Cultural Representation of Female Images in Advertising

Women’s cultural representation in advertising has been a hot research subject for decades, in which most researches focus on the utilizing inappropriate and degrading stereotypes. The paper studies these issues in cultural perspective to represent diverse views, draws upon discussion and empirical evidence from gender studies, consumer research, media studies and advertising studies. This paper explores how contemporary advertising defines female identity in magazines and how advertising strategies contribute to illustrations of femininity and female roles. With critical discourse analysis, the paper concludes that the strong side of the time like advertising agencies and associated global mega-brands plays critical roles in defining femininity and beauty in a culture.