Second-Wave Feminism
1960's
The ’60s, in particular, was an interesting time because as second-wave feminism is coming into its own, advertising clearly isn’t paralleling that progression. The depiction of women from an advertising perspective paints a picture of women as usually automatically wives, whose existence is dependent on the immediate and continuous gratification of their husbands. If anything is being sold to them at all, and even then these things are typically being sold to their husbands to buy for them, then the products their being advertised are still existing under the guise of ultimately serving men. Through the lens of freedom, and how freedom may get perceived by others, advertising in the ’60s is telling the reader that women’s freedom is directly tied to how they can better serve and support men. And that consequences for not meeting this societal expectation are a failure of femininity that results in retraction of freedom, in some instances depicted as domestic violence.
Voices at the forefront of the movement in this decade include: Betty Friedan, the author of The Feminist Mystique, a novel that would spark millions of women questioning an internal unhappiness with the limitations of motherhood and housewife duties [9]. Similarly, Carol Hanisch coined the term "The Personal is Political" in a 1969 essay that would go on to be the slogan for the second wave. [11].
Image of a woman who's head is attached to a carpet that appears as the skin of animal while a man perches his foot on top of her head.
this advertisement assumes that women are inherently the ones who will be in the kitchen doing all of the cleaning, and is clearly attempting to market to them to cut down on those times.
this ad expects that women are making coffee for their husband and that they should buy the best, freshest coffee available unless that want to be beaten by their husbands.
Image of a woman who's head is attached to a carpet that appears as the skin of animal while a man perches his foot on top of her head.
1970's
A woman who appears to be naked is lying on the floor next to a shoe with the title: She knows where she belongs... This of course tells the viewer that women belong not he same space as a man's shoe, which is absolutely horrid at best.
This advertisement assumes that the ketchup brand has somehow created a bottle that is so easy to open that even women can do it, and that that within itself is amazing.
A woman who appears to be naked is lying on the floor next to a shoe with the title: She knows where she belongs... This of course tells the viewer that women belong not he same space as a man's shoe, which is absolutely horrid at best.
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded in 1966 [8] with the intention of creating a “new movement toward true equality for all women in America, and toward a fully equal partnership of the sexes, as part of the world-wide revolution of human rights now taking place within and beyond our national borders”.
NOW would go on to be the voice of this movement throughout the ’60s, 70’s, and 80’s as the progression of equality for women continued. With voices like Betty Friedan at the forefront the organization, feminism in its second wave will go onto radicalize the perception of women from a media perspective.
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Voices at the forefront of this decade include: Gloria Steinem who organized the magazine Ms. Magazine which would go on to be a strong foundation for feminist thought and the perception of equality for women through radical articles, photoshoots, and advertising of their own [10].
A commercial from 1975 promoting Love's Baby, a women's beauty product.
1980's
Here we see a sort of shifting of women in the media. Now there seems to be an understanding that feminism wasn’t merely a blip on the radar, and that women expect societal equality between themselves and men. Advertisers begin to take on this concept of women in the workplace, with the continued understanding that no matter what women are also needed and expected to perform in the home. In the ’80s there’s a perception that even though the limitations for women have shifted--not necessarily lessened, although they might be viewed that, and that women now have the freedom to work alongside men, what has actually happened is that more has been added to their plate. They may be allowed to work outside of the home now, but their "womanly" duties still stand. Similarly, there’s an understanding that as women feel more confident and are establishing agency in their bodies, that now we can market and mass consume women’s bodies as well.
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Voices at the forefront of this decade are a little more sparse. As the United States is experiencing the long lasting affect of President Ronald Regan, the crack epidemic, and Reganomics, feminism--although not haunting--doesn't necessarily experience a large deal of new leader sprouting out. Instead, some of the shining voices mentioned previously continue to work towards the equality of women everywhere.
Woman is presented as fixing roses in a vase but while exclusively wearing a matching bra and panty set, an over sexualization is to be assumed.
woman is standing next to a tall package of cigarettes in which the tag line equates to More. Be More. Because why not? It feeds into the expectation that now that women can do more that they don't have a change but to do more.
this is another overt attempt at sexualization of the female body. The logo of the beer is literally mapped onto their bodies as bathing suits.
Woman is presented as fixing roses in a vase but while exclusively wearing a matching bra and panty set, an over sexualization is to be assumed.
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Connections to Freedom
How then does this moment in history connect to the perception of freedom? As women are fighting both in the legal sphere and in the cultural sphere as well, to create space that allows them to be who they are, to exist outside of the kitchen or the home, then there has to be some push and pull. What we see from the 60's through the 80's is this archaic sense of how things "used" to be in that the societal expectations, the limitations on freedom for women start out with the "house wife" image. This is why so many advertisements are linked to the kitchen, to cleaning products, to household items. As second wave feminism is peaking and expanding, women are no longer just working in the home, their freedoms have shifted to accommodate these new abilities, and the advertisements are left with no choice but to reflect that. It is important to note that as advertisement solely exists to sell and to market to various different populations, that all they can do is reflect the cultural expectations of those populations. The freedoms, or lack thereof, that women are experiencing in the 60's may be different than that of the 80's and this is where the shift in what advertisements are actually reflecting stems from.
References
[1] Angley, Natalie. “Keep Her Where She Belongs.” Sexist Ads in 'The Seventies', 22 July 2015, www.cnn.com/2015/07/22/living/seventies-sexist-ads/index.html.
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[2] Jacobs, Harrison, and Jim Edwards. “Alcoa Aluminum.” 26 Sexist Ads Of The 'Mad Men' Era That Companies Wish We'd Forget, 8 May 2014, www.businessinsider.com/26-sexist-ads-of-the-mad-men-era-2014-5.
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[3] Robatsea2009. Bizarre Love’s Baby Soft 1975 Tv commercial. Youtube. 29 May 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7IP5SV6GqQ
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[4] Nudd, Tim. “Impress Your Tiger-Rug Wife with Mr. Leggs.” Impress Your Tiger-Rug Wife with Mr. Leggs, 18 Apr. 2007, www.adweek.com/creativity/impress-your-tiger-rug-wife-mr-leggs-17486/.
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[5] Lennsen, Philip. “Vintage Ad Browser.” Vintage Ad Browser, 2010, www.vintageadbrowser.com/clothes-ads-1980s/5.
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[6] Harris, Waheeda. “Memories of the ’80s – Women, Advertising & Sexism.” Memories of the ’80s – Women, Advertising & Sexism, 3 Sept. 2015, waheedaharris.wordpress.com/2015/09/03/memories-of-the-80s-women-advertising-sexism/.
[7] Sexuality4society. “Sexist Advertising Through the Decades.” Sexist Advertising Through the Decades, sexuality4society.wordpress.com/2015/10/15/sexist-advertising-through-the-decades/.
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[8]Friedan, Betty. “Statement of Purpose.” National Organization for Women, 29 Oct. 1966, now.org/about/history/statement-of-purpose/.
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[9] Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. Dell Pub Co., 1964.
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[10] Lewis, Jone Johnson. "Ms. Magazine." ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2018, thoughtco.com/ms-magazine-profile-3525338.
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[11] Hanisch, Carol. “The Personal Is Political .” The Personal Is Political: the Original Feminist Theory Paper at the Author's Web Site, 2009, www.carolhanisch.org/CHwritings/PIP.html.