Cognitive Approach to the Stereotypical Placement of Women in Visual Advertising Space

This article conceptualizes the image of women in the sexist advertisements of the 1950s and 60s and in current advertising discourse by combining the research traditions of both cognitive linguistics and semiotic image analysis. The aim of the research is to try to evaluate how canonical positionin...

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Main Author: Simona Amankevičiūtė
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Vilnius University 2013-10-01
Series:Respectus Philologicus
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.journals.vu.lt/respectus-philologicus/article/view/13820
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author Simona Amankevičiūtė
author_facet Simona Amankevičiūtė
author_sort Simona Amankevičiūtė
collection DOAJ
description This article conceptualizes the image of women in the sexist advertisements of the 1950s and 60s and in current advertising discourse by combining the research traditions of both cognitive linguistics and semiotic image analysis. The aim of the research is to try to evaluate how canonical positionings of women in the hyperreality of advertisements may slip into everyday discourse (stereotype space) and to present an interpretation of the creators’ visual lexicon. It is presumed that the traditional (formed by feminist linguists) approach to sexist advertising as an expression of an androcentric worldview in culture may be considered too subjectively critical. This study complements an interpretation of women’s social roles in advertising with cognitive linguistic insights on the subject’s (woman’s) visualisation and positioning in ad space. The article briefly overviews the feminist approach to women’s place in public discourse, and discusses the relevance of Goffman’s Gender Studies to an investigation of women’s images in advertising. The scholar’s contribution to adapting cognitive frame theory for an investigation of visuals in advertising is also discussed. The analysed ads were divided into three groups by Goffman’s classification, according to the concrete visuals used to represent women’s bodies or parts thereof: dismemberment, commodification, and subordination ritual. The classified stereotypical images of women’s bodies are discussed as visual metonymy, visual metaphor, and image schemas.
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spelling doaj.art-65dc3e85e89445b6afecd762aeae34042022-12-22T02:37:36ZengVilnius UniversityRespectus Philologicus1392-82952335-23882013-10-01242910.15388/RESPECTUS.2013.24.29.9Cognitive Approach to the Stereotypical Placement of Women in Visual Advertising SpaceSimona Amankevičiūtė0Vilnius University, LithuaniaThis article conceptualizes the image of women in the sexist advertisements of the 1950s and 60s and in current advertising discourse by combining the research traditions of both cognitive linguistics and semiotic image analysis. The aim of the research is to try to evaluate how canonical positionings of women in the hyperreality of advertisements may slip into everyday discourse (stereotype space) and to present an interpretation of the creators’ visual lexicon. It is presumed that the traditional (formed by feminist linguists) approach to sexist advertising as an expression of an androcentric worldview in culture may be considered too subjectively critical. This study complements an interpretation of women’s social roles in advertising with cognitive linguistic insights on the subject’s (woman’s) visualisation and positioning in ad space. The article briefly overviews the feminist approach to women’s place in public discourse, and discusses the relevance of Goffman’s Gender Studies to an investigation of women’s images in advertising. The scholar’s contribution to adapting cognitive frame theory for an investigation of visuals in advertising is also discussed. The analysed ads were divided into three groups by Goffman’s classification, according to the concrete visuals used to represent women’s bodies or parts thereof: dismemberment, commodification, and subordination ritual. The classified stereotypical images of women’s bodies are discussed as visual metonymy, visual metaphor, and image schemas.http://www.journals.vu.lt/respectus-philologicus/article/view/13820Cognitive LinguisticsAdvertisementSex and GenderWomanSexism
spellingShingle Simona Amankevičiūtė
Cognitive Approach to the Stereotypical Placement of Women in Visual Advertising Space
Respectus Philologicus
Cognitive Linguistics
Advertisement
Sex and Gender
Woman
Sexism
title Cognitive Approach to the Stereotypical Placement of Women in Visual Advertising Space
title_full Cognitive Approach to the Stereotypical Placement of Women in Visual Advertising Space
title_fullStr Cognitive Approach to the Stereotypical Placement of Women in Visual Advertising Space
title_full_unstemmed Cognitive Approach to the Stereotypical Placement of Women in Visual Advertising Space
title_short Cognitive Approach to the Stereotypical Placement of Women in Visual Advertising Space
title_sort cognitive approach to the stereotypical placement of women in visual advertising space
topic Cognitive Linguistics
Advertisement
Sex and Gender
Woman
Sexism
url http://www.journals.vu.lt/respectus-philologicus/article/view/13820
work_keys_str_mv AT simonaamankeviciute cognitiveapproachtothestereotypicalplacementofwomeninvisualadvertisingspace