Codes of Gender

It's funny how we find the methods of advertisements normal.


In advertisements, the codes of gender are easily identified and ads are something all of us are familiar with which makes it easier to explain. 

Females in ads are always portrayed in a very vulnerable manner.

Hands:In advertisements, women are in most case touching themselves in such a way that they are bodies seem to be something fragile and vulnerable. When featuring an object, they seem to lightly stroke or barely hold the object. This gives that they are not in control of the object, in fact its as if the object is controlling the female.

Females in ads are also shown to be unaware of their surroundings to a point where they sometimes seem to be dead.

They are always in unusual positions that seem to be distorted and are sometimes shown doing things young girls such as putting the finger in the mouth as if they are nervous.

This is an example that shows that women don't necessarily leave girlhood.

With males, its the exact opposite. They are shown in such a way that they are in control.

They are always focused and are aware of their surroundings.

They are always ready for action. This also shows that boys need to prove that they are ready for manhood. With their hands, they are always in control of whatever it is that they are holding.

When both men and women are together, we can clearly see that men are always aware and alert of what happens around them whereas with the women that's not the case. Its as if the male is in charge of everything and the woman is just there to "serve" if I should say.

These all seem very normal until a male does what the females do and the same for females as well. This is where we can easily identify that the things done in advertisements are not as normal as we think they are.

For example, the male in the picture above would be considered gay and not masculine enough to be a so called "real man".

This should make you think an ask yourself what a real man is.

In fact, what is a real man?