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Commoditization of Women by the Media by Viniti Chandiramani PGPCM – II (2003-05) Submitted to Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Post Graduate Programme Diploma in Communications Management Dissertation Supervisor Ms. Chandrika Parmar MICA Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad Ahmedabad February 2005 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of Indian consumers’ perceptions of the portrayal of woman as a commodity in advertising; and how it influences the society in terms of how they perceive a woman. It also deals with the risks and disadvantages associated with advertising of this nature. The scope of the study is to answer five research questions. Firstly, Is the media a reflection of the contemporary woman or is it molding the woman to suit its needs? Whether the portrayal of women is in-keeping with the psychographic, social & economic reality of the female viewer-ship? Secondly, whether there has been any significant change in the level of sexism portrayed over the past 10 years? Thirdly, the research aimed to explore the existence of the dominant negative stereotypes in advertising. Fourthly, it attempted to answer the question of the kind of woman acceptable to the Indian society today ? ( weak, dependant or strong independent). The last research objective is to understand whether women are buying the message that advertisers are trying to sell ? The study, which has a qualitative approach, is conducted mainly with a descriptive purpose. The chosen research strategy included collecting the major part of primary data through 6 focus group interviews along with 30 personal interviews. 3 age brackets were chosen (25-30, 35-40, 45-50) and 3 groups each of men and women were formed. A combination of direct and participant observations has also been used for primary data collection, while secondary data was collected in the form of documentation. Results show that there are gender differences in the way Indian consumers’ perceive the portrayal of women in advertising, suggesting that men are more tolerant toward images of sexual appeals and body ideals than women are. The younger generations of women are more accepting of the portrayal of women as sex objects than the older generation. Although the level of sexism has gradually increased over the past 2 ten years, most men would not buy a product just because of a skimpily clad woman is advertising for it, even though they might find the advertisement appealing. Amongst the many dominant negative stereotypes in television commercials, the two main ones are the portrayal of woman as a housewife or as a sex object. It also sets the norms of what a beautiful girl must look like. One possible risk with this kind of advertising is that it may contribute to people, especially young women, developing distorted body ideals, which could result in eating disorders. Women may not believe all the messages that advertisement try to convey. However, it does reinforce their roles as a house-wife and also as a pretty mannequin to be looked upon and admired. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my guide, Ms Chandrika Parmar, for her enduring patience and understanding….. I would like to thank my closest friends in MICA, Traptika, Yamini, Megha, Anuj and Rashmi for holding on to me at all those times when I feared I’d fall…. I would like to thank my parents and my big sister, for reasons I can never possibly justly list down and for which I shall be indebted forever…. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION……..6 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE…..8 3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES……..11 4. METHODOLOGY…..12 4.1 PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH…..12 4.2 RESEARCH APPROACH……. 14 4.3 RESEARCH STRATEGY……..14 4.4 DATA COLLECTION…….15 4.5 SAMPLE SELECTION….. 18 4.6 Choice of respondents….18 4.7 QUALITY STANDARDS – VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY….19 5. EMPIRICAL DATA….22 5.1 CASE ONE: FEMALE RESPONDENTS……22 5.2 CASE TWO: MALE RESPONDENTS …….29 5.3 SUMMARY……….34 6. ANALYSIS ……...35 7. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS ……..69 7.1 IS THE MEDIA A REFLECTION OF SOCIETY…….70 7.2 EXPLORING THE EXISTANCE OF DOMINAN NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES?......71 7.3 CHANGE IN THE LEVEL OF SEXISM?.........72 7.4 THE KIND OF WOMAN ACCEPTABLE TO THE INDIAN SOCIETY TODAY…..73 7.5 ARE WOMEN BUYING THE MESSAGE ADVERTISERS ARE TRYING TO SELL ?....74 7.6 IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS….75 APPENDICES 1 APPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW GUIDES ….77 APPENDIX 2: ADVERTISEMENT FOR AC BLACK…79 APPENDIX 3: ADVERTISEMENT FOR AXE ….80 5 INTRODUCTION Television is widely known to represent and reinforce the conventional ideology of contemporary culture: patriarchy. While television representations of women have changed greatly in the last twenty years alone, in order to accommodate the changing role of women in society, one is led to ask how much the ideology has changed behind the more modern representations of women. Television is regarded by many viewers to be the most 'real' form of media. If this is the case, then it is important for us to question how real the representations of women are on television and how this affects the attitudes of those who watch. Men also control the production side of television, so it is not a matter of surprise then, that the masculine or patriarchal ideology is presented as the standard norm, when women are so outnumbered by men on screen, and behind the scenes in television. Therefore, what the television presents to its audience is a very masculine perspective. Sex role stereotyping reflects the alterations in beliefs about the value of family, child care, the role of the woman in marriage and the possibility of self-fulfillment through work. By and large, in the world of television, women are inclined to be confined to a life dominated by the family and personal relationships far more than men, outside the home, as well as in it. . 6 Invariably masculine personality attributes are emphasized and women, in the world of television, are presented in roles of a domestic help, a wife, a mother etc. They are projected as submissive and suffering type engrossed in common family affections and duties, the most common-place being child care and family nurturing. As against this, men are depicted as employed, competitive and those who are seen calling the shot in the society. Such figures among women who are shown in similar competing roles with men are far less in number and are considered to be eccentricities and deviations from the norm. Trait-wise too there is a stereotype portrayal of women being congenitally much more emotional than men. 7 REVIEW OF LITERATURE In her book “Embodiment : essays on gender and identity”, Meenakshi Thapan explains how the separation of the physiological and cultural is duplicated on the conceptual level in the distinction between sex and gender in feminist anthropology. ‘Sex’ is everything that is concerned with the physiological differences between a man and a woman, while ‘gender’ is about the cultural elaboration of these differences. Simon de Beauvoir had once formulated the notion that ‘one is not born, but rather becomes a woman’. Inspired by this, Judith Butler attempted to develop a theory on gender identity, in which he proposes to see gender ‘as the corporeal locus of cultural meanings both received and innovated’. In Butler’s view, the body and gender are closely related, because, ‘….gender is instituted through the stylization of the body, and hence, must be understood as the mundane way in which bodily gestures, movements and enactments of various kinds constitute the illusion of an abiding gendered self’….‘Consider gender, for instance, as a physical style, an ‘act’, as it were, which is both deliberate and performative , where ‘performative’ itself carries a double meaning of ‘theatrical’ and ‘nonreferential’. The idea of gender as a performative act offers the possibility of looking at the ways in which individuals live their bodies, thereby constituting gender. “City Flicks”, edited by Preben Kaarsholm, explains ‘Masquerade’ in the context of the impact of television on the audiences. Well known writers such as Laura Mulvey and Mary ann Doane have put forward theories of female spectatorship . In classic Hollywood cinema, the gaze of the camera is congruent to the male gaze and the spectator gaze of popular narrative film is a masculine one. This 8 assertion is premised on the to-be-looked-at-ness and glamour/seductive framing of the female star. Doane talks about hoe theories of femininity constantly foreground the almost ‘claustrophobic closeness’ of the woman to her body/image, a closeness which has severe implications for her to even see herself. The necessity of creating distance between the self and image allows for the possibility of understanding femininity as a masquerade. The masquerade is seen as a reaction against the persistent female desire to be a man, a desire at the heart of the cultural construct of femininity. The excessive femininity repressed by masquerade is seen as a form of resistance to patriarchal positioning. Thus by ‘flaunting femininity’, the woman is creating a distance between herself and her image, denying their seeming convergence. ‘Transnational Television, Culture Identity and Change: When Star Came To India’, by Melissa Butcher, constitutes not just of the history of the development of television in India, nor is it solely an examination of its impact. Melissa Butcher also studies the mechanisms of change measured out in the continuity and disjunction of cultural boundaries. Focusing on young people—who are often considered to be the most vulnerable to change or ‘cultural degeneration’—the book demonstrates that the resilience of youth is at times underestimated, as is the impact of other changes in India brought about by economic liberalisation and state policies in areas such as education. The book is based on extensive fieldwork in various parts of India, in both rural and urban settings. The author conducted focus groups with young people, and in-depth interviews with older generations and with more than 40 leading players in India’s television industry. The book additionally provides a historical context to contemporary media debates by examining the literature stretching back to the 1940s. 9 ’Media, Gender and Identity’, by David Gauntlett provides a new introduction to, and analysis of, the relationship between the media and gender identities today. From the time when numerous of the key texts on media and gender were written, a lot has changed. 'Girl power' has risen and better roles for women in TV and film have been created, whilst we hear that masculinity is 'in crisis'. New identities abound, but some traditional images persist too. Within this landscape of complex media messages, there are individuals trying to establish their own identities, to feel comfortable in themselves and as part of society. Media influences are clearly subtle and indirect. David Gauntlett proposes a new route to understanding this, by providing clear chapters on theorists Anthony Giddens, Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, to show how recent ideas in identity negotiation and queer theory can be used to understand the place of popular media in people's lives. Merging accounts of previous studies and theorists with all-new research and interviews, Gauntlett explores the gender landscape of contemporary movies and TV, and shows how a range of media - including men's magazines, women's magazines, pop music and self-help books - are used in people's shaping of selfidentity. 10 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 1. Is the media a reflection of the contemporary woman or is it molding the woman to suit its needs ?Whether the portrayal of women is in-keeping with the psychographic, social & economic reality of the female viewership 2. Has there been any significant change in the level of sexism portrayed over the past 10 years? 3. Exploring the existence of the dominant negative stereotypes 4. What kind of woman is acceptable to the Indian society today ? ( weak, dependant or strong independent) 5. Are women buying the message that advertisers are trying to sell ? 11 METHODOLOGY Purpose of the research Stating the purpose of the research means informing the reader about what one wants to achieve, and how the result can be used. The intention or purpose of a research can be divided into different groups. The following groups have been chosen, where the purpose can be to explore, describe, or explain. When the purpose of the study is to explore, it is called exploratory or preparatory. This kind of research is used when one wants to: - formulate and precise a problem, - give the researcher an orientation in the framing of the research questions, - give the researcher an orientation about what is previously known within the subject, - achieve a precised and coherent research plan. Exploratory studies are commonly conducted through expert interviews, literature studies, and case studies. If the researcher’s purpose is to describe, the study is descriptive. Descriptive research can be of varying character; one can for example describe conditions, events, courses of events, or actions. However, descriptions are not unprejudiced, since descriptive research is conducted from different kinds of starting points. Describing involves a choice of perspective, aspects, level, terms and concepts, as well as to observe, registrate, systematize, classify, and interpret. A good description is usually a necessary foundation when the researcher wants to explain, understand, predict, or decide. When the purpose of the research is to explain, the study is called explanatory. To explain means to analyze causes and connections. The researcher 12 also tries to identify factors that together cause a certain phenomenon. Explanations are made from different kinds of starting points, in the same way as descriptive research. These starting points have to be precise, and they have to inform the reader about what the explanation is going to be used for and to whom it is aimed. When explaining a certain phenomenon, there is not one single model that is the correct one to use, which means that the researcher has to consider using different models. This also means that using one single model will not be sufficient to reach a complete explanation. It is however not necessary to choose one of these purposes for the research. suggests a compound procedure, which divides the research into three different stages. These stages consist of exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies, as described above. In the exploratory stage, the research is conducted with the purpose to develop thought-provoking ideas. Here, it is important that the research is flexible and that it gives guidelines, which can be followed during the next stage. In the descriptive stage, then, the goal is to develop thorough descriptions about patterns that were foreseen during the exploratory research. Descriptive studies are useful when the researcher has an accurate idea what the description will be used for, and what knowledge he/she wants to achieve. This means that every description must have a purpose in order to be meaningful. At the explanatory stage, the researcher is looking for a cause and effect relationship. The aim is to provide the researcher with a cycle of theory construction, theory testing, and finally a theory reformulation . With respect to the above discussion, we can state that our study at its introductory stage is exploratory. It is initially aiming to formulate and precise problems, to give us as researchers an orientation in the question at issue, and to provide an orientation about existing theories in the subject of the study. However, the focus of our research is descriptive, as we will document, as well as identify the findings of our research. This will help us to fulfill the purpose of the study,. In addition, the research questions are formulated as “How can (…) be described?”, which emphasizes the descriptive stage of the study. A good description also provides a foundation for the explanatory stage. The 13 study will have some explanatory features, with respect to answering the research questions at the end. Research approach Studies can be divided into quantitative and qualitative research, based on the research’s type of data. Quantitative research tries to explain phenomena with numbers to obtain results, thus basing the conclusions on data that can be quantified. This type of research is characterized by distance and selection, which means that a limited amount of information is gathered from many research units using systematic and structured observations In qualitative research, the conclusions are based on non-quantifiable data, such as attitudes, values, or perceptions. It could however be possible to quantify these data as well. Qualitative research is characterized by closeness to the studied object. It also means that the researcher wants to gain plentiful information from few research units. The researcher is therefore not aiming to generalize; instead, the purpose with the qualitative approach is to gain a deeper understanding of the studied area. The choice of approach should be based on the purpose of the research. We find that it is important to achieve a closer contact with our studied objects in order to gain a deeper understanding of our purpose, especially since we are studying people’s attitudes and perceptions. Therefore, we have chosen a qualitative approach that enables us to obtain more indepth information. Research strategy 14 The research strategy included having 6 focus group discussions along with personal interviews to understand the impact of commercials in depth. Data collection The research in a report can be based on primary and/or secondary data. Primary data is collected for the first time and for a specific purpose, while secondary data consists of existing information collected by other researchers. As it is easier to use already existing information, secondary data are usually used initially. Data collection methods The information that can be collected through case studies can emanate from six different sources: documentation, archival records, interviews, direct observations, participant observations, and physical artefacts. No single source has an advantage over the others. Rather, the different sources of evidence complement each other, since they all have various strengths and weaknesses. Data collection for the case study has been through interviews, documentation and observations. The interview is chosen as the major primary data collection method because of its strength to focus directly on the topic of the case study. The potential disadvantages with an interview are that it can be biased by poorly constructed questions and that there is a risk for reflexivity, i.e. that the interviewee tells the interviewer only what he/she wants to hear. There are three different types of interviews: open-ended, focused, and structured. The most commonly used interview method is the open-ended, where the researcher asks the respondent unstructured questions, thus allowing the interview to be more of a discussion. The purpose of unstructured interviews is to get the respondent to discuss 15 his/her own values, attitudes, and perceptions. In a focused interview, the respondent is interviewed during a brief period of time Still, the character of the interview is open, and it may be conducted by a conversation between the respondent and the researcher. However, the researcher is most probably following a questionnaire. The purpose with a focused interview could be to confirm certain facts that are already known to the researcher. Finally, the structured interview contains structured questions similar to a survey. These questions, as well as the purpose of the interview, are completely outlined before the interview takes place. The questions are constructed in a way that allows the researcher to systematically go through of the areas of interest. The type of interview that will be used in this study is the focused interview. An interview guide (provided in Appendix 1) to be able to discuss a limited number of issues . This way, the focused interview can be used to confirm or dismiss certain facts, or in this case, theories. In general, a focused interview can be conducted by telephone or in person. Telephone interviews are less costly and time consuming, which makes them useful when contacting a distant respondent. Generally, personal interviews can be longer than telephone interviews and include more complex questions. The personal contact during a face-to-face interview enables a better feedback from the respondent. However, the focused interview will be conducted through the use of six focus group interview sessions. A focus group generally consists of six to ten people led by an interviewer (usually referred to as the moderator), and the length of the interview is usually about 1 – 2 hours. The rule of thumb regarding size is conditioned by that the group must be small enough for everyone to have opportunity to share insights and yet large enough to provide diversity of perceptions. Focus groups are composed by people who are similar to each other. The nature of this homogeneity is determined by the purpose of the study and is a basis for recruitment. The homogeneity allows for more free-flowing conversation among participants within groups, and it facilitates analyses that examine differences in perspective between groups. Focus groups produce qualitative data that provide insights to the attitudes, perceptions, and opinions of participants. An essential feature of the focus group is the use of interaction between research participants to 16 generate data. Participants are brought together to engage in a focused discussion around a specific topic or issue and the results are used to increase understanding of that particular subject. Focus groups are not intended to develop consensus, to arrive at an agreeable plan, or to make decisions about which course of action to take. If conducted properly, focus groups can capture the meaningful experiences and ideas of the participants on a given topic relative to the Research study. Methodology The success of the focus group interview largely depends on the kind of questions asked to the respondents, but another ingredient is essential, namely a skilful moderator. Ideally, the moderator should be neutral and non-judgemental, and this should be obvious to participants. The focus group can also be run by a moderator team. Then, the principal moderator is concerned with facilitating the discussion, keeping conversation flowing, and taking a few notes. The assistant moderator takes comprehensive notes, operates the recording equipment, and deals with environmental factors The primary reason to why focus group interviews was chosen was because of their ability to provide insights into the attitudes, perceptions, and opinions of respondents. Also, participants are assembled to engage in a focused discussion around the research topic, and the data collected during this discussion will be used to increase an understanding of that particular subject. This will help in fulfilling the stated purpose of the study in the best way, in order to gain a better understanding of consumers’ perceptions, using a qualitative approach. In addition to the focus group interviews, documentation in the form of print advertisements will be used, which will be shown to the group participants, in order to stimulate discussion. As these advertisements are produced by someone else, and for a different purpose, the documentation is regarded as secondary data. Observations are usually conducted when studying different 17 behavior or role issues. A combination of direct observations and participant observations will be included as a primary data collection method to a certain extent. The interaction and behavior of the focus group participants will be observed and noted by the assistant moderator, who then is conducting some direct observations. As the principal moderator guides the group discussion, and thereby is not only silently watching, this observation can also be seen as participant. This will help us to gain some insight into interpersonal behavior and motives. Sample selection The purpose of this section is to explain how the respondents have been sampled for the focus group interviews, as well as the advertisements shown during the focus group sessions. Choice of respondents The choice of respondents is based on their accessibility and their relative homogeneity regarding e.g. age, economic situation, and lifestyle. It has been taken into consideration that the participants must feel able to talk to each other, and wide gaps in social background or lifestyle can defeat this requirement. The goal is homogeneity in background, not in attitudes. The sampling was conducted by ensuring that the participants were not acquainted with each other. In all, there were 6 focus groups. 3 of men of the ages 25-30, 35-40 and 45-50; and three of women of the same age bracket. The aim was to have at least six participants in each group. It is believed that the sexes interact differently in mixed groups than in single-sex groups, leading to suggestions of single-sex focus groups. Segmentation by sex is especially useful when the issues raised by a given topic correspond to differences in perspectives between men and women, which we have found to be the case, regarding many of the issues, that are included in the conceptual framework of this study. Such 18 differences in perspectives may either reduce the comfort level in the discussion, or affect how clearly either perspective gets discussed. Quality standards – validity and reliability When conducting empirical studies, it is vital that questions and data collection are thoroughly prepared, in order to avoid systematic and random errors and to increase the quality of the research. Two important factors in this context are validity and reliability, since they determine the quality standard of the research. Validity is as a measuring instrument’s ability to measure what it is supposed to measure. The term can be divided into internal and external validity. Internal validity means the correspondence between the terms and the operational (measurable) definitions of them. It is rarely possible to reach 100 % internal validity. However, in most studies (especially causal and explanatory) it is important to clarify the degree of internal validity. Also, one must be aware of to what extent the measuring instrument measures too much, too little, or the wrong things. External validity refers to the correspondence between reality and the value received when using an operational definition. It is independent of the internal validity, and it cannot be estimated without knowing how the empirical material has been collected and what it looks like. Validity is the most important demand on a measuring instrument. If the instrument does not measure what it is supposed to, then it will not matter if the measurement itself is good. A further demand, or way of estimating the quality standard, is reliability. This means that the measuring instrument (e.g. a questionnaire) gives accurate and stable results. A research with good reliability involves that another investigator would get the same results if he/she used the same methods at another point of time and with another sample. In other words, to reach high reliability the method should be independent of the researcher and the investigated units. Four specific tests can be conducted in order to judge the quality of empirical research namely: 19 - Construct validity: Establishing correct operational measures for the concepts being studied. - Internal validity: Establishing causal relationships whereby certain conditions are shown to lead to other conditions, as distinguished from spurious relationships. - External validity: Establishing the domain to which a study’s findings can be generalized. - Reliability: Demonstrating that the operations of a study can be repeated with the same results. Multiple sources of evidence (documentation, direct and participant observation, and interviews) have been used to increase the construct validity of the research. Issues regarding the construct validity also arise due to the use of focus group interviews. It can be debated whether the focus group procedure really shows the participants’ true perceptions, or if the results are artificially developed by the interaction of group participants. The extent of this kind of method problem is hard to estimate, since it is very difficult to know if, or how, participants (intentionally or unintentionally) influence each other. An interview guide in the form of a questioning route was used as a basis for the focus group discussions, which also enhances validity. The questioning route is a sequence of structured questions written in complete sentences, thus offering greater control over variation and thereby allowing more efficient analysis. The very act of asking questions signals the moderator’s basic control over the content and direction of the group’s discussion. The other possible way to construct an interview guide is to make it a topic guide, which consists of key words or phrases serving as a reminder or cue to the moderator. This format has not been chosen, since this would have increased the risk for lowered validity. The internal validity was strengthened by the use of pattern-matching during the analysis, that is, the empirically based pattern was compared with the pattern predicted in the conceptualized theories. Since the internal validity is mostly of concern for 20 causal and explanatory studies, this is applicable on the drawing of conclusions at the end of the study. External validity deals with the degree of generalization that can be derived from the research. As were stated in the overview of the specific strengths and weaknesses of focus groups interviews, the results from these cannot be generalized. Moreover, the initial choice of a qualitative approach also excludes the aim for generalization. The external validity of this study is considered to be rather low, as it would be very difficult to replicate the two case studies by collecting data through focus group interviews in exactly the same way as has been done. In order to increase the reliability, leading and subjective questions have tried to be avoided. This was also facilitated by the choice of using the more structured questioning route instead of the more “open” topic guide. It is however difficult to establish reliability to any larger extent, since the case studies deal with people’s perceptions of an intangible and varying subject. Moreover, people’s perceptions and views may change over time, thus making it difficult for another researcher to achieve the same results even with the same sample. 21 EMPIRICAL DATA In this chapter, the empirical data that was collected in order to answer the research questions will be presented. The data collection was conducted through six focus group sessions, of which each session constitutes one case. First, the empirical data attained in Case one, female respondents. This will follow the order of the conceptual framework, thus using the topic area of each research question as a sub-headline. The presentation therefore starts with data regarding the perception of women being commoditized in advertising and then moving on to risks and disadvantages with this kind of advertising,. Then, data from Case two, male respondents, are presented in the same manner. The data has been presented in the form of a descriptive summary. This means that each question or point of discussion begins with a summary paragraph and then includes illustrative quotes. The quotes selected are intended to help the reader understand the way in which respondents answered the question. Case one: Female respondents ( 25- 30) The first case study was conducted through a focus group interview with six women between the ages of 25-30. The participants were working women in different areas. The interview was conducted in a park, where people come regularly for walking and exercising. Mineral water and cold drinks were served in order to help participants relax and create a more informal atmosphere. Before starting the actual interview, the group was informed about the purpose of our study, and how the focus group session would be conducted. The participants were told that the aim of the session was to bring forward their individual perceptions and attitudes regarding the studied subject, not to reach consensus. 22 Use of women as sex objects in advertising Broadly speaking, the respondents initially commented why they felt it could be unethical advertising: “If it is at the expense of someone’s integrity, then the advertising is unethical.” “It’s wrong if the advertising psychologically influences the youth at an impressionable ages who have no conception of what is right or wrong.” When showing the advertisements for Axe and Himalaya ( happy hair ) which were mounted on the same cardboard, the respondents immediately reacted strongly against the Axe ad, especially when they saw it at a closer range. The Himalaya ad did not stir up negative emotions in the same way, as it was perceived to be sensual and beautiful. Several of the respondents commented that the background and the music of this ad contributed to the sensual impression. The strong reaction against the Axe ad led to a longer and more intense discussion among the participants, compared to the other ad. Some of the comments regarding these two ads are referred below. Some responses to the Axe ad: “This I find disgusting!” “Sick advertising!” “What’s the purpose?” “Provocative.” Responses to the Himalaya ad: “OK, but take away the bottle you can’t see that it is shampoo that is advertised. It doesn’t say anything about the shampoo till the end.” 23 “If you use this perfume you’re going to have sex, or what?” Another respondent replied to this: “Isn’t that what you want to achieve?” “It’s not the amount of clothing that determines whether the ad is sexually explicit.” “It alludes to the sexual…?” “I think sensual is good, as long as it is used in the right way.” “It’s appealing and it doesn’t offend anyone’s self-esteem.” Sexual appeals When the respondents were asked if they thought that males are more favorable to nude women in ads, and vice versa, the majority spontaneously nodded. “Ethically, it doesn’t matter if it is women or men that are presented in an undressed way.” “Women compare themselves with other women, which creates rivalry.” “We look at for example advertising where a woman is in the skimpiest of clothes, then this kind of advertising creates more debate than a guy in Jockey underwear” “Guys are interested in women in advertising, but they are not interested in seeing men in advertising, while women look at both men and women. Guys are dismissive…like, ‘no, that’s another man’, and then they don’t look.” The participants were unanimously agreeing to that women are more negative against strong sexual appeals in advertising than men are. This statement however did not evoke any lengthy debate. Some comments were: “If it is tastefully done, it’s OK.” “There should be something left to fantasize about.” “Advertising is supposed to stimulate to purchase.” 24 “But companies are striving to provoke in order to make people remember the brand name.” Next, we showed advertisements for AC Black and Rupa Euro men’s wear The reactions among the respondents were quite mixed. Regarding the AC Black ad, several of the participants meant that it is the woman’s position that makes it less appealing. One respondent said that if she had been sitting more upright , it would have been more acceptable. The ad for Rupa men’s wear first evoked laughter in the group. The first impression according to a few respondents was that the ad was fun and fresh, and that it had nice coloring. Another respondent said: “It leaves something for the imagination.” Having discussed the subject of sexual appeals in advertising, the respondents were asked if they thought that there is too much of women being sexually portrayed in advertising. The response was quite uncertain. Typical comments included: “One doesn’t think about it anymore, so maybe you could say that it’s too common.” “We are not reacting to sex. We’re getting numb because it’s so much sex.” “They have to make the ads more coarse to get a reaction.” “How she is presented is crucial.” Some other general comments were : “No, I’m not affected to the extent that I do not buy the advertised product.” “You see and react, but then you buy the product anyway.” “You’re more sensitive when you’re younger.” “You thought that all girls looked like that.” “From time to time I still compare myself with advertising images, even if it was worse when I was younger. For a while, I was close to being anorexic.” 25 The group then engaged in a quite extensive discussion about teenage (and younger) girls and their body ideals, model contests for children, and pictures in catalogues for clothing where very young girls pose in an enticing manner. They also concluded that the fashion nowadays is the same regardless of age, and that teenagers and children are wearing the same type of clothing as adults. Some respondents meant that they still compare themselves with idealized advertising images, exemplified by the following comments: “I compare myself all the time, but usually it’s unconsciously.” “The fixation on body ideals is pretty widespread.” “Unavoidably, you will be influenced, more or less.” Some respondents also remarked that a person’s level of self-esteem is determining the degree of comparison. Theories suggest that average looking models can be a better choice than idealized (thin) models in advertising. This evoked an array of opinions, some of which are cited below. “Average people can create more attention since you’re so used to see these thin ideal models.” “It would probably work equally well.” “It’s positive to see someone that looks more like yourself, and that models in different sizes are used.” “Fun when they use ‘plump’ models!” “Usually, it’s not normal – either the models are too plump or too thin. There’s nothing in between.” “It’s something wrong when you react to that someone in an ad has a little roll of fat.” “The values are directed at the thin ideal, that’s why you react when someone is chubby.” 26 “Thin models can ‘destroy’ since the expectations become wrong. What looks good in an ad doesn’t look that good at all when you try the clothes on.” A final comment to this subject was: “I want to see all ages and all body shapes in advertising, end of story.” Risks and disadvantages with controversial advertising The session then moved on to the subject of possible risks and disadvantages with this kind of advertising. The respondents were quite hesitant to whether they would boycott a product themselves if they thought that the advertising for it was unethical or commoditized women. They did however think that drop of sales or boycott are in fact risks that companies can be confronted with. Regarding the issue about whether sexually charged advertising can contribute to sexual harassment, the initial response was hesitation. A participant meant that it is not the advertising itself, but rather the general norms in society, that influences harassment. During the discussion that followed, the views among the respondents differed, as the following comments are examples of: “I don’t think so.” “Sexual advertising contributes to make a certain behaviour a little bit more accepted.” “It depends on the personality [of the persons that harass others].” One participant thought that sexual appeals in advertising actually could contribute to sexual harassment due to the frequent and consistent flow of advertising that people are exposed to. Another said that her own experience is that sexually charged advertising, as well as TV shows, can influence men to harass women, especially in male-dominated environments. Then, the issue about whether or not sexual allusions in advertising raise curiosity about the product, was introduced. Here, some different opinions were expressed, as cited below. “Sex sells!” “Humour in combination with sex raises the curiosity.” “Often, it’s difficult to see what the product is.” 27 “It depends on how the brand is exposed.” Connected to this subject is the risk of not making a selling impression if the sexual appeal is irrelevant to the product, which the group seemed to agree with. A few comments to this were made: “You only get irritated.” “Irrelevant advertising can lead to that one doesn’t buy the product.” All women thought that it is very likely that explicitly sexual advertising mixed with violence contributes to sexual violence and hostility against women. They meant that this could be true regarding people that already have violent tendencies, which the following quote illustrates: “Yes, if you have a tendency toward being violent, advertising could work as a trigger.” Body ideals The group was then guided into a discussion about risks or disadvantages with body ideals in advertising. The first issue was the increasing norm of thinness in advertising and its possible contribution to making women perceive themselves as overweight, as well as increasing their desire to be thinner. In addition, it is said that women very estimate others’ (both men’s and other women’s) preferences for thinness. An agreeing mumble was immediately heard among the participants. The group commented the subject in the following way: “You believe that others think it’s better if you’re fit.” “It is in the eyes of others I want to look beautiful. And it is before others I want to be seen as sexy.” “You think that others expect you to look in a certain way.” 28 “Not a day goes by without one thinking about it.” “Girls want to be smaller, and preferably disappear.” “Yes, advertising contributes to anorexia and bulimia.” “Young girls see the body ideals in advertising and strive for these ideals.” “They are asking themselves what they can identify with.” “The pressure in society increases the demands on youths and teenage girls.” “Advertising is displayed on large outdoor posters. It’s hard not to be affected.” Case two: Male respondents (25-30) The second case study was also conducted through a focus group interview at the same location. The participants were six men, all in their 20ies, with professions in business and economics. This focus group session was conducted in the same manner as the first one. Use of women as sex objects in advertising Broadly speaking, some of the male respondents identified with the subject in the following way: When showing the group the first two advertisements, Axe and Himalaya, the participants’ first reaction was that there was nothing ethically wrong with any of these ads. One respondent however said, when looking more closely at the Axe ad, that he did not find it appealing. He also said “I wouldn’t buy Axe after having seen this ad.” Other remarks were: “Is it some kind of anti-advertising?” 29 “One suspects that it is advertising for clothes, but one is not sure.” The responses to the Himalaya ad were exclusively positive. Some comments were: “Sensual and tasteful.” “This is more tasteful [than the Axe ad].” Sexual appeals All participants thought that men are more favorable to nude women in ads The respondents pointed out that it is natural that guys look at nude women in advertising. “If you put in a naked girl, the guys are going to look at her.” “If there are good looking girls in a TV series, guys automatically think that it’s a good programme.” In this context, a respondent mentioned the TV series Baywatch as an example. The group did however not think that nudity in advertising automatically is effective, in terms of stimulating purchase. One remark was, “No, it depends on the product.” The group thought that older women are more negative to sex appeals in advertising than younger women. They meant that nowadays there is no real difference between younger men and women in their opinions about sex in advertising. When discussing whether sexual allusions in advertising are more acceptable if it is done tastefully, the participants stated that they preferred the tasteful approach. They did however not have the opinion that sexual allusions otherwise are unethical, just that a tastefully done sexual appeal in advertising is “nicer to look at”. One respondent remarked, “It depends on the degree of sex that’s shown.” 30 The group was then showed the AC Black ad and the ad for Rupa Euro men’s wear. The first reactions to the AC Black were that it was a quite beautiful picture. One remark was that it is aesthetically attractive, and that it really was not a sexual ad. “It simply looks good.” One respondent did not find the ad acceptable. Another participant commented, “How come it is easier to degrade women than men in advertising? If the same thing was happening to a guy I would perceive that as playful and humorous. But since its a girl… I don’t know why it is so, it just works that way.” The response to the Rupa men’s wear ad was a bit mixed, as the following comments reveal: “A fun ad!” Most respondents did not think that there is too much sex in advertising. The group’s first reaction was an uncertain “no”. They seemed to be agreed on that sex sells because it attracts attention. The participants also mentioned that sex in advertising has become increasingly accepted. One participant expressed another opinion: “I actually think that there is too much sex in advertising. They push it in everywhere just because it ‘should’ be there.” “It becomes embarrassing.” [when sex is used in an irrelevant manner] Another respondent brought up the issue of humour in combination with sexual appeals: “You can create lots of fun advertising using sex – it doesn’t always have to be so serious.” Another participant mentioned the TV commercial for the bisleri ad, where the boy suddenly rushes to get something. It has been shot as though he wants to buy condoms – but he actually gets is bisleri. The tagline is ‘play safe’. Body ideals The focus of discussion was then directed at body ideals in advertising. 31 “Ten – fifteen years ago there wasn’t that much men in advertising.” Age was also brought up by the participants as an important factor regarding the issue of whether women compare themselves with idealized advertising images or not. The group thought that women do compare themselves with such images, but that this is related to age in the sense that older women can dismiss these advertisements as not relevant to them. The following quotes illustrate the discussion: “I think it’s worse for women.” “How one reacts depends on what kind of person you are.” “It’s easier to affect a young person.” “Older people are safe in themselves.” “Young girls are more fixated with their looks than young guys.” The question about whether average models would be a better choice than idealized in terms of attracting attention and influence to purchase, led to some differing opinions: “It doesn’t make much difference.” “For a while, maybe, but then we get used to these models as well.” “You sell more using good looking, thin models.” “This wouldn’t sell a tenth of what it does now if you or me was the model Risks and disadvantages with controversial advertising The group agreed that if people feel offended by advertising, this could result in a drop of sales or boycott of the advertised product. They did however not feel that they themselves would react in this way. A few other comments regarding these risks were: “If the advertising gets too coarse, it will strike back on the advertiser.” “People can stop buying, and the sales will drop.” Sexual appeals 32 When introducing the question whether the participants thought that sexually charged advertising could contribute to sexual harassment, they first asked for a definition of sexual harassment, which they were provided. The responses to the issue was then quite mixed. Comments included the following: “Yes, I definitely think so. There are many nutcases in society that can copy a certain behavior.” “It [this type of advertising] contributes to make a behaviour more accepted. It becomes more common in society at large.” A participant that had worked in a strongly male dominated workplace seemed certain of the connection between sexual appeals in ads and sexual harassment. He said, “At male dominated workplaces it certainly contributes to harassment. There are advertising images of nude girls everywhere. ” Two of the participants however found the connection between sexually charged ads and sexual harassment to be very far-fetched. The respondents in general did not agree with the statement that sexual appeals rarely raise curiosity about the advertised product. On the contrary they thought that you do remember the brand or company behind the “sexy” ad. One participant said that this depends on the buying situation, in the sense that if he is interested in the product, he does remember the ad and not only the sexual appeal in it. But if the advertisement presents a product he has no interest in, or use for, he would only remember the sex in it, and not the product. Other comments were: “It depends on how coarse it’s done.” “It happens that you see the sex but not the product.” The majority of the participants thought that companies could risk not making a selling impression if sex is irrelevant to the advertised product. It was mentioned that it is quite natural to advertise for example hair care products and perfume using sexual appeals. “Advertising for car tires in combination with a naked girl is ridiculous.” “I think it’s ethically OK, but it’s ridiculous. I don’t buy a car just because it’s a naked girl in the ad.” 33 One respondent thought that even if the sexual appeal has no natural connection to the advertised product, this advertising still would have served its purpose since it attracts attention. Summary In this chapter, empirical data have been presented. This data were collected through conducting two focus group sessions, one with female participants and one with male. Each focus group has provided empirical data to the case studies. First, the data gathered from the female focus group session has been presented. The structure of the section followed the conceptual framework and the interview guide. Then, data gathered from the male focus group was presented in the same manner. The data collected from the remaining four groups have not been mentioned as much in detail In the following chapter, these data will be analyzed through comparison with the conceptual framework. 34 Is the media a reflection of the contemporary woman or is it molding the woman to suit its needs? Is the portrayal of women is in-keeping with the psychographic, social & economic reality of the female viewer-ship? Theories on women and media The hypodermic syringe Amongst the number of about how the media work on the mass audience the most simple to understand is perhaps the hypodermic syringe. According to this theory the media is like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience who as a defenseless bunch have little choice but to be influenced by what they see. In other words, if you watch something violent, you may go and do something violent yourself; or if you see a woman washing up on T.V., you will want to do the same yourself if you are a woman and if you are a man you will expect women to do the washing up for you. The Cultivation theory According to this theory, while any single media text does not have too much effect, years and years of watching more violence will make you less sensitive to violence, years and years of watching women being ill-treated on television will make you less concerned about it in real life. 35 This theory suggests that a massive exposure to television's rebuilt realities can result in perceptions of reality which are very different from what they could have been if viewers watched less television. In other words, the exceedingly stylized, stereotyped, and recurring images depicted on television have been considered a vital source of socialization and everyday information. Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, and Signorielli (1994) defined cultivation as "the independent contributions television viewing makes to viewer conceptions of social reality. The 'cultivation differential' is the margin of difference in notions of reality between light and heavy viewers in the same demographic subgroups" Cultivation and Real-life Experiences Morgan and Shanahan (1997) had suggested, "The forces that shape our beliefs are many and varied; television is just one". To recognize how television's impact interrelates with people's life experiences, cultivation theory claims two fairly contradictory processes. Mainstreaming, the first process, refers to the homogenization of people's opposing perceptions of social reality into a convergent point of view. Mainstreaming apparently comes about through a process of construction, where viewers gain knowledge of facts about the real world by viewing the world of television. Recollections from watching television are stored "relatively automatically." The other process requires the comparison of the mainstream-constructed image of the world with one's own first hand experience. If the constructed world and the actual world are highly similar, then resonance takes place and the consequence is even stronger. Thus, real world experiences interrelate with mediated experiences to produce a perception of the world. Personal attitudes and beliefs are shaped not only by TV but also through the interaction of directly experienced and mediated reality. Thus, disparity in real-world experiences and the causes shaping such experiences add to the variations in perceptions of reality. Both one's social reality (i.e., the society or community in which one lives) and one's position in this society in terms of age 36 and sex are important factors in shaping experiences. These factors should, therefore, influence the resonance of TV images and their ability to nurture an individual's world-view. Uses and Gratifications This is in all probability the most important theory on this subject. According to uses and gratification theory, we all have diverse uses for the media and we make choices over what we wish to watch. Thus, when we come across a media text, it is not just some kind of mindless entertainment; we are ( either consciously or unconsciously) expecting to get some kind of ratification from it. In general four gratifications have been found.: Information We want to gratify our inquisitiveness by finding out about society and the world. This is in he case of the news and documentaries which both furnish the knowledge and learning about the world. Personal Identity Sometimes we might watch the television in order to look for models for our own behavior. Therefore, we may identify with characters that we see. The characters help us to come to a decision about what we feel about ourselves and if we agree with their actions and they manage to succeed, the we feel all the better about ourselves. Integration and Social Interaction 37 Using the media allows us to find out more about the circumstances of other people. Watching a show helps us to empathize and sympathize with the lives of other people so that we may even end up thinking of the characters in programme as friends even though we might not readily admit it ! At the same time television may help us to get on with our real friends as we are able to talk about the media with them. Entertainment At times we may simply use the media for enjoyment, relaxation or just to fill time. Reception analysis In a way, this is an expansion of the uses and gratifications theory. Reception analysis actually looks into the finer points about how people are using the media in different ways and it concentrates on the audience themselves Reception analysis is based on the idea that no text has one simple meaning. Rather, reception analysis suggests that the audience themselves help to produce the meaning of the text. We all decode the texts that we encounter in our own individual ways which may be a consequence of our rearing, the frame of mind that we are in, the place where we are at the time or in fact any mixture of these and all kinds of other factors. Reception analysis is all about trying to look at these kinds of disparities and to appreciate them. What reception analysts have found is that factors such as a gender, our place inside society, and the context of the time we are living in can be extremely important when we formulate the meaning or a text. 38 Usually when our outlooks of the media differ, it can speak as much about us as it does about the media text itself. This kind of thing is often closer to psychology, than media studies and can be very tricky to research. While quantitative researchers simply count the number of people watching a program, reception analysts make use of interviews in order to get some kind of idea of the meanings that people affix to texts. The ideas that reception theorists come up with are not so orderly and clear-cut as those of other methodologies. Because reception theory focuses on the individual it can never quite do this, since we are all different and no one theory can discern that. This can be seen as a strong point of the theory as it takes into account the intricacy of our reaction to the media. However, at the same time the theory has a weakness which is that it ignores the context of everyday life. Gender differences David Morley, a researcher, found in his research that there were clear differences in the uses that people made of the media in their day-to-day lives depending on their gender. He found that men were more likely to prefer factual programmes (eg News and sports) while women preferred fiction Soaps and other drama series. Also, men favored watching the programmes extensively while women preferred doing something else at the same time. Another thing that he found was that if someone had control over what the family was watching, it was more prone to be the man with the remote control in his hand. Of course, this does not necessarily mean that there are fundamental differences men and women. This relates to the kinds of lives families are often leading. For a man, working throughout the day outside of the home, television is seen as a type of relaxation. On the other hand, for women, the home is often a place of 39 work and so it is likely that that work will have to continue during the evening's television as well. METHODOLOGY In-depth interviews with female target audience between the age groups of 25-30, 35-40, and 45-50 were conducted, asking them to themselves ( eg. ambitious, glamorous, homely etc) They were then asked to describe the woman in the AC Black ad. They were also asked to describe the women in the Fair and Lovely ad, the Wheel ad etc. Comparisons were drawn between the way they advertised themselves and the way they described the woman in the ad. They were then further probed on their perception of women in commercials and the influences that it has on the society. How women described themselves The majority of women in the age group of 25-35, saw themselves as intelligent, well read, capable of competing with men in the job front. Bhakti Roy Chowdhury (31), working in an IT firm, felt she was an achiever for reaching where she had today. However, she was resigned to the belief, that there was very little possibility for her to rise any further – not because she was incompetent, but because the patriarchal structure of the organization would not allow it. Women, unwillingly gave in to the fact that they do take pains to look good. While making regular visits to the parlor for facials and indulging in various home remedies was common across all of them, very few went to the extent of joining the gym to maintain their figures. Although, they were health conscious in varying degrees, having a perfect body was not even in their consideration set. They felt it was just a superficial look, which would not even last long and could be obtained by going to extremes like starving with the end result being health problems like anorexia. 40 One of the respondents confessed that she liked her husband dominating over her and she could not and did not want to feel superior to him. She was happy that he was in control. Women’s reactions to the female roles seen in the advertisements Women firstly, considered all the female models to be unrealistically beautiful. “No one can be so naturally beautiful in real life – not even them”. The audience now, is well aware of the tricks used by advertisers and knows that the drop dead gorgeous look is the magic of make-up, and of course, the special camera effects. Moreover, the roles that women played were passive – completely deprived of enthusiasm, action or ideas. They were nothing more than mannequins with no goals or aspirations. Their only source of joy was the man in their lives and their ambition started and ended at being desirable to him. Older women were more ready to accept the women as a housewife, taking care of her husband, rather than a sexy object, looked at lustfully as in the AC Black ad and Hyundai Getz. They could not identify with this ‘vulgar’ image of a woman and did not consider it to be applicable to them. The younger women, held a different point of view. They felt the complete devoted house-wife, in this age, was getting closer to a myth, atleast in their society. They however, actively utilized the traditional glamorous roles of the models and actresses by emulating them and challenged the traditional female roles in order to assert their own standing in a hierarchal family structure. One of the respondents said, “She looks different because I am a different person. I don’t really compare to her.” When asked to “list the ideas you get from the model on how you could improve the way you look,” she said, “I could never look like her and will not try. I know that she has to be willing to work to look like 41 she does. I don’t worry about the way I look, it’s just not at all that important to me.” . . . Stuck in the Model Trap A rising concern in our society is the plight of female pre-adolescents and adolescents as they grow up facing many obstacles, including receiving less attention than boys in the classroom, unrealistic expectations of what they can and cannot do, decreasing self-esteem, and being judged by their physical appearance. In particular, girls are generally preoccupied with attempting to become beautiful. Several interviews show that self-esteem drops to a much greater extent for female than male pre-adolescents and adolescents, with selfperceptions of physical attractiveness contributing to the drop. Another growing apprehension in our society is the role of advertising in contributing to those obstacles. For example, advertising has been accused of unintentionally imposing a “sense of inadequacy” on women’s self-concepts. Studies suggest that advertising and the mass media may play a part in creating and reinforcing a preoccupation with physical attractiveness and influence consumer perceptions of what constitutes an acceptable level of physical attractiveness. Further, studies have found that female college students, adolescents, and preadolescents compare their physical attractiveness with that of models in ads and that female pre-adolescents and adolescents have desires to be models. An aspiring young model, for example, describes “the model trap”: Deep down inside, I still want to be a supermodel . . . As long as they’re there, screaming at me from the television, glaring at me from magazines, I’m stuck in the model trap. Hate them first. Then grow to like them. Love them. Emulate them. Die to be them. All the while praying this cycle will come to an end. 42 Physical Attractiveness and Self-Esteem in Children and Adolescents The emphasis on being physically attractive begins in infancy and continues throughout childhood and adolescence. How physically attractive a child or adolescent perceives him/herself to be heavily influences his/her self-esteem, particularly when they enter their teens. However, the effect of self-perceptions of physical attractiveness on self-esteem differs between girls and boys. For example, Harter, in a cross-sectional study of third through eleventh graders, found that self-perceptions of physical attractiveness and levels of global selfesteem appeared to decline systematically over time in girls but not for boys. Other researches have documented such decreases throughout adolescence for girls. Boys’ self-esteem, in contrast, tends to increase from early through late adolescence. The nature of physical attractiveness differs for male and female children and adolescents as well. Girls tend to view their bodies as “objects,” and their physical beauty determines how they and others judge their overall value. Boys tend to view their bodies as “process,” and power and function are more important criteria for evaluating their physical self.. The difference in body orientation results in girls paying attention to individual body parts and boys having a holistic body perspective. Because the ideal of attractiveness for girls is more culturally significant, girls have a greater likelihood of being negatively affected by the feminine ideal than boys have of being negatively affected by the masculine ideal. 43 The Indian Housewife The traditional Indian Housewife is seen as homely and family centric. She has a traditional, conservative and judgmental mindset, with clear definitions of right and wrong, Home is her domain, out-of-home activities are mainly restricted to shopping. Is inclined towards spiritual/devotional activities like attending satsang, going to temples and also watching devotional channels The changing wife ….. She has now left the boundaries of home and is ready to stand o her own feet. She voices her opinion which are taken into consideration. Has confidence that is wife is capable of understanding various issues, which he now feels comfortable discussing with her. Summary Advertisements that repeatedly appear on the television have a penetrating power into the psyche of the audience. On an average an adult spends about two years of his life watching television adverts. Viewers of these adverts claim to be influenced in terms of their attitudes and preferences. A study of women across several advertisements shows that the probability of a women's appearance in personal hygiene product adverts are much higher than those of the adverts in other categories. Majority of all advertisements portray women for products used in the bathroom or kitchen. Any advertisement for washing powders like Ariel, 44 Wheel or Surf, enhance this belief that washing clothes is a woman’s job. There was one exception in Arial’s ad in 1998, when the wife was not at home and the husband had to wash the clothes. However, the man managed the job, surprisingly well and ended with him expecting something in return from his wife for performing this task. While men are presented in a variety of professions across the ads, a woman in comparison are presented in far lesser professional roles – her role mostly being confined to that of a housewife. If a woman is presented in a position of power, the male audiences would not consider the attributes of power and aggressiveness are portrayed as something natural to a woman and would take it up as a challenge to the male ego. This is because men are traditionally considered to be naturally much more powerful than a woman. Therefore to have men in inferior position to a female is considered an oddity and can be upsetting to male psyche. A situation like this is likely to be frowned upon by conventional viewers. Therefore, the most accepted representation of a woman is a stereotype one, that is, a woman in the middle of a domestic and her husband in an all-powerful role. The housewife is depicted obsessed with personal hygiene, cleanliness and fresh fragrances. She likes products which make her home environment more dirt free and germ free. She happily performs all domestic chores with a smile and with the latest products offering her a helping hand. Men are portrayed in domestic situations they are presented as initially unskilled but they, however, have the potential learning the tricks and taking a short cut to gain the desired outcome, thus instilling the belief that in actual life situations, men are more manipulative and smarter than the females. In addition to this, a large number of advertisements across the television portray women as housewives or sex objects. While portraying women as a sex object, the concentration is on their conventional beauty perfect figure, perfect teeth, well-set hair, shining skin etc. A woman's physical appearance and charm is used to endorse ads concerning physical fitness products, cosmetics and those that add to make her look more beautiful and appealing. 45 If we take a look at the TV soaps, the fear that pervades is that these serials are actually making people, especially women, change their lifestyles to certain degrees. Each person in the audience is able, at some point, to identify with a character in the serial. "TV is a one to one medium," says Akhila Sivadas of the Media Advocacy Group. Sivadas feels that despite poor quality production, poor dialogue and acting styles, these soaps have been able to impact the psyche of many middle class women. "There are 10 to 12 characters and anyone of these replicates life for most viewers. As analysts, we have found out in the last two years, we have been missing the woods for the trees when we said that there was a mass reaction to serials. This is not the case. Often, in this one to one relationship, real and reel life do get blurred." 46 Has there been a significant change in the level of sexism in the past 10 years ? One of the main differences between the advertisements of the 1960s and the 1990s is in the portrayal of the "modern" woman. The woman in the 1950s was either docile or a vamp—the former with a shy expression on a down-turned face, fully clad in sari, adorned in flowers; where as the other in short "indecent" attire, with a sensuous gaze and pouting smile. Since the 1990s the modern woman is one who no longer wears the sari; a Hindu marker, thus affirming her secularity, and she does not essentially sport a shy look. But her societal status has not changed in any radical way as her roles are defined even now by men. Washing machines and microwave ovens "liberate" Indian women by shaping them into "perfect homemakers" (as the advertisement for a washing machine says, "You and Videocon, the perfect homemakers"). What is sexism ? Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on gender. It is the attitude and social practice that foster rigid roles based on gender and which tend to work to the detriment of women. Methodology In order to understand the increase in the level of sexism over the past 10 years, 3 products were chosen and the depiction of women in their commercials were analyzed over the past 10 years. 47 Analysis of these ads were done over the past 10 years in 4 levels ! Level 1 – Woman as two- dimensional non- thinking adornment ! Level 2 – Woman’s place is in the home ! Level 3 – Woman may be professional but her first place is at home ! Level 4 – Women and men must be equals Which brands were chosen and why ? Thums Up, Fair & Lovely and Wheel detergent powder, were the three brands chosen for this analysis. Each of these ads were chosen for different reasons. Thums Up, being a soft drink, should be neutrally appealing to both the genders. However, due to the different platform it as chosen for its positioning it appears to be a macho drink. Fair & Lovely was chosen since it’s a beauty product and thus it was a good brand to study to understand the strategy that advertisers adopted in order to create a demand for the product. In order to understand the domestic scene, Wheel detergent powder was an apt choice since it has a daily household use 48 Analysis of the ads were done over the past 10 years 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Fair & Lovely Thums Up Wheel '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 In the above diagram, the four levels are depicted, by the following numbers : 0 – 25 : Level 1 25 – 50 : Level 2 50 – 75 : Level 3 75 – 100 : Level 4 49 The Thums Up commercial, has been analyzed over the past 10 years, in order to understand the feel of the brand and how it chooses to appeal to which section of society Distribution of Dress by Gender of Model – Thums Up Gender Clothed Suggestive Partiallyclad Total Female 4 5 3 12 33.33% 41.66% 25% 100% 10 0 2 12 83.33% 0% 16.66 100% 14 5 5 24 58.33% 20.83% 20.83% 100% Male Total This analysis revealed that while the male models were busy in action and competition women were nothing more than a decorative piece. Throughout the Thums Up commercials, one thing is evident – the woman hardly ever speaks – all she does is look at the Thums Up man with awe and admiration, being completely floored by his machismo. He is a hero – she is his worshipper 50 The ‘attitude’ of advertisers Prahlad Kakkar, owner of an advertising agency in North India, had stated that, "The household image of woman is truly exploitative; showing women as dowdy, unattractive housewives who slave for their families without any personal ambition is enslaving." While this observation is perfectly true the latter part of his argument is convoluted. He proceeds to proclaim, "Lalitha (a woman character made popular by the advertisement for "Surf," a detergent, where she is depicted as the smart housewife getting the best soap powder for her family even while saving money) is far more exploitative than a deadly bikini-clad woman on top of a Porsche. I truly believe that an ad that shows a woman as a sex object is not exploitative, it is just blatant and obvious. Yes, I exploit women because they are far more aesthetically beautiful than men. Since men are the main purchasing power of India today, the image of a scantily-clad woman will make them buy anything." (Savvy, August 2000). 51 Exploring the existence of the dominant negative stereotypes Methodology This consisted of an in-depth understanding of several advertisements on television Distribution of Demeanor by Gender of Model - Fair & Lovely Fair and Lovely was the brand chosen to analyze the amount of action women actually indulge in during the advertisements GENDER Female Male DEMEANOR Total Passive Active 6 6 12 50% 50% 100.0% 0 12 12 0% 100% 100% This analysis showed that women were passive in their roles 50 % of the time, where as, men were always performing an active role. Even in the active roles, her action was mostly limited in taking an initiative to look beautiful 52 FAIR & LOVELY ADS V/S THUMS UP ADS ! In the majority of ads for both these ads it is found that men and women look for validation from the opposite sex in different ways ! In the case of thums up, men simply need women towards the end in order to be accepted as the superior sex. ! In the case of Fair & Lovely all the efforts that women make is for the men, not for themselves ! They willingly accept men being superior to them ! Men in the thums up ads indulge in competitive activities – racing, biking, bungee jumping ! Men resort to vigorous physical activities in order to be a winner ! For a woman, being a winner, is nothing more than attracting a man ! F & L commoditizes women by making their faces their only source of identity and reason for a happy existence, as though they do not possess something called a mind. It however, doesn’t sexually exploit them ! However, thums up on the other hand, does this and also depicts them in suggestive attires and postures 6 advertisements have been analyzed to understand the existence of dominant negative stereotypes The purpose of study was to analyze brand communications that indicate that : 1. Women seek approval from men in their lives 2. They require certain brands to achieve this 3. This plays on and reinforces insecurities 53 WHEEL Detergent Wheel is a detergent brand that caters to the laundry needs of the mass market. It was first launched in the year 1987. Wheel Green is the single largest (No 1 by market share) detergent brand in India by value. It caters to the middle and lower class households with a 250 grams of detergent bar costing as less as five rupees. The target groups of the above brand are the housewives of the abovementioned homes. They are married women who have adopted home making as their career and spend their time looking after their homes. The aim was to study man woman relationships in Indian advertising. The following commercial is a stark reflection of the man woman relations, as they exist in our Indian society today. The couple shown in the advertisement belongs to a lower middle class family. The husband is shown to be the earning member of the family. The advertisement exposes the degree of respect and equality with which a workingman treats his “housewife” wife. It showcases the value of such a wife in the eyes of her husband and his expectations from her. It contrasts them with the feelings of the wife towards her husband and the degree to which she reveres him. The advertisement is a reflection of the man-woman relationship that exists in our society today. The woman, who is the homemaker, is taken for granted by the man. She only enjoys functional value. Her functions include managing the home, the children and ensuring that all cooking and cleaning is done on time. The husband views her only as utilitarian. She does not share and equal platform with him in crucial matters of decision-making. She has to keep things in perfect shape of invite her husband’s wrath. Moreover, she cannot stand up and defend herself in the face of her husband’s fury. She silently bears the brunt of his antagonism, listens to his admonishing (about the unclean bed sheet) but cannot even retaliate. She cannot stand up and defend herself. She cannot tell her husband the amount of effort that has gone into managing the home. She is unable to take a stand. She bears the humiliation in 54 silence. Her only vent to the anger within her is the bar of soap that she holds responsible for inviting her husband’s rage. She crushes it between her fingers in a gesture that shows the extent of her anger. The advertisement highlights the change that comes over the husband once the wife uses Wheel to set things right. The bed sheet is not absolutely radiant. The husband is overjoyed because he has created a fantastic impression on the prospective groom for his sister. He is now full praise for his wife. It is similar to rewarding an employee for his good performance. He comes riding on a white horse, dressed in an immaculate white shirt and calls his wife ”Super Biwi”. The phrase reflects the way he treats his wife. She becomes a super Biwi only after she produces the results he expected out of her. It is only when she fulfills his wishes and works hard to achieve his level of satisfaction does he acknowledge her efforts. Clinic All Clear Clinic All Clear, India's leading anti-dandruff shampoo from Hindustan Lever Ltd., uses the insecurity among women about their looks and the consequent attention they get from men as a platform to sell their brand. The following advertisement explores the man woman relationship among the urban youth in our country. It highlights the superficiality of interest in a member of the opposite sex, which borders totally on physical appearance but vanishes entirely with the mere sign of dandruff. It also studies the psyche of a young Indian woman who is obviously well educated, from a good family, modern in her thought and action, independent and confident, but gets totally frazzled by the spurning by a man just because of dandruff in her hair. Her ego is bruised. She is unable to handle the rejection of a man. Hence, she goes out of her way to get even with the stranger she met for less than five minutes at a pool table. She buys an anti dandruff shampoo recommended by a friend to get rid of the dandruff, she learns to master the game of pool (thanks to the same friend) just to prove her worth to the unknown person she had been momentarily acquainted with at the pool table. 55 There are two ways in which the advertisement can be studied: The advertisement promotes a contradiction to the construct of the modern Indian woman, which the other advertisements pretend to fervently construct. On the one hand, the protagonist of the advertisement is portrayed as an independent young woman, one who is accompanied by a female friend, i.e. does not need a man just to enjoy herself, who is modern in her dress (western outfit) and outlook (she takes the man’s interest in her with confident ease). Note here that she has just noticed this man. However, the sudden and unexpected lack of interest from the man, who was a stranger until less than a minute ago, punctures her self-confidence completely. She is embarrassed beyond belief. She is unable to bear the humiliation and plans to avenge her embarrassment. That is where the brand “All Clear” steps in. it is her weapon on the battle of winning her pride back. It removes all the dandruff from her hair so that she can confidently release her locks in front of a stranger who was the cause of her humiliation. She also learns to master the game of pool so that she can defeat the man at his own game. The argument can be put forward from a different dimension also. The woman is hell bent on proving her worth to the man. The woman decides to avenge her humiliation She gets rid of the dandruff and learns to play the game. When she stuns the man with her winning shot she tops it up with the phrase “dho dala”. It is an indication of how she has managed to stun the man with her superlative performance. However, she also uses the double meaning phrase to thank her “weapon of man destruction”, the brand “All clear” who has helped her save her face. Hence though the advertisement highlights how the woman gets even with a man it also underscores the fact that she could not have done so without the use of the brand. Hence instead of her simply showing her prowess at the pool table to avenge her humiliation, she does the theatrics of unlocking her tresses for the male to gaze at and acknowledge. In other words, her act is a gesture of seeking approval from the man that her hair is now perfect and dandruff free. 56 She wants his authorization. She could have simply beaten him at the game or hit the winning shot without the initial exhibition of her lustrous improved hair. But she did not. Hence the importance of the brand in making her score against the man is highlighted. Asain Paints It shows a not-so well-to-do man enviously congratulating his rich neighbour, Sunil-babu, on his new house (painted a spanking new yellow) and a lithe and subservient new wife, dressed in nuptial red, serving her husband (an earlier version of the ad showed a new car as well but that's been dropped). The next shot shows the same neighbour, now visibly aged, admiring the house, which looks as new as ever, even as Sunil-babu's wife has expanded and aged visibly, though she's just as subservient. It's the kind of commercial that attracts a smirk from most viewers, men and women, and, because it is aired so frequently it's Wah, Sunil-babu! has become part of contemporary lingo as so many ad-lines do these days. But if you think about it, the implication is clearly that house and wife are passive possessions that enjoy the same ranking, though one is an inanimate object and the other is a human being. To be fair the Sunil-babu of the ad also ages in the second shot, but that's okay, he's expected to. Obviously his wife shouldn't — but alas, she's not as durable as Asian Paint's long-lasting emulsion. Harpic The advertisement for "Harpic," a toilet cleaning liquid, begins with a grand sequence of shots showing a group of masked commandos wearing thick protective attire. They land from a plane and search the entire locality with 57 modern equipment. When they reach the toilet they find the place swarming with germs. At this point their chief removes her facemask and we see an attractive woman tossing her hair and smiling at the audience victoriously. Then comes the caption with the declaration "Here comes the expert in cleaning toilets." After zooming in on the smiling face of the woman, the Harpic container is shown on the screen. Axe Shaving Lotion In the commercial for "Axe," a shaving lotion for men, a black woman in a skintight dress dances before the sharp gaze of a man. When she comes near him she turns into the wick of a huge candle. His face is now enlarged and covers the entire screen. He looks down at the candle in which the woman-turned-wick keeps flickering in a dance of its own. The word "Voodoo" appears on the screen along with the flame. With a look of contempt, he blows out the candle and as the candle smoke dissolves in the air, smiles smugly at the audience. He is satisfied at having put an end to a tempting woman, and the award for such a manly achievement is "Axe," and now the conqueror from time immemorial grabs a bottle of the lotion with a celebratory look. Samsung Air Conditioners In a popular television ad for Samsung air conditioners portrayed a group of women falling all over a male stripper. The temperature (literally) heats up, therefore necessitating turning on the air conditioner. The ad begins by showing us a manicured finger turning on a CD player. As the music begins, the camera pans to show us a group of young, elegantly dressed women having a party. A handsome young man, wearing a black suit and with a large red bow tied around his chest, walks into the room and is greeted with raucous cheers from the women. They surround him in a circle and snap their fingers at him, as if to command him. He momentarily covers his face in a mock feminine gesture of 58 bashfulness. The camera then zooms in to provide us with close-ups of the expressions of some of the women who smile seductively, all the time continuing to snap their fingers at him. The next frame consists of the young man gyrating to the music, a red rose between his teeth, as he slowly starts taking off his jacket. We see more close-ups of the women, arousal apparent all over their faces as they watch him taking off his tie, followed by his shirt. Although the mood is playful, there is no denying that the women are assertive, if not downright aggressive, in expressing their erotic interest in him. Some of the women start to fan themselves; the heat in the room has obviously gone up. The camera lingers longingly on the male stripper’s upper body as he starts to unzip his trousers, all the time dancing to the music. Our focus is then abruptly shifted to a thermometer, and we see the mercury rising rapidly to 52 degrees Celsius. The music screeches to a halt; the women faint because of the heat. The dancer reaches for a remote and turns on the air conditioner—a Samsung air conditioner. Next, we are shown the mercury in the thermometer dropping as quickly as it had risen. The women wake up, and we see a close-up of one of them languorously pushing back her long black hair. A male voiceover informs us: “Samsung Instachill. With a unique rotary compressor. The only AC to be effective at 52 degrees Celsius.” The music resumes as the women rise to their feet, start converging on the dancer, and once again surround him in a circle. They push him to the floor in their excitement. The next thing we see is that one of them has flung his trousers into the air. The ad ends with images of air conditioners in different sizes, as the voiceover proclaims: “Samsung Instachill. Especially conditioned for the Indian summer.” Although this ad used humor to mediate (and perhaps, to this extent, neutralize) its representation of women’s erotic desires, its focus on women as agential subjects of erotic desire was unmistakable. 59 Obstacles to the upliftment of women in the media Patriarchal societies: One of the biggest obstacles to women’s access, participation and control of the media is the patriarchal structure of societies where men continue to see women as subordinate to them. Patriarchal attitudes of governments and media are manifest in their being predominantly male institutions which tend to view women as an undifferentiated mass of low status in society. Gender biases and gender-based discriminations therefore result in stereotyped attitudes, sexual harassment, pay inequities, discriminatory treatment in assignments and promotions, traditional gender hierarchies, including a premium on family responsibilities, lack of support mechanisms for working women and low education that deter women from joining the media or assume decision-making positions. Ownership of media. The threat to the democratic right of citizens to a plurality of information sources and the means of expressing their viewpoints is endangered by the power exerted by a few transnational media organisations that control the different media. Ownership monopoly, control of media by men, and cross-cutting corporate interests would inevitably influence media content and policy. There is increased concern over the levels of media-industry concentration being attained through the convergence of communication and information technologies with other, more traditional media, bringing up issues of control in many countries. Further, globalisation and monopolisation of media is blurring the lines of accountability as sub-regional, regional and international conglomerates buy and trade national broadcasting frequencies, print, television 60 programmes, cable and films with little or no accountability to government and civil society. The possibility of citizens influencing mainstream media policy and content is complicated when the decision-making centres are ever more distant and unreachable, propelled by profit motives rather than social responsibility considerations. Lack of gender perspective on issues and gender bias. Few journalism schools have incorporated gender issues in their curriculum. Journalists who attempt to introduce a gender focus in their work often meet resistance or ridicule from their colleagues or bosses. Women communicators point to discrimination and sexual harassment to be among the main obstacles to professional advancement. It is also extremely difficult to open a public debate on issues of communication and democracy, codes of ethics or the social responsibility of the media, when many media directors and even some journalists refuse to recognise this responsibility, and very few are willing to air the issues publicly. The continued projection of negative and degrading images of women, of gender stereotypes and violent and/or pornographic examples in media have an overall negative impact and thus hinders women's full participation in society. Lack of women’s access to and growth in media institutions. As gender issues are not seen as important or profitable, women face difficulties in entering media institutions and organisations. Opportunities for women within the media industry, in employment and decision-making, continue to be limited. Not enough women in media organisations have attained senior programming positions as these opportunities are not yet open to women based on a routine but fair professional upgrading. Even the few women who exercise some control in media organizations operate within patriarchal systems of management and are dictated to follow the interest of profit margins. While it would be naive to state that profit is not important, the current situation of media is one of commoditization, commercialization and consumerism. 61 Lack of women’s full participation in media processes. The participation of women in communication processes is largely related to their economic status, geographic locations and ethnic identities. Women who suffer economic, racial or other forms of exclusion are usually also excluded from the means to communicate. National and international regulatory bodies are commonly conceived as technical entities, in many cases with no space for citizens to participate or express their opinion. Even where such spaces exist, women's organisations are often not aware of them. At another level, significant areas of journalism are still male preserves and inherent gender biases and discriminations within the system constrain women media practitioners from participating fully in shaping media content. Another point to note is the relative isolation of women media practitioners. Many of them work within patriarchal structures and do not often have links with the women’s movement in their countries. Even if they do, they risk being marginalized within corporate organizations. Lack of effective media policies. Media policies against sexist and stereotyped coverage, representation and portrayal of women remain as a big gap. Existing media codes and guidelines are mainly concerned with "lewd", "obscene", "indecent" exposure of human bodies, "immoral" sexual relations, sexually "provocative" material, and pornographic content. Current policies are framed around questions of morality, rather than recognizing sexual violence against women as a violation of human rights. There have been some efforts to establish or maintain self-regulatory mechanisms on media content. Governments in general take little responsibility for regulation of media industries with regard to gender stereotyping. Action is left to voluntary measures on the part of media enterprises or insufficiently effective national compliance/complaints authorities, who often lack monitoring capabilities and whose legal framework often lack gender-equal policies. To this end, there is no practical monitoring or enforcement of government requirements in many countries and where 62 standards exist, they are often not upheld. Too often, the task is left to private citizens to watch, challenge and litigate. Lack of effective sanctions against violators. Although calls have been made for codes of conduct with minimum international standards and requirements to be instituted at the international level, the failure to respond to this need bears on the continuing absence of sanctions against violators of women’s human rights in the media. Systemic challenges. In many countries issues agreed to in Section J are not that straightforwardly easy to put into action and often require radical transformations of existing systems. For example, concepts such as increasing women’s participation or contribution can often be misinterpreted by the public as women’s desire for domination or control. As a consequence, calls by women for greater participation and positive portrayal are trivialized in government consultative and policy making processes. Threats to media practitioners. In several countries, there had been threats against community radio and TV stations. In some cases, such as Paraguay and Uruguay, people in charge of them were threatened with imprisonment, as if they had committed a serious crime. 63 What kind of woman is acceptable to the Indian society today ? Methodology 3 FGDs of men of the age groups 25-30, 35-40 and 45-50 were taken, focusing on the depiction of women on television commercials and their perceptions of it. Whether the kind of woman they would like to spend their lives with is influenced by the kind of ads they see on TV Men admitted being influenced about their perceptions of what a woman should be like, by what they view on television man and a few even accepted that the skimpily dressed model crept into their heads as the ideal dream woman. The beauty queens rapidly increasing all over India have already fascinated the minds of thousands of young men and women as to what should be the size and weight of an ultimate woman. 64 100 80 60 25-30 40 35-40 45-50 20 0 Pretty Sexy Intelligent Subm issive 100 80 60 25-30 35-40 40 45-50 20 0 Independent Traditional Fashional Well-spoken The younger respondents said that they would prefer seeing a women being portrayed in a way that would prove to be more gender-balanced. The stereotypical images of women being weak, suppressed and highly emotional, needs down playing. . They were in ready to watch women in bold and assertive roles. On one hand they felt that women were depicted as self-sacrificing with no identity of their own. On the other hand were the working women who were shown to be alienated from their husbands and children. This depiction did tend to influence the older men that the idea of a successful career woman is irreconcilable with the ideal wife and mother. 65 Professional women are mostly identified as fashion models, teachers and doctors whereas men are projected as politicians, national heroes and highranking government officials. A 25 year old respondent believed that if the media tried to project men as supportive and caring, then it would be easier to free women from culturally sanctioned roles on television. None of the respondents felt that women are represented in a wholly accurate manner. Another respondent ( 29) that he felt that television dictates what type of woman he should be attracted to, but despite that, he felt that the representations of women are getting better all the time. On referring to the roles of men and women, he states that; "..Usually, the men are the hunters and have to provide, and women are the care-takers." He also stated that he tends to associate shallowness with beautiful women (the mannequin). From these interviews, it can be concluded that men consider television representations of women to be truer than do the women. Even though everyone admitted that they are not wholly representative, these portrayals still have some effect on the views that the respondents hold about women. Therefore we can see the different roles that women are shown to fill. While television can be said to reflect the changing roles of women, it seems to portray them in a light of approval or disapproval, positive or negative according to the roles that patriarchy favors: the housewife is favored, where as the woman in power is often shown to be the villain. More importantly, women are often represented as not being as intelligent as men, and having to be dependant on them. It is also shown that a woman is either intelligent or beautiful; but rarely both. It is important to note also, the effects that these portrayals have on people, and while these interviews are by no means representative of the population, it proves that they do affect peoples views of what women are really like. 66 Are women buying the message that advertisers are trying to sell ? Methodology 3 FGDs of women of the ages 25-30, 35-40 and 45-50, were taken. These discussions focused on their perception of the kind of image of the present day woman, advertisers are trying portray? Whether this portrayal have any influence in their purchase decisions? During the research, a broad understanding of the use and perception of women as sex-objects in advertising was gained, which were provided to us by participants in the focus groups. According to them, advertising at the expense of someone’s integrity makes it unpleasant or if it exploits other people’s unhappiness, or if it is aimed to minors who have no conception of what is right or wrong. In order to narrow the scope of the study, to the focus would be on sexual appeals and body ideals in advertising. Therefore, the findings and conclusions will focus on these areas. When looking at advertising images, it can be concluded that women hold a more positive attitude toward male nudity than men, while men are more favorable toward female nudity than women. Thus, there is a larger chance that an ad containing a nude model is viewed as ethically correct if the viewer is of the opposite sex. However, it seems like neither men nor women think that it is the actual nudity that makes the advertising unethical. It has also been discovered that women seem to interpret the advertising image in more detail than men do. Women pay attention to what they perceive to be sexist or degrading features in the picture. It seems to us that men in general only see the actual picture, which does not necessarily represent some kind of action. It has also been found that men are more tolerant regarding the level of sexual 67 appeals in advertising than women. Even though females may not spontaneously define a sexually explicit advertisement as “unethical” very often, they do not feel uncomfortable in using the term. Men, on the other hand, are very reluctant to say that any sexual appeals in advertising are unethical even when they express negative opinions about an advertisement. Rather than classifying a sexually explicit ad as unethical, they prefer to call it bad, ridiculous or distasteful. The reasons for this difference in perceptions between genders are probably deeply rooted psychologically and biologically, and are clearly beyond the scope of this study. Regarding the concept of tastefulness in the use of sexual appeals, a sensual impression seems to be equal to tasteful. Both men and women appreciate a sensual touch in advertising, and they find tasteful sexual allusions to be much more appealing than less tasteful allusions. Women emphasize that it is more tasteful if there is something to fantasize about, that is, the sexual appeals should leave something for the imagination. The use of humorous angles in advertising seems to change the impact of sexual appeals in a positive way when used in combination with them, as the focus of the advertising is lifted from the sexual to the humor, thus increasing curiosity about the product. Therefore, we find that the use of humor in combination with sexual appeals might contribute to making the advertising less ethically sensitive. Women, especially very young women, frequently compare themselves with idealized images in advertising. The level of comparison seems to decrease as the woman grows older and becomes more secure in herself. As this kind of comparison with advertised body ideals is very likely to be harmful to the selfesteem, a way of counteracting this could be to use more average looking models. This would make advertising more ethically correct, but it would probably not be as effective when it comes to stimulating purchase as the idealized models. Thus, whether average looking or idealized models should be used may become an ethical dilemma for the advertiser 68 Findings and Conclusions In this final chapter, the research questions that were posed in Chapter 1 will be answered by expressing the findings. During the work with this thesis, different views and perceptions have been provided by the focus group participants. In some cases, they agreed with existing theories, and sometimes they did not. In some instances, other interesting issues, which were not covered in the conceptual framework, were brought up. Since the aim of this chapter is to answer the five research questions and thereby fulfilling the purpose of the study, all findings that are relevant to the stated purpose, research questions and demarcations will be presented, regardless if they match existing theories or not. Therefore, specific conclusions will be drawn on the basis of the empirical data, the analysis and the findings. Each of the research questions will be answered in separate sections. Thereafter, general conclusions regarding issues that have arised during the study will be presented. Finally, implications for practitioners, for theory, will be suggested . The media channel seems to have a large influence on whether people remember the advertising or not. Almost all examples of good advertising mentioned by participants were TV commercials. It can therefore be concluded that the intrusiveness of the TV medium seems to be higher than the intrusiveness of print media, and that people remember and refer to TV commercials to a larger extent than they remember print advertisements. This means that it seems more likely to find objectionable advertising in print media, since advertising in television has a much higher penetrative power and thereby is more likely to cause a negative debate if it is perceived as unethical. With the basis in the analysis and the findings, the following specific conclusions regarding the first research question: 69 Is the media a reflection of the contemporary woman or is it molding the woman to suit its needs? Is the portrayal of women is in-keeping with the psychographic, social & economic reality of the female viewer-ship? The 'New Woman' In 1987 and again in 1993, the market research agency 'Pathfinders:India' carried out two detailed polls. Called the SNAP polls (the Study of the Nation's Attitudes and Psychographics), they covered 10,000 urban Indian housewives in 36 towns across classes and zones. The numbers of the "contemporary housewife", defined as "generally better educated, with a higher proportion of working women...a more active lifestyle...more into all types of media..." showed an increase from 19.2% in 1987 to 22.1% in 1993. This "purchase-prone attitudinal cluster" (particularly in relation to high value durables and personal products) registered a jump from 49.3% in 1987 to 53.6% in 1993 - a 4.3% increase. Advertising in India too shows this trend. It is however interesting to note a dichotomy. Advertisements portray a woman who is more in control, knows her mind, yet negotiates her newly emerging position within the context of her household and family life. This so-called 'New Woman' in advertising reflects two concurrent trends. While reflecting India's changing climate of economic liberalization and a consequent aspirational attitude towards a better lifestyle, it also reflects the fact that such changes get incorporated within the system without replacing them entirely. 70 Exploring the existence of the dominant negative stereotypes Women who find fulfillment in a professional career and women presented as sexual beings are never seen in laundry detergent or margarine commercials. "Traditional" women are usually filmed without make-up, dressed in baggy clothes in pastel colors, and typically at home (in a kitchen or bathroom), or in exceptional cases, in shops. The principle of "identifying with the commercial's character" is employed in such cases. Commercial characters must not "be better than we are." On the other hand, modern women wear make-up and sexy clothes, they are dynamic and shown in non-domestic settings. Location and placement often differentiate the sexes in commercials. Women are stereotypically placed in areas "appropriate" for a wife: a closed kitchen door, bathroom, children's room, or a shop. Men, however, are found on the couch, in an office, or in a open space. In addition, women are often presented in abnormally large rooms, artificially creating a space to make the woman's social role look more significant. Bathrooms and kitchens are typically twice as large as normal. Relationships with people are another category of sex differentiation in commercials. In opposition to men, women are always shown as emotional, open, talkative, and prone to feelings of envy. Authors of detergent commercials often employ the use of envy: if a woman performs her chores better than other women, it upgrades her in the eyes of her female friends, her mother-in-law, and, of course, her husband. Such an image is quite controversial and female audiences often oppose it. At present, fewer commercials utilize this type of scenario. 71 The level of sexism in advertisements - Neither men nor women think that it is the actual nudity that makes the advertising unethical - There is a larger chance that an ad containing a nude model is viewed as ethically correct if the viewer is of the opposite sex - Women seem to interpret advertising images in more detail than men do - Men are more tolerant regarding the level of sexual appeals in advertising than women - Men, in contrast to women, are very reluctant to say that any sexual appeals in advertising are unethical, even when they express negative opinions about an advertisement - If an advertisement that alludes to sex gives a sensual impression, it is regarded to be tasteful - The use of humour in combination with sexual appeals might contribute to making the advertising less ethically sensitive - Women, especially very young women, frequently compare themselves with idealized images in advertising, but the level of comparison seems to decrease as the woman grows older and becomes more secure in herself - It seems more likely to find unethical advertising in print media, since advertising in television has a much higher penetrative power and thereby is more likely to cause a negative debate if it is perceived as unethical - Both men and women are affected by the current slim and fit body ideals in advertising. This often seems to cause women to perceive themselves as overweight and it makes them want to be thinner, while men see themselves as underweight and want to be larger, i.e. more muscular. - In addition, both men and women tend to overestimate other people’s preferences regarding their looks. That is, they feel that it is in the eyes of others they want to be seen as beautiful and fit. This influence exerted by body ideals seems to be larger during teenage and adolescence, when girls and boys seek ideals to identify themselves with. The sensitivity of young people may result in that the current body ideals in advertising influence them to diet and exercise excessively, thus increasing the 72 risk for eating disorders. It seems like the level of comparison with advertising images, and thereby also the risk of negative effects, is decreasing as people grow older and become more secure about themselves. - If people perceive advertising as unethical, sales may drop or the product may be entirely boycotted. This risk is most likely to be valid in older age segments - People in general are getting “numb” – sex has become so commonplace in advertising today that consumers do not react anymore, thus, advertisers may test the limits by making the advertising more and more coarse in order to attract attention - There is a substantial risk that an advertisement containing sexual appeals is perceived as ridiculous and/or unethical if there is no natural connection between the advertised product and the sexual appeals - The influence exerted by body ideals in advertising seems to be larger during teenage and adolescence, when girls and boys seek ideals to identify themselves with What kind of woman is acceptable to the Indian society today ? From the interviews conducted, it can be concluded that the younger generation of men, prefer a multi-faceted woman who can look physically attractive and also have a good standing in society ( in terms of her over all personality and her profession ) as it serves to lift his status even more. The older men preferred wives who would be submissive to their orders and take their husbands words as the final say. They did not emphasize on their wives being pretty as long as she was neat and presentable. According to them if a woman is not an expert at household chores, she would never make a good wife. This was slightly different from what the younger men wanted, because they believed that for a marriage to be successful, the woman did not have to be subservient to a man. Rather, she had to respect herself, so that he could respect her too. In the context of advertisements, the older men did not mind women being portrayed as sex objects. For them it was entertaining as they somehow could 73 not construe it as ‘real’. They considered the model in the ad, as much a commodity as the product itself. The younger men find such ads more appealing as it draws and holds their attention. They however felt that it was being overdone, and as long as it’s used within limits its okay. Are women buying the message that advertisers are trying to sell ? Interviews with women and men revealed that both place the highest value on happy family life and satisfaction with children. Commercials create an illusion of such happiness. They depict an ideal world, where everything is clear, simple, and requires no effort. They glamorize every day life, making a woman's domestic chores look more beautiful than they really are. It is particularly visible in commercials portraying a vision of a happy family, where the audience is presented with a model couple, surrounded by children and animals, living in a beautiful house. Women filling traditional gender roles find a symbolic, and often only symbolic, gratification in such images. Another risk caused by commercials is that they give a false dimension to a hierarchy of values. Women, to whom commercials are directed, are attacked with spots promoting newer and newer laundry detergents and household cleaning chemicals. Commercials aim to sell new products that hardly differ from others. In a consumer society with a vast array of goods, commercials create needs. Creating the need among the members of a target group becomes the method for a company to reach their objective. Thus, the commercial stimulates not only the need to possess certain things, but also a particular lifestyle. In a patriarchal society, women face a twofolded attack. First, advertisements target women's feeling of responsibility; second, they appeal to women's traditional mission to guard cleanliness, just as they should guard their homes. Only a sterile bathroom and kitchen prove their fulfillment of the socially accepted roles of mother and housewife Women have accepted this message. 74 Implications for practitioners The implications for practitioners can be seen as advise to advertisers – within companies or on external advertising agencies. The following implications are based on the empirical data, analysis and conclusions conducted during this study. They are focusing on perceptions and views among Indian consumers that may affect the way advertising messages are received and decoded, and also some possible feedback that advertisers should consider. When targeting women, advertisers should be aware of that their tolerance for sexual appeals in advertising is lower than men’s, and also that they interpret the content of the advertising image in more detail than men do. There is however a larger chance that an ad containing a nude model is viewed as ethically correct if the viewer is of the opposite sex, which means that a female target audience will appreciate sexual appeals more if the advertising shows a man rather than a woman. The opposite is also true, that is, men are more positive to female nudity in advertising than women are. Moreover, it is good to know that if the sexual allusions in the advertisement make a sensual impression, both men and women regard it as tasteful. Advertisers should also avoid using sexual appeals when there is no natural connection between the advertised product and these appeals, as the risk is large that the advertisement will be perceived as ridiculous and/or unethical. The use of humour in combination with sexual appeals can be recommended (if done tastefully), as it may contribute to make the advertising less ethically sensitive and also raise curiosity about the advertised product. Advertisers should be careful with which body ideals they promote through advertising, as both men and women, but especially very young women, frequently compare themselves with idealized images in advertising. The influence exerted by body ideals in advertising seems to be larger during teenage and adolescence, when girls and boys seek ideals to identify themselves with. The sensitivity of young people may result in that the current body ideals in advertising influence them to diet and exercise excessively, thus increasing the risk for eating disorders. Therefore, advertisers should choose media 75 vehicle carefully, in order not to expose sensitive groups to thin body ideals. Another issue regarding the choice of media is that advertising in television has a much higher penetrative power than print media. It is therefore more likely that a negative debate arises if the TV advertising is perceived as unethical. Thus, advertisers should be especially careful when promoting products through TV commercials. In general, there is a risk of drop of sales or entire boycotting of the advertised product if people perceive the advertising as unethical. 76 Appendix INTERVIEW GUIDE RQ 1: How do think women are portrayed in TV commercials? What is your opinion about the following statements/theories? - Males are more favourable than females to ads containing female nudity, but females are also more favourable than are males toward an ad containing a nude male - Women hold a significantly more negative attitude toward strong overt sexual appeals in advertising than men - Sex appeals in advertising are acceptable if done tastefully - Many people think that there is too much sex in advertising - Women may dismiss idealized (that is, thin) models in advertising as not relevant for comparison. In contrast, it is also said to be usual and normal for adolescent girls and young women to compare their bodies with advertised images - Average looking models might be a better choice than idealized models in ads, in terms of attracting attention and influencing purchases Would you like to add anything regarding this topic? RQ 2: How can the risks/disadvantages with portraying women in this manner ? What is your opinion about the following statements/theories? - Offending the public can result in a drop of sales or even a boycotting of the advertised product - It is relatively common that women and men feel that sexually charged ads can promote sexual harassment - Sexual appeals in advertising seem to interfere with message comprehension, which means that they rarely encourage curiosity about the product 77 - The risk of not making a selling impression is even higher if the sexual appeal is not relevant to the advertised product - Sexually explicit advertising that is mixed with violence may contribute to sexual violence and hostility toward women - Due to the increasing norm of thinness in advertising, women consistently perceive themselves as overweight and want to be thinner. They also overestimate both men’s and other women’s preferences for female thinness - Advertising that portray especially attractive, athletic or muscular men may cause men to feel insecure about their bodies - The use of thin models in advertising is partly to blame for the increasing incidence of eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, as it works as a catalyst for such diseases Would you like to add anything regarding this topic? 78 Appendix – 2 79 Appendex – 3 80 Bibliography Books 1. “Off the beaten track- rethinking gender justice for Indian women”-Madhu Kishwar 2. “Embodiment”-Meenakshi Thapan 3. “Transnational Television: When STAR came to India”-Melissa Butcher 4. “Identity and Difference”-Kathryn Woodward 5. “Gendered Lives”-Julia T. Woodward 6. “Feminist Terrains In Legal Domain”- Ratna Kapur 7. “Bridging World”-Sally J.M. Sutherland 8. “From Independence towards Freedom”-Bharati Ray and Aparna Basu 9. “From Myth to Markets”- Kumkum Sangari and Uma Chakravarti 10. “Women Television and Rural Dvelopment” – Binod Agarwal and Kumkum Rai Television. Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies Feminist Theory and Television Studies – Laura Stempel Mumford 11. “Feminism, Multiculturalism and the Media – Global Diversities” – Edited by Angharad N Valdivia 12. “Whose news ? the media and women's issues”-edited by Ammu Joseph and Kalpana Sharma 13. “Turning it on : a reader in women and media”- edited by Helen Baehr and Ann Gray 81 Articles 1. “Mirror of Society”- Suchitra Behal (The Hindu, January 6, 2000) 2. Dangerous Desires: Television and Erotics in Late Twentieth- Century India - PURNIMA MANKEKAR Websites 1. http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/iiasn5/munshi.html 2. http://www.hindu.com/br/2005/01/04/stories/2005010400291500.htm 3. http://www.sancharika.org/sas_activities/spotlight.htm 82