Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The Language of Cosmetics Advertising pp 59–79Cite as

Femininity as a Sensual Identity

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 2064 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter examines how cosmetics advertisements connect femininity to sensuality. Key debates surrounding sensual and/or sexual representations of the female body in media discourse are addressed. The chapter moves on to explore sensual discourse that describes cosmetic products’ qualities, actions, and effects, in addition to visual signifiers of sensuality such as parted lips, nudity, and the use of sensory modality in product images. The chapter compares and contrasts sensual advertising discourse in English and French contexts, with a particular emphasis on nudity across cultures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Attwood, F. (2009). Mainstreaming sex: The sexualisation of Western culture. New York: IB Tauris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banyard, K. (2011). The equality illusion: The truth about men and women today. London: Faber and Faber.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beauvoir, S. de. (1997). The second sex (Translated from the French by Parshley, H. Original French version 1949). London: Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bednarek, M. (2009). Language patterns and attitude. Functions of Language, 16(2), 165–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beetles, A., & Harris, L. (2005). Consumer attitudes to female nudity in advertising: An empirical study. Marketing Theory, 5(4), 397–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benwell, B., & Stokoe, E. (2006). Discourse and identity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biswas, A., Olsen, J., & Carlet, V. (1992). A comparison of print advertisements from the United States and France. Journal of Advertising, 21(4), 73–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckingham, D. (2011). The material child: Growing up in consumer culture. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buckingham, D., & Bragg, S. (2004). Young people, sex and the media: The facts of life? Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Carr-Gomm, P. (2012). A brief history of nakedness. London: Reaktion Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dudley, S. (1999). Consumer attitudes toward nudity in advertising. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 7(4), 89–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durham, M. G. (2009). The Lolita effect: The media sexualisation of young girls and what we can do about it. London: Gerard Duckworth and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forceville, C. (1996). Pictorial metaphor in advertising. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Forceville, C. (2013). The strategic use of the visual mode in advertising metaphors. In E. Djonov & S. Zhao (Eds.), Critical multimodal studies of popular culture (pp. 55–70). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gauntlett, D. (2008). Media, gender and identity: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill, R. (2007). Gender and the media. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill, R. (2009). Supersexualize me! Advertising, (post) feminism and “the midriffs”. In F. Attwood (Ed.), Mainstreaming sex: The sexualisation of Western culture. New York: IB Tauris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Givens, D. (2006). Love signals: A practical field guide to the body language of courtship. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, R. (1992). Reading ads socially. London/New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greer, G. (1971). The female eunuch. London: Paladin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeffries, L. (2007). The textual construction of the female body: A critical discourse analysis approach. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kilbourne, J. (2003). Advertising and disconnection. In T. Reichert & J. Lambiase (Eds.), Sex in advertising: Perspectives on the erotic appeal (pp. 173–180). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading images: The grammar of visual design (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2003). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lazar, M. (2006). “Discover the power of femininity!” Analysing global “power femininity” in local advertising. Feminist Media Studies: New Femininities, 6(4), 505–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, A. (2006). Female chauvinist pigs: Women and the rise of raunch culture. London: Pocket.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd-Elliot, M. (2005). The secrets of sexual body language. London: Hamlyn.

    Google Scholar 

  • Machin, D., & Thornborrow, J. (2003). Branding and discourse: The case of Cos-mopolitan. Discourse and Society, 1(4), 453–471.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manceau, D., & Tissier-Desbordes, E. (2006). Are sex and death taboos in advertising? An analysis of taboos in advertising and a survey of French consumer perceptions. International Journal of Advertising, 25(1), 9–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, J., & White, P. (2005). The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McNair, B. (2002). Striptease culture: Sex, media and the democratization of desire. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mills, S. (1995). Feminist stylistics. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orbach, S. (2010). Bodies. London: Profile.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orenstein, P. (2011). Cinderella ate my daughter. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Penny, L. (2011). Meat market: Female flesh under capitalism. London: Zero Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Leeuwen, T. (2005). Introducing social semiotics. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walter, N. (2010). Living dolls: The return of sexism. London: Virago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waters, M. (2007). Sexing it up? Women, pornography and third wave feminism. In S. Gillis, G. Howie, & R. Munford (Eds.), Third wave feminism: A critical exploration (2nd ed., pp. 250–265). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, N. (1991). The beauty myth: How images of beauty are used against women. London: Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Languages and Area Studies, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

    Helen Ringrow

Authors
  1. Helen Ringrow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Ringrow, H. (2016). Femininity as a Sensual Identity. In: The Language of Cosmetics Advertising. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55798-8_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55798-8_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-55797-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-55798-8

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation