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=Gender Advertisements=

This book was written by Erving Goffman during the 1970's. In this book, he suggests that there is a clear pattern of gender representation in advertisements. Richard W. Pollay explains Goffman focused on the hyper-ritualizations of society's concept of gender in advertisements.

Relative Size
"Relative size" is the portrayal of social standing through height, stance, placement, ect. It is a representation of power through size. Usually, the man is taller or bigger than his woman counterparts or positioned to look bigger.

Feminine Touch
"Feminine Touch" is the barely functional touch women use in advertising. When a woman is pictured holding something, she is just barely touching it, it is more like a caress.

Family
Goffman argues there is a clear depiction of a stereotypical family in advertisements. "The Family" is often seen as a Nuclear Family, which is a heterosexual couple with a daughter and son. The father is arguably seen off to the side watching over the wife and kids.

Function Ranking
Women are commonly found in less important roles in advertisements and that is Goffman's theory of "Function Ranking". Men oftentimes are pictured as a leader to a woman. In a review written by Edward Bernays, he points out men are usually instructing women and this is "true also in photographs of children"

Licensed Withdrawal
"Licensed Withdrawal" is how advertisements contain women looking off into the distance like they're outside of reality. Women are posed as not knowing what is going on around them.

Ritualization of Subordination
Advertisements that have women pose on the ground or laying on a bed are guilty of "Ritualization of Subordination". It creates the assumption that women are powerless and are there to submit to a man rendering them subordinate.