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For this assignment choose three U.S. beauty or fitness commercials on YouTube or elsewhere online. These commercials can be for makeup, hair products, workout equipment, home gyms, etc.
You can compare three different companies or three different commercials from the
same company. All three commercials should be from the same industry, however; that
is, do not compare a fitness commercial to a makeup commercial to a hair commercial.
Provide links to the commercials you find in your references section.
Objectives
Develop a nuanced understanding of the gender interactions, relationships, and bodies as they pertain to the beauty and fitness industries.
Critically engage with various forms of media and analyze how gender and other course concepts are portrayed.
Understand how gender intersects with other social categories.
Creatively develop your critical analyses of “real world” cultural phenomena.
Write Up Outline/Set Up
Summary: Start by providing a brief summary of the commercials. Provide your
reasoning for choosing the commercials.
Approach: Summarize the approach you will take by identifying any key terms, concepts, or ideas from course content. Introduce your approach by briefly defining key terms (approach might then appear in the overview paragraph).
Application: Consider the following questions as you compose your analysis (3-4 paragraphs). Feel free to expand beyond these questions and topics. Note: You do not need to address these questions directly, necessarily; use them as guides to your analysis. Bold or underline the specific terms you use from the book to analyze the commercials. Cite our textbook when using direct quotations.
Who is the probable intended audience(s) for the commercials you are analyzing? What factors contribute to your awareness of audience? Consider not only gender but also age, race/ethnicity, geographic location, etc.
What kind of representation did you see (skin colors, body sizes, hair types, etc.)? Do the different genders appear differ from one another, and if so, how? How old are the actors relative to each other? Are women (or anyone else) represented who are differently abled? According to dominant cultural ideals of beauty, how many women portrayed fall into the categories of ‘beautiful,’ ‘average,’ or ‘unattractive’? What range of weight is represented between the women and the men and among the women themselves?
Conclusion: Wrap up and conclude your analysis (1 paragraph).
What does the marketing of beauty and fitness products communicate about standards in the U.S.?
What are some strategies you would propose to change these representations? Who
should take on this task?
Reference: Do not include pg count) provide citation to movie, literature or readings.
(Paper is 1,000 word count. Sex & Gender Class)
Too Tired? Too Anxious? Need More Time? We’ve got your back.