Representation of Women in Advertisements - EMU I-REP - Eastern

154 Pages·2011·31.64 MB·English

Representation of Women in Advertisements: A
Semiotic Analysis of Women in North Cyprus Life
Style Magazines

Damla Nailer

Submitted to the
Institute of Graduate Studies and Research
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts
in
Communication and Media Studies

Eastern Mediterranean University
July 2011
Gazimağusa, North Cyprus
Approval of the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research

Prof. Dr. Elvan Y ılmaz
Director

I certify that this thesis satisfies the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master
of Arts in Communication and Media Studies.

Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan
Chair, Department of Communication and Media Studies

We certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate in
scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication and
Media Studies.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hanife Aliefendioğlu
Supervisor

Examining Committee
1. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hanife Aliefendioğlu
2. Asst. Prof. Dr. Mashoed Bailie
3. Asst. Prof. Dr. Ülfet Kutoğlu Kuruç
ABSTRACT
Mass media project various representations of gender. Women are represented within
different roles in media outlets. Advertisements as a type of media tools include
various representation of gender. To convince the audiences to buy the product or
service, advertisements present recognizable and acceptable images. Therefore, they
create models to encourage people to look like them. It might be possible to say that
in addition to the advertised products or services, advertisements also try to sell
images.
This study examines the representation of women in advertisements in two life style
magazines of North Cyprus. The textual and semiotic analyses are methods used to
evaluate how women are represented in the advertisements of North Cyprus
Magazine-Home and Zoom to find out whether there are any mis-representations of
gender images.
In spite of the new emergence of life style magazines in North Cyprus, almost all
sexist representations covered in advertisements are recognizable. It is possible to
argue that most of women representations are portrayed through traditional roles
such as mother, spouse or partner, in contrast to the few non-traditional roles like
minister, director, or technical positions in the advertisements. Moreover, the pattern
of being a beautiful and sexy woman is already shaped by these women images of
advertisements.
If this study accomplishes what it has set out to do, the considerations and comments
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on women made here may be helpful for the further construction of gender
representations in mass media.

Keywords: Mass media, representation, gender, woman, semiotic analysis, textual
analysis.
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ÖZ
Kitlesel medya çeşitli cinsiyet temsilleri sunmaktadır. Kadınlar farklı rollerle medya
kalıplarında sunulmaktadır. Bir medya aracı olan reklamlar da çeşitli kadın temsilleri
içermektedir. Ürünü veya servisi sat ın almalar ına tüketicileri ikna etmek için
reklamlar tanımlanabilir ve kabuledilebilir imajlar sunmaktad ır. Yani, insanlar ı bu
imajlar gibi görünmeye özendirmek için modeller yarat ıyorlar. Şunu söylemek
mümkün olabilir ki; reklam ı yapılan ürün ve servislerin yan ı sıra, imaj da satmaya
çalışıyorlar.
Bu çalışma, Kuzey Kıbrıs’ta yayınlanan iki yaşam stili dergisinin reklamlarında yer
alan kad ın temsillerini gözden geçirmektedir. Metin analizi ve göstergebilimsel
analiz, North Cyprus Magazine-Home ve Zoom dergilerinde kadınların nasıl temsil
edildiğini de ğerlendirmek ve ayr ıca bu reklamlarda herhangi bir eksik cinsiyet
temsili olup olmadığını bulmak için kullanılan iki yöntemdir.
Eğer bu çal ışma amaçlar ını ba şarırsa, bu çal ışmada kad ınlar üzerine geli ştirilen
fikirler ilerde medyada yap ılandırılacak olan cinsiyet temsillerinin yap ılanmasına
yardımcı olabilir.
Magazin basını Kuzey Kıbrıs’ta çok yeni ortaya çıktığı halde reklamlardaki her türlü
cinsiyetçi imaj ı görmek mümkündür. Kad ınların bakanl ık, Teknik i şler ve
yöneticilikten çok anne ve e ş gibi geleneksel rollerde görüldü ğünü tart ışmak
mümkündür. Ancak her türlü temsil kad ınların güzellik ve seksili ği etraf ında
örülmektedir.
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Eğer bu çalışma amacına ulaşırsa kadınlar hakkında dile getirilen sorun ve yorumlar
kitle iletişiminde toplumsal cinsiyet temsilinin kurulmasında katkısı olacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Kitlesel medya, temsil, cinsiyet, kadın, göstergebilimsel analiz,
metin analizi
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DEDICATION

Special thanks to my family who supported me in many ways in
the preparation process of this study
Without your unconditional love and help, I could not be here
today.

This thesis is dedicated to:
My father, Hasan Nailer
My mother, Hatice Nailer
My brother, Ali Nailer
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to appreciate my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hanife Aliefendio ğlu for
her constructive guidance and criticism to build up and finish this thesis in the most
encouraging way. It has been such an honorable pleasure for me to study with her
throughout this important process. She has perfectly guided me all along the way and
helped me to construct a better project.
I would also like to acknowledge Asst. Prof. Dr. Ülfet Kutoğlu Kuruç and Asst. Prof.
Dr. Mashoed Bailey for their professional collaboration and contribution. Their
supportive ideas helped me to strengthen this study.
I thank to Üstün Reinart for sharing her knowledge in the correction process of
grammar of the thesis. I also appreciate Shahryar Mirzaalikhani for his grate help and
support to complete this thesis.
I am also grateful for the encouragement and support that I have received from the
faculty, friends, and family while preparing this thesis. Their respect for education
has encouraged me to complete this study.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ iii
ÖZ ................................................................................................................................ v
DEDICATION ........................................................................................................... vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................ viii
1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the Study .................................................................................. 1
1.2 Research Questions and the Problem of the Study .......................................... 2
1.3 The Hypothesis of the Study ............................................................................ 2
1.4 The Purpose of the Study ................................................................................. 3
1.5 The Limitations of the Study ........................................................................... 4
1.6 The Relevance of the Study ............................................................................. 5
2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................... 6
2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Culture in Cultural Studies ............................................................................... 8
2.3 Representation ................................................................................................ 12
2.4 Gender Identity and Patriarchal Structure ...................................................... 15
2.5 History of Advertising ................................................................................... 18
2.6 Women in Advertising ................................................................................... 19
2.7 Semiotics ........................................................................................................ 29
2.7.1 The History of Semiotics ....................................................................... 30
2.7.2 The Key Concepts of Semiotics ............................................................. 31
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3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 43
3.1 Background Information on Two Life Style Magazines in North Cyprus..... 43
3.1.1 North Cyprus Magazine and Home ....................................................... 44
3.1.2 Zoom ...................................................................................................... 47
3.2 Interview ........................................................................................................ 49
3.3 Textual Analysis............................................................................................. 51
3.4 Semiotic Analysis .......................................................................................... 52
4. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS ........................................................................... 59
4.1 Companionship Myth ..................................................................................... 60
4.1.1 Family in Advertisements ...................................................................... 61
4.1.2 Marriage Advertisements ....................................................................... 67
4.1.3 The Myth of the Couple ......................................................................... 71
4.2 The Domestic vs the Public Sphere ............................................................... 73
4.3 The Western Beauty Myth ............................................................................. 76
4.4 Woman in Career/Power (The Self-Confident Myth) .................................... 81
4.4.1 Traditional Career Woman ..................................................................... 82
4.4.2 Non–Traditional Career Woman ............................................................ 83
4.5 Woman as an Accessory ................................................................................ 84
4.6 The Fragmented Woman’s Body ................................................................... 86
4.7 Residence of Woman / Woman in Prominent Roles ...................................... 88
5. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 90
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 96
APPENDICES ......................................................................................................... 100
APPENDIX A: ADVERTISEMENTS .................................................................... 101
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