Gender Portrayal in a Fashion Advertisement

In this Dolce and Gabbana ad, a woman is portrayed in a powerless position, held by a muscular man while four other men watch this center act. To start with, clothes and the lack of clothes at times set the tone for this ad as a rather sexually charged one with two topless, muscular male models surrounded by men with shirts that give the impression of being used and sweated on. Adding on to the idea of being submissive, the woman is dressed in a leather bodysuit and incredibly high heels that underscore the norm of man having more power than woman.

This type gender norm reinforcement is actually very common and as Jean Kilbourne shows how this type of painfully wrong way of thinking is deeply engrained in our society, especially in this digital age where we are almost bombarded by advertisements. To reflect back on to this Dolce and Gabbana ad, I believe the mood is set in a way that these oiled up, muscular men in almost worn-out clothes are taking control of this woman that is dressed up to entertain them. Also, the use of heavy denim jeans is another pointer to the issue of men being the work force, being the primary provider to its family while women is supposed do makeup and look all nice for their hardworking husbands. Consequently, I believe this abuse of the power of media is incredibly unacceptable yet we are still subjected to it as it conforms to norm and reinforces the same faulty ideals.

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