Gender in Advertising

Visual Media In this Schlitz ad, the woman’s head and shoulders appear in the lower half of the picture; the man towers over her, his full head, shoulders and one arm reaching out behind her head. Her head is tilted up and back so that she can look adoringly into his eyes. She is not depicted as being smaller than the man, and they appear to be upper-class—so this is in keeping with Goffman’s (1979) “relative size” element.

However, she is situated in an subordinating role: she is clutching a gift just under her chin with both hands—apparently he has given it to her and she is now like a pleased child, so thankful to the man who looks out for her and watches over her. The image indicates that he is a good protector.

This conforms to Goffman’s (1979) element of the “ritualization of subordination.” Though she is clutching the present tightly, she is doing so in a feminine way, so the feminine touch is present—i.e., she is holding it close to her bosom as though to express how meaningful it is to her.

And while the two are not engaged in completing a task, the man is still positioned in the executive role, as he stands above the woman, his arm over the back of the chair as though he were in possession of it and of all things, and happiness alone depended on his beneficence.

There are no children in the picture and the man is not keeping a great deal of distance between himself and the woman—though he is not cuddling up with her, and the glass of Schlitz beer is in between them, indicating that the beer itself can help to serve as a barrier and keep a man from becoming too effeminate or domesticated. In.