Codes of Gender

How do you define sex and gender? Do they have the same meaning?

Why did Goffman focus on advertisements?

How are female hands commonly displayed in advertising? What are the common characteristics of these displays? What about men? What are the common ways male hands get displayed in advertising?

What are the characteristics of female sexuality as decoded by Goffman?

What is a “canting” posture? Woman’s head lifted upwards? Infantilization?

A recent study found that men convicted of physically assaulting women chose their victims partially based on body posture and non-verbal cues. According to Jhally, these body postures mirrored the gender displays in commercial advertising. What’s the point of Jhally’s comparison here? Is he blaming advertising images for men’s violence against women? Or is he saying something more subtle?

Jhally believes this is an extremely problematic portrayal of women. Why? Is it possible that these images are simply what we naturally consider sexy and that’s why they are so prevalent in commercial photography? Or do you think advertising plays a role in shaping ideas and ideals that some people consider to be “natural”?

Jhally asserts that masculinity “is defined through what it is not – through its opposite – meaning what the culture defines as feminine.” What does he mean? What are some ways this definition through absence manifests itself in advertising? How about in the wider culture? How about in the actual day-to-day world around you?

What are some of the reasons female athletes so often pose in men’s magazines in the same submissive postures as female models? Do you think this increases, decreases, or has no effect on viewership of their respective sports? Explain.

GUESS founder Paul Marciano is quoted as being “attracted to the femininity of the women of that [Western 1950s] era.” What specifically does Marciano like about this era and the types of femininity portrayed? Why does Jhally find this significant, and troubling?

Jhally asserts that it’s “only when you make something strange” that you have any chance of changing it. Do the gender codes in advertising need to be changed? If so, what are some of the ways we can make them “strange”?