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Learning to Sell Sex(ism) pp 1–15Cite as

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Introduction

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Abstract

On the day that I interviewed Pauline, an advertising art director, who told me that her male creative director ‘hates the way men are always or quite often perceived to be the bumbling idiot in ads next to the woman …who is the smart, logical one’, the comment was significant for the fact that it mirrored a belief expressed by a number of the advertising students who participated in this study, and who likewise felt that advertising’s representation of men has become increasingly problematic. Indeed, these students referred to the trend of misandrist advertising as one of notable concern. Such a conviction, among others, clearly warranted closer scrutiny.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Pseudonyms are used throughout for all research participants, unless otherwise stated.

  2. 2.

    From the outset, it should be noted that the position taken herein in relation to ‘gender’ is one of critique, and sits within a radical feminist interrogation of the concept. As such, where the concept of gender is used and referred to, it is not value free; rather, inherent in its use is a challenge to the concept. Radical feminism’s theorisation of gender is further discussed elsewhere.

  3. 3.

    According to UNESCO (2012), gender stereotypes relate to ‘socially constructed beliefs about men and women, often but not necessarily sexist and negative, which ignore complexity and serve to rule out exceptions and choices’ (p. 54). These constructions will vary depending on cultural frame, but, for the purposes of this study, the term refers to contemporary Western society.

  4. 4.

    Allowance, of course, needs to be made for outside influencing factors, such as the desired approach of the client company.

  5. 5.

    Rosalind Gill’s (2007, 2008, 2009a, b) work in this area forms the cornerstone in this book’s consideration of postfeminist gendered imagery in contemporary advertising.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Aileen O’Driscoll

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  1. Aileen O’Driscoll
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O’Driscoll, A. (2019). Introduction. In: Learning to Sell Sex(ism). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94280-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94280-3_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-94279-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-94280-3

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