Gender Stereotypes

There are a few commonalities that exist between the three advertisements, such as: they are all based on visually attracting the viewer’s attention to create interest into buying the product – however, the way they are exhibited is different; the attention is directed towards women; they are from brands that sell clothing for beachwear/lingerie, furthermore displaying more skin within the advertisement. Additionally, because all the models can do for clothing is wear them, there is somewhat of a licensed withdrawal for all three advertisements. The first advertisement was published on 2017 (YouTube) as ‘Ashley Graham x Swimsuits for All: Summer 17’. Ashley Graham is a plus-size model who has modelled for magazines, like Vogue, and has created her own swimwear for all shapes and sizes. Following her brand name, the video did represent different types of body shapes, races, as well as a variety of ages and demonstrated confidence – shown by how they walked and enjoyed themselves – in owning their bodies. It was appealing as the video encourages women to be themselves and introduces self-love.

The second advertisement was published on 2017 as ‘Victoria’s Secret Summer ’17 Commercial’. It presents a slow shot with the girls in frame from above the waist. By doing this, the viewer’s gaze is able to roam while catching details of the lingerie and the overall appearance of the models. These models are known as Victoria’s Secret “Angels”. Unlike Ashley Graham’s commercial, they all appeared to have slender figures which would establish that, what doesn’t fit that standard of beauty is deemed not beautiful. Their appearances seem to be influenced by western standards of beauty - since it follows by what they think is the ideal body figure (hence being called ‘Angels’) - despite having a slight variation in skin colors.

The third advertisement presents the banner on Billabong’s (an Australian beachwear brand) website. It presents the title and sub headings that serve as a navigation bar for their online store for men’s and women’s clothing. Having an active portrayal for the men’s advertisement – surfing with billabong merchandise – hints that men live a more active lifestyle; whereas the women’s image has a level of sexualization by her relaxed “do-nothing” position. Moreover, her face has been cropped out which objectifies women as the image projects them as being headless bodies of the same worth as the mannequins in a shopping mall. Furthermore, the image suggests that women have no drive to an active lifestyle that exceeds laying on the beach, as there is no woman doing any sports in either image.

Advertisements are influential in this consumerism day and age. For lingerie/swimwear ads, how women are portrayed can highly impact people's expectation of today's beauty standards which could lead to a lowering of one's self-esteem. Not to mention, these ads are from international brands - so their ads are publicized around the world to buy their merchandise, further spreading ideals. In today’s society, we normally see swimwear/underwear lines that are modeled by women who are slender and very waif-like (such as the Victoria’s Secret commercial and the Billabong banner); Ashley Graham's advertisement challenges the stereotype that women must look a certain way to look beautiful in a swimsuit and enjoy themselves.