Post an advertisement for a fashion brand and explain how gender is portrayed through the clothing, models, etc. Does the advertisement reinforce traditional gender norms, or does it subvert (go against) them?
The advertisement I decided to analyze was from a Dolce & Gabbana campaign from 2007, an advertisement that received much back lash and was taken down due to popular opinion of it supposedly depicting “gang rape”.
The ad portrays four men, covered in clothing, for the most part- surrounding a woman being held in what seems like restrained body position, the woman seems to be wearing a tight fitted black bodysuit.
Despite their being so many opinions on this image, I hold the belief that the atmosphere of the advertisement definitely asserts the theme of “control”, “power” and “dominance”. The popularized societal construct of male dominance over women definitely plays a role in identifying gender roles in this advertisement- addressing the patriarchal traditional gender norms.
Using women as “sex objects” has been used time and again for the purposes of marketing in fashion, and other areas of study. Even though the woman is completely clothed in the image, it seems that Dolce & Gabbana is trying to make a statement, by reflecting the status quo- playing with the topic of dominance and submission between the male and female, respectively.
Susan Kaiser, in her book Fashion and Cultural Studies quotes, art theorist, John Berger. Berger writes, “Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves” (Berger 1977: 47). What stood out to me in this quote was Berger mentioning, “Women watch themselves being looked at”. I believe that Berger’s statement is realistic considering that the woman in the image doesn’t seem fully against the overwhelming attention she is getting from the men in the advertisement. The body language in the image of the woman with her body arched up, but face turned away can be a little confusing for the viewer of the image, but it also drives more curiosity towards the narrative in this advertisement. In addition to the three men hovering over, looking at what is happening between main focus being the woman and the man over her. I do believe the man to woman ratio, also plays a big role on my assumption of the theme of this advertisement being dominance.
This isn’t the first or the last time that women are seen as inferior, are being sexualized, or being dominated in the fashion advertising world. I do believe that the backlash D&G received from this advertisement only brought more publicity to the brand, and I think that is a serious topic of conversation- when discussing of how the use of traditional gender norms in society can glamorize topics that are more often than not, looked down upon.
