SPEGLA VERKLIGHETEN ELLER DET VACKRA, LYCKLIGA LIVET? En kvantitativ studie om medelålders kvinnors attityder till normbrytande- och stereotypisk kvinnlig klädreklam.

Abstract

Executive summary The advertising industry is growing more than ever and is thought to be one of the most influential institutions in society by some researchers. What’s even more interesting is the connection between advertising and its tremendous effects on individuals as well as society at whole. Among these effects there has been a liaison between media portraits and mostly young women's well-being. Some suppose that the increasing level of eating disorders and inferior self-esteem is a result of a lacking width of representation, especially in advertising. One of the things advertising practitioners have been most criticized for is reinforcing and maintaining impossible beauty standards, that is putting a lot of pressure on particularly women. Due to the increasing level of attention facing the advertising industry there has been a large body of research facing the topic. What’s been frequently highlighted is the way societal norms take expression in advertising where advertising stereotypes have been examined. There’s a wide span of stereotypical descriptions in advertising where gender roles, body image and occupational roles are salient for women. Research shows that women particularly are more negative to stereotypical portrayals in advertising and therefore are more prone to develop a negative attitude towards it. As a result of the critique, the growing industry or the third wave of feminism, a new type of advertising is emerging in our society. Among the depictions there’s a new range of representation with the purpose to break free from obsolete presentations where femvertising is a mentioned phenomenon. The new type of advertising is going under a norm critical concept that this study will refer to as femvertising. Femvertising is embossed with messages aiming to empower women and seeks to represent a greater width of womens body, while including different ages and ethnicity. Due to the ongoing change in media and brand related messages the research field has started to investigate the effects of femvertising. Research shows that women who are exposed to norm-breaking portrayals are more positive to the advertisement which also influences their attitudes. The area of research about advertising and its effects are focusing on younger women, this study will therefore aim to explore an identified gap in the field concerning middle aged women. Earlier research states that middle aged women don't experience the same negative effects of stereotypical advertisement