BIO

My name is Alejandra Mejia, and I am a second-year student at Florida State University majoring in Media/Communication Studies and Economics. I am originally from Lima, Peru and then moved to Hollywood, Florida.

With the School of Communications at Florida State University, we conducted research analyzing modern magazine advertisements for how they represent women through their hair and non-verbal behavior. Then, we analyzed how they were being represented using Goffman’s gender analysis in advertisements.

I have been the social media chair for Script2Screen to continue to bring information for our weekly meetings in scriptwriting . I work as a Social Media & Connections Intern with Transfer Student Services, collecting information from students to be spotlighted and multiple communication material for transfer student events. I worked as a student organizer with UN-PAC, spreading the message to pass a set of Youth Power Reforms within FSU.

Additionally, I am a Southern Scholarship Foundation Recipient, living in a collaborative living house rent-free near FSU, and I am involved within my house as Media Coordinator. I have participated in FSUShadow opportunities for Summer 2023 and Spring Break 2024, and will go with FSU International Programs this summer to London to learn about documentary filmmaking.

Gender Stereotypes in Media Advertisements​

Abstract

Although women’s hair in magazine advertising has evolved throughout the years to include multiple ethnicities and hair texture, in the beginning there were trends of stereotypes being portrayed. Previous literature about advertising and magazine advertisements show the presentation of women’s image and societal position, there is a movement towards “racial grammar” and the overall shape, texture and style it presents.The analysis involved gendered representations of non verbal behaviors from print advertisements. The textual analysis was performed through the framework of Erving Goffman’s gender advertisement with representation. For some, hair is a very special identifier and something that represents people’s identity and image..The different categories were: relative size, feminine touch, function ranking, family scenes, ritualization of subordination, and licensed withdrawal. With this framework, the research team were able to quantify and analyze the advertisement through a specific set of ideas. There has been analysis of the current presentation of women in advertisement but not in concentration with hair. Some of the current trends seen in the preliminary stages of the research were of black women’s natural hair in association with difficult situations, blond women shown as always relying on someone and brunettes as independent with expertise. In communications, working towards more diversity and realizing what messages are being sent to the public will be beneficial to lead. Through analyzing and identifying these trends, advertisers can be more conscious of what is being shown and have a previous screening of bias and gender advertisement.

Keywords: Magazines, women, advertisement, communication