The Reconstruction of Women’s Images in Virginia Slims Advertisements 英语毕业论文.doc

The Reconstruction of Women’s Images in Virginia Slims Advertisements Virginia Slims is a cigarette brand designed especially for female consumers. Women’s images in the ads are reconstructed which is in contrast to the stereotypical images of women. The representation of women is changing, so is the women’s identity constructed. The stereotypical images of women who are family-centered and male-dependent are demeaning. Ad images now tend to be gender-neutral. Identity is a symbol which produces meaning; women’s identity is reconstructed by the way they wear and the way they present themselves. The changing identity of women means an improved social status. The re-representation and reconstruction of women are pushed by the feminism liberation movements since the beginning of 19th century. The reconstruction of women in the advertisement has a positive effect on the transformation of women’s identity in real life. Women start to be on the road of gaining equality to men. Female stereotypes Jung and Lee believe that women are often sexually objectified and stereotypically portrayed in advertising and media in general. The portrayal of women is mere decorative objects in advertising. In the United States, sexual images of women are found not only in magazines targeting men but also in magazines aimed specifically at women (277), thus helping to promote the self-fulfilling prophecy that woman should accept an objectified view of themselves. “Over time, American women have been represented in the media in more diverse social roles with less overt sexual images. However, empirical research on their media representation claims that, although it may be subtle, women are still shown primarily in submissive roles and as sex objects” (Jung and Lee, 278).Objectification of women is often used as the central organizing term in the analysis of advertisement content, which allows us to pay systematic attention to a variety of behaviors, such as portraying women as sex obj