The Visual Representation of Gender in Advertising Images

The purpose of this work is to examine the visual representation of gender in advertising images published by the fashion company American Apparel. Advertising images as socially meaningful materials construct, reflect, and transform notions of femininity and masculinity in society. The study includes an archaeological approach which generates data from archived advertising material of American Apparel. Due to the qualitative nature of the study only limited material is required which is subsequently interpreted through applying a discourse analysis. With respect to this, six advertisements are analysed in order to explore the visual construction gender. This book contributes to extent previous work of gender representation by examining the female and male body as a discursive effect by providing an understanding for advertising meaning inherent in images. Consequently, it shows the importance to recognize that advertising imagery, as a signifying practice, impacts cultural and individual conceptions of gender.