Advertising has become an integral part of contemporary society that influences consumer behavior and shapes perceptions about various issues, including gender and sexuality. Advertisements featuring queer bodies have become increasingly common, but there is still a lack of research regarding how they impact public opinion on these matters. This essay will analyze how advertisers' portrayal of queer bodies influences societal attitudes towards gender and sexuality and examine the frameworks used to assess this impact critically.
The first framework for analyzing the effectiveness of advertisements is through the lens of social constructionism, which argues that meaning is socially constructed and dependent on language, culture, and power dynamics. According to this theory, advertisements contribute to shaping societal attitudes towards queerness by creating narratives that normalize non-heteronormative identities and behaviors.
Recent ad campaigns featuring transgender models and same-sex couples challenge traditional norms of masculinity and femininity and present them as valid ways of being. By depicting these diverse bodies positively, companies aim to create inclusive spaces for consumers while promoting their products or services.
Another framework that can be used to evaluate advertisements is intersectionality, which considers multiple identities simultaneously. Queer people often experience intersecting oppressions based on race, class, ability, and other factors, so it is crucial to consider how advertisements represent these complex identities. Some advertisements may reinforce existing biases or perpetuate harmful stereotypes rather than challenging them. Take the "Baby Mama" commercial from 2019, in which two men appear to have conceived a baby together without any mention of a female partner - this could perpetuate harmful myths about gay parenthood or ignore the realities of lesbian families.
Some advertisements have successfully highlighted the diversity of experiences within LGBTQ+ communities, such as the "Love Is Love" campaign by Coca-Cola featuring various same-sex relationships and family arrangements.
A third framework for analyzing advertisements is critical discourse analysis (CDA), which examines the power dynamics between advertisers and audiences and the discourses they create around gender and sexuality. CDA looks at how advertisements construct ideologies and social imaginaries that shape public opinion and cultural attitudes. It has been suggested that queer ads may challenge heteronormative assumptions but still rely on binarized gender roles or heterosexual desires.
The Calvin Klein Jeans' "Eternity Now" campaign featured models of various genders and sexualities kissing one another, implying that love knows no boundaries. Still, the commercial relied on traditional notions of beauty and romanticism, emphasizing hetero-normativity while promoting a product.
Despite these frameworks, it remains challenging to assess the impact of advertising on societal attitudes towards queerness accurately. Many studies focus on surveys or interviews with specific demographics rather than the broader population.
Self-reported data can be biased or influenced by external factors like political climate or personal opinions. The effectiveness of advertisements also depends on several variables, including target audience, media platform, and message content.
This essay has explored three frameworks for evaluating advertisements that portray queer bodies: social constructionism, intersectionality, and critical discourse analysis. While there are benefits to depicting non-heteronormative identities in advertisements, such as increased representation and awareness, care must be taken to avoid perpetuating harmful stereotypes or reinforcing existing biases. Advertisers should consider the complexities of identity when creating messages about gender and sexuality, and researchers should continue investigating how these images affect public opinion and cultural norms.
How do advertisers' portrayals of queer bodies influence societal attitudes toward gender and sexuality, and what frameworks assess their impact critically?
Advertisements have historically been used as a means for reinforcing traditional gender roles and heteronormative ideologies that prioritize conformity to rigid standards of masculinity and femininity (Garrett & Anderson 2014). In recent years, however, there has been an increasing presence of advertisements featuring queer bodies in mainstream media, which may serve to challenge these norms and broaden society's understanding of gender and sexuality.