anaccessorytoproveandsupportheterosexualmasculinitythroughsex,asiftowardoff

anyideasthatmetro-sexualmenmaybeanythingbutheterosexual.

Thoughwecannotgeneralizebeyondthesefivemagazineads,wecanthinkofthe

exemplaradsasasmallsampleofcontemporaryculture.Thenarrativesoftheseads

suggestthatmancontinuestobetheprevailingfigureintermsofimportanceandpower

iv

relativetowoman,whoissubordinatetoman.Thisthesissupportspriorresearchon

womeninadvertisingwheremenaremoreimportantthanwomen,andtheadsinthis

thesiscontinuetodefinemasculinityandfemininityinclassicpatriarchaland

heterosexualterms.However,thisthesisaddsimportantcritical-interpretativework

throughvisualrhetoricalanalysisonadvertisinginmen’smetro-sexualmagazinestoa

bodyofresearchthatincludesverylittleofsuchwork.

1

ChapterOne

Introduction

Fashioninthemedia,particularlyinadvertising,maycommunicatetherolesmen

andwomenplayinlife,howtheyaretolook,andwhotheyaretobeaspeople.“Fashion,

clothing,anddressaresignifyingpractices,theyarewaysofgeneratingmeanings,which

produceandreproducethoseculturalgroupsalongwiththeirpositionsofrelativepower”

（Barnard,2002,p.38）.EwenandEwen（1992）write,“Theimage,thecommercial,

reachesouttosellmorethanaserviceorproduct;itsellsawayofunderstandingthe

world”（p.24）.Theyarguethatvisualcommunication,especiallythroughadvertising,

createsaculturallanguage,whichhelpsshapesociety.

Thewaysocietyviewsfashion,dress,and,therefore,fashionadvertising,may

contributetosocialnormsincludinghowsocietyviewsclass,gender,sex,andsexuality.

Fashionandclothingoftenportraywhoweareorwhowedesiretobe,whetheritis

throughbrands,styles,orotheradornments.Dresshelpsdefinesocialroles,andhow

fashionisadvertisedandsoldisimportantinsignifyingthemeaningbehindtheroles

portrayedintheadvertisements,especiallygenderroles.

Itisimportanttoinvestigatemessagesinfashionadvertisingfoundinmen’s

magazinestodiscoverhowtheimagesworkaspersuasionregardingclass,sexuality,

gender,and,specifically,howwomenarebeingportrayedtomenasconsumers.This

2

advertisinggenreisalsosignificantbecausefashion,andthusfashionadvertising,may

playaroleindeterminingculturalviewsofclass,women,gender,sex,andsexuality.As

Thompson（2000）writes:

Advertisementsshowcaseattitudesandideas;thecorrespondingpowerto

influenceisformidablebecauseadvertisingcanalsochangevalues,suchasthose

surroundingthedisplayandmeaningofthebody.Nowhereisthepotencyof

advertisingmoreevidentthaninthearenaofsellingclothingandappearancerelated

commodities.（p.178）

Thisstudyexaminessexualizedportrayalsofwomeninfashionadvertisingfound

inmen’smagazines.Whileconventionaladvertisingpracticeincreasinglydependsupon

theaphorismthat“sexsells,”conventionalmasscommunicationsresearchapproachesto

advertisingcontainingsexualimageryhaveassumedthatsuchimagesdoaffectaudiences

andsuchimagesportrayinaccuratetruthstoaudiences.Thisthesis,however,makesno

claimsaboutaudienceinterpretationsormediaeffects.Insteadthisthesislookscloselyat

thevisualrhetoricofsexualizedimagesofwomenusedinfashionadvertisinginmen’s

magazinestoaskhowsexualizedimageryofwomenfunctionsrhetoricallyaspartofa

brandingmessagepresumablydesignedtosellaproduct.

Bytreatingthevisualcommunicationin“sexsells”fashionadsinmen’s

magazinesasrhetoric,thisstudylooksathowtheseimagesworktoproducepersuasion.

Specifically,Iusethepresentstudytobuildonmypreviousresearchthatlookedintothe

portrayalofwomeninmen’sfashionadvertisingfoundinmen’s“metro-sexual”

magazines（Ford,2006）.Thepreviousstudyfoundsexualizedimagesofwomentobea

significantthemeinfashionadvertisingtargetingyoungmenasmagazinereaders.This

3

thesislookscloselyatthevisualrhetoricinfiveexemplaradsdrawnfromtheearlier

study.Thefiveadsstudiedwereselectedas“worstoffenders”intermsofovertsexual

content.ThemethodofanalysisadoptsMullenandFisher’s（2004）visualanalysis

process,whichMullenandFisheradaptedfromFoss’techniquesforvisualrhetorical

analysis（Foss,1994;Foss&Kaengieter,1992）.

Thevisualrhetoricoftheexemplaradssuggeststhatfortheintendedviewers,

menages22-35,an“ideal”masculinelifestyleisattainablethroughthepurchaseof

certainbrands,butnotnecessarilyspecificproducts.Thesefeaturedidylliclifestyles

suggestthata“model”masculinestandardoflivingissignifiedbypossessions,leisure,

travel,sex,and,essentially,wealthandluxury.Thesecharacteristicsaresuggestedby

visualsofsexuallyaggressivewomen,motorcycles,hotelroomsandluggage,jewelry,

andoutdooradventure.Yet,withoutthepresenceofwomenintheads,suchamasculine

lifestyleisnotnecessarilysignifyingaheterosexualmasculinity.Iarguethattheadsin

thisstudypositionwomenasinterchangeablewiththeadvertisedfashionproducts,

accoutrementstoaheterosexualmasculinefantasylifestyle.Ialsoarguethatthis

representationofwomenasaheterosexualmasculineaccessoryfunctionstoprove

heteronormativemasculinityinbothamagazinegenredevotedtoteachingyoungmento

careabouttheirphysicalappearancethroughconsumptionandahomophobicvisual

culturestrugglingtocometotermswiththerealitythatlookscanbedeceivingwh