Secret sexism in advertising

Marketing experts Philippa Roberts and Jane Cunningham explain how the male gaze still pervades the advertising we consume

Women make at least 70% of all consumer purchases worldwide and are the most valuable and resourceful target audience on earth – so it’s no surprise that the average woman sees up to 10,000 marketing messages a day. Messages that have a huge influence over the way women see themselves and how they get seen. But while overt sexism and female objectification in advertising is rare now, this has been replaced by ‘femvertising’; marketing messages that use a feminist narrative instead. Unfortunately, this is just a new way to conceal the same sexist messages as before. Women are still being told they should care about how nice their hair is, how clear their skin is and how clean their house is, but when dressed up with a sprinkling of ‘girl power’, we’re fooled into viewing these campaigns as progressive.

● We’re no longer sold things in bright pink packaging, but still most packaging (particularly in cosmetics and personal care) comes in pastel shades with decorative designs – to suggest women are gentle, kind and pleasing, while monochromatic, straightforward designs for men suggest that they are, by contrast, powerful, busy and bold.

● Brands that once told us we need to lose weight now tell us we need to stay ‘well’ and use implicit rather than explicit criticism. Products are not ‘age defying’ but ‘pro-ageing’ or ‘ageless’. Skin doesn’t need skin lightening, it needs brightening.

● Brands that once said we need to alter our appearance, now tell us it’s our outlook and our attitude that needs to change, be strong; be bold; don’t say sorry. The message has shifted from how we look to how we behave but the underlying message is the same: be better.

● Despite the fact that threequarters of women now work

outside the home in the UK, household and home care products are still overwhelming targeted at ‘housewives with kids’.

● Although fewer women believe that having children will replace their careers, almost all baby care ads still feature women as the primary carer.

● Even though women over 50 represent the biggest audience in volume and value in the UK, only 1 in 10 women in advertising fit that age bracket.

● Fewer women than ever before prioritise starting a relationship over their friends and their work, yet marketing – with its huge spend on make-up, fashion and skincare brands – continues to tell them it’s how attractive they are to men that matters most.

So while it’s nice to hear that the world is your oyster, the underlying messages in marketing remain depressingly similar: #Whatyouareisnotenough #Youneedtofixyourself