Research Symposium

BIO

Currently pursuing a degree in Digital Media Production at Florida State University with a minor in International Affairs. After growing up abroad and allows being creative, I plan on combining my two passions in my future to do something with international media.

Are Women in Ads Really Empowered? What Hair Tells Us

Abstract

This qualitative textual analysis questions the “empowered female”
discourse suggested in “femvertising” specifically focusing on the
development of hair representation amongst women of color in
comparison to their White counterparts. Using Goffman’s Gender
Advertisements as the theoretical framework for coding female
adverts’ non-verbal communication cues over time, it can be
inquired whether or not women are more empowered in the current
state of contemporary commercialism in terms of their roles and
non-verbal behaviors. Our preliminary findings show that there has
been progress made in the depiction of females’ nonverbal
behaviors that has revealed more independence than what Goffman
did in 1988. However, the analysis found that black females’ hair
portrayals still demonstrate stereotypes of black women’s natural
hair and its negative connotations embedded in western culture.

Keywords: Advertisements, Media, Representation