Abstract
This paper is a feminist rhetorical analysis of reified gender roles in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements that examines a myriad of pictorial and textual portrayals of women. The analysis commences with a cursory review of traditional depictions of women in advertising and proceeds to compare this pre-existing rhetoric with twelve DTC advertisements found in four magazines. I conclude that DTC advertisers continue to use the traditional "good woman" image in addition to commodity feminism. Although advertisers occasionally challenge gender roles and include women of color, these images are often underrepresented and overshadowed by traditional images of gender.
Journal Title
Iowa Journal of Communication
Volume
40
Issue
2
First Page
141
Last Page
154
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Defenbaugh, Nicole L.
(2008)
"Housewives, Athletes, and Smiling Menopausal Women: An Analysis of Female Gender Roles in DTC Advertising,"
Iowa Journal of Communication: Vol. 40:
No.
2, Article 3.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/ijc/vol40/iss2/3
Copyright
©2008 Iowa Communication Association
