Feminism is the idea that women should have political, social, sexual, intellectual and

economic rights equal to those of men. It involves various movements, theories, and
philosophies, all concerned with issues of gender difference; that advocate equality for
women and that campaign for women's rights and interests. Feminism has altered
predominant perspectives in a wide range of areas within Western society, ranging from
culture to law. Feminist activists have campaigned for women's legal rights (rights of
contract, property rights, voting rights); for women's right to bodily integrity and autonomy,
for abortion rights, and for reproductive rights (including access to contraception and quality
prenatal care); for protection of women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment
and rape; for workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay; and against other
forms of discrimination. There is a male-dominant system of power in place, and feminists
call it patriarchy.

As we have already mentioned that feminism is an approach, not a critical model of analysis
limited to just one field, we can also look at treatment which women receive in the world of
Electronic and Print Media. It is woman who is marginalized and is being exploited by men
in this field as well. These advertisements have become fashion and body image bible where
men and women alike turn to, to be told how to live. Through these ads women measure
themselves against each other, against what men are telling them and what popular culture
suggests. Infact these ads are sexist – the definitive example that society is still
laden with masculine values and that people accept sexist advertising as
a legitimate form of commercial communication. It comes in all shapes
and forms, such as reinforcing gender stereotypes and gender roles,
using gratuitous female nudity or sex to sell unrelated products, and by
marginalizing women from advertising and its industry. Sexist advertising and
the sexualisation of women’s bodies emanates from both problems with the advertising
industry and society. These problems stem from a wee institution called patriarchy. Our
society has sexism so ingrained in it that advertising simply follows suit. Therefore, images
that objectify and degrade women’s bodies are accepted as legitimate for advertising, under
the guise of portraying a particular product (and therefore the consumer) as simply sexy,
seductive and attractive to the opposite sex.

There are serious social impacts from this kind of advertising back on society – unrealistic
expectations of womens’ bodies and resulting body image problems, sexual and domestic
violence, and sexism being reinforced as an acceptable form of behaviour. Many forms of
media such as magazines and television stations financially benefit from these sexist
advertisements, as they gain the majority of their revenue from the companies who place ads
with them. A major concern with sexist advertising is the simple fact that it becomes so
normalised that we don’t even notice it (either because it’s subconscious, dressed-up as
artistic or because it’s so widespread). Zubair and Sheikh (2004) also proved that in the
world of advertisement, women are a show piece.

2
That’s why Feminists argue that these ads are a sort of ‘systematic propaganda’. Propaganda
is defined as:

Disseminating or promoting particular ideals, with the

objective of endeavouring to reinforce or modify the
attitudes or behaviour of a particular audience.

We are being subconsciously enticed to buy products by companies who believe that it is
okay to use womens’ bodies in a sexual way to make their brand cool, hip and sexy. And not
only are men buying into these products because they are identifying with the product or

3
brand, because the sexist ‘propaganda’ echoes their own perceptions about women,
womens’ roles, and the “proper” image a woman should have, but women are too. Often
women don’t realise their sexual appeal is being exploited by the company to their detriment
in society and to the company’s financial benefit.

Jean Kilbourne's new book "Deadly Persuasion" – was a wake-up call about the damaging
effects of advertising in our media-saturated culture. If you're like most people, you think
that advertising has no influence on you," Kilbourne writes. "This is what advertisers want
you to believe. But, if that were true, why would companies spend over $200 billion a year
on advertising?" The ad industry, Kilbourne observes, "is one of the most potent messengers
in a culture that can be toxic for girls' self-esteem. Indeed, if we looked only at advertising
images, this would be a bleak world for females." Even before the start of adolescence, the
assault is severe. "The culture, both reflected and reinforced by advertising, urges girls to
adopt a false self, to bury alive their real selves..." Public awareness has grown about "the
damage done to girls by the tyranny of the ideal image, weightism, and the obsession with
thinness," Kilbourne notes. "But girls get other messages too that 'cut them down to size'
more subtly. In ad after ad, girls are urged to be 'barely there' — beautiful but silent. Of
course, girls are not just influenced by images of other girls. They are even more powerfully
attuned to images of women, because they learn from these images what is expected of
them, what they are to become."

Ervin Goffman (1987) has turned his attention to the ways in which men and women
specifically women are pictured in advertisements. He believes that advertisements depict
for us not necessarily how we actually behave as men and women but how we think men
and women should behave. Dimbleby and Burton (1998:193) also believe in the same thing.

In this project We will try to demonstrate that how the advertising industry at large degrades
and demeans women by selling them not only a tangible good, but also portraying a fix
outlook of women in terms of stereotypical roles.

4
Lets now look at different ads (taken from electronic media basically) and see how they
marginalize women and thus are sexist in nature:

Ad: 7 Herbal Whitening Cream: Kaya Palt Day

Being a feministic critic, we feel something seriously wrong with this ad. It reinforces the
set pattern of patriarchal society according to which women have to be beautiful and must
appear pleasing to ‘clumsy’ men. Though in this ad, we don’t have any men, but it’s implied
meaning are exactly those which I have suggested. As in this ad, we see that a girl is
applying fairness cream on her face so that it may change her lot. This change of lot means
that some male will come and will make her his bride. Its ironic that this will result into
‘legalized prostitution’ as G.B.Shaw remarked.

Ad: Gaey Soap: Ujla Banae

This ad presents us another feature of patriarchal society in which it is women’s role to do

all house-hold chores. Here we see a wife washing clothes (of course of whole family) by
using ‘Gaey Soap’. This soap brings effective results and husband – a school teacher is
proud to wear the dress washed through it. Just as women in patriarchal society have to bear
the burnt of all wrong doings of men and they try to conceal them, same is the case hear that
wife is trying to keep husband’s clothes clean! The tool may change, it can be soap,
detergent or some thing else but the original purpose remains same. Here we can see an
indirect reference towards original sin – the sin committed by Adam and Eve in which
Adam is considered innocent i.e. has clean dress while unfortunately in case of women it is
not!

In the category of relative size, the male in the advertisement is subtly taller than the woman
by perhaps one inch and same is the case here : actors are taller than actresses.

Ad: Supreme Herbal Tea

5
This ad again focuses on the above mentioned role of women in patriarchal culture i.e.
Mothering and Nurturing. The image of hearth comes into our mind by seeing this ad. Here
we are introduced to a ‘present mother’ and to a ‘future mother’ i.e. mother and daughter.
Daughter asks her mother:

Ami patta hai mere hath main kia hai? Pori family:
Dada, Dadi, Nani, Nana….

[Mother you know what’s in my hand? The whole family:

Grandfather, Grandmother, etc…]

The mother with a smiley face accepts it and shows her hand saying:

Aur mere hath main kia hai? Pori family ki sehat. Qk

Supreme hi to behtreen chae hai jo rakhe ge mere
family ko sehat mand

[ And what’s in my hand? The health of all family. As

Supreme is best brand of tea so it will keep my family
health]

We see her doing all her household chores and that too without any acknowledgment of her
services!

Here there is subversion in the sense that a female is shown as intellectual person instead of
emotional one (although this view may change by looking deeply in the ads. Her emotional
behavior forces her to compete with her daughter)

Woman, who is an arrant bird of night,

Bold in the dusk, before a fool’s dull sight,

Must fly, when reason brings the glaring light

(Rouchester Poems)
6
Ad: Fair &Lovely

Fair &Lovely a cream which aims at improving ‘complexion’ of all women, repeats this
ideology here. The moral idea being told is that ‘the more you are fair, the more you have a
chance to get jobs or to create a space for yourself’. This ‘White model of Beauty’ valorized
by colonizers in the age of colonization is still predominant now and people even now feel
comfortable with this model of beauty then with ‘Black (Wheatish) Model of Beauty.’ Fair
& Lovely is like Modern day ‘Pears soap’ designed to make girls white and in turn
acceptable:

Fair & Lovely Total Fairness Formula

7 din me de dhoop se hifazat

14 din me softer jild

21 din me ujla hoa chehra

24 din badin ujli rangant

1 mah main total fairness

[Fair& Lovely Total fairness Formula:

In 7 days, it will protect your skin from sunlight

In 14 days it will soften your skin

In 21 days your face will be white

In 24 days you will get day by day better complexion

And in one month it will give you total fairness]

7
As the target of such ads are women; suffering from double oppression, they whole-
heartedly believe in their ‘Messiah’ come down to help them in their problems!

It portrays women as a genus that get an inferior treatment by the society due to their
unattractive looks. The message from the endorsements clearly interprets to the biased
opinion that success is only for those faces, which are attractive and pretty. Finer notions
like hard work, determination and focus are conveniently marginalized. Such ads that
encourage portrayal of gender stereotypes in the society are hazardous to the perception of
feminism by the social order.

Moreover it is an add which reinforces the traditional concept of ‘male voyeurism’. Women
compete with other women to gain attention of male. Here Kelash girls are typical
examples. It is not an objective picture but loaded with symbolic meanings.

Ad: U-fone – Fori Rabta (Instant Communication

In this ad only one woman appears i.e. an air hostess who is offering drinks to passengers
and then later on one of the passengers talk with his wife.

In this ad the role in which woman is casted is that of a ‘kind lady’ i.e. an air-hostess. Again
it refers to traditional role attributed to women that women are tender and kind by nature
(biological essentialism) and therefore such professions as teaching, nursing and hosting are
fit for them. We see the girl is dressed in a dress almost similar to men and is obeying the
roles followed by them.

Later on one of characters (Faisal Rehman) talks to her wife:

Hello Begum main khane pe aik sal late puhnchu ga!

[Hello Mrs. I will come to dine after one year delay!]

8
It again emphasizes the image of nurturing associated with women and the little space
available to women in society. They have few roles and among them to please and to feed
men are most important.

Ad: U-fone – 5 ka 15

This ad is basically a parody of soup serials which focuss on quarrels between mother and
daughter-in-law.

Here we see two different type of women:

• Positive (Oppressed , the one for whom we feel sympathy)

• Negative (Oppressor, the one for whom we feel hatred)

Male characters are like ‘audience’ viewing the scene and then trying to correct it. Both
women, we see, are fully ‘decorated’ while it is not the case with men. I am using the term
‘decorated’ because to me the women are wearing jewellery and other items as ‘a cow laden
with ornaments’. Addison, Augustus writer, has said that

‘woman is a beautiful romantic animal which must be

decorated with furs, feathers, pearls and diamonds,
ores and silks.’

The issue of domestic quarrel here is very trivial yet emphasizing on the role of women i.e.
daughter-in-law has been talking on mobile since 15 minutes’ and neglecting her duties. The
duty which Ibsen showed us in A Doll’s House is towards husband and children appears
very stinging word as Helda, another character of Ibsen tells us:

Duty, Duty, Duty – It seems so stinging a word!

One of male characters (most probably husband’s brother) interrupts to save ‘poor woman
(daughter-in-law) from the clutches of mother-in-law. Again we are told that a woman can’t
be at her own unless and until a man saves her.
9
This ad has another dimension (a view proposed by3rd wave feminists) that women not only
suffer at the hands of men but also at the hands of other women.

Ad: Zong: Sub keh do (Say it all)

Pakistanis are now-a-days using modern means of communication. Zong is one of such
mobile companies which focuses on providing modern facilities of communication to
Pakistani people.

Having looked at this ad from feminist perspective, I will first talk about different roles in
which women are casted. The first role to which we are introduced are is that of a ‘wife’
who is wearing a modern dress – exposing her breast. The second role is that of girl friend
to whom her boy-friend is expressing love as lyrics say:

Dil main jo bat hai chupana nahi

Third role is that of business women working under male manager. Fourth role is jointly
shared by wife and daughter who are rejoiced at the arrival of male who appears to be a
patriarch figure i.e. a bread-winner.

In comparison with these roles, we are introduced to strong men who are engineers, artisan
and most importantly bread-winner

Like all these ads women actors here are fully decorated!

Ad: Mobilink Orascom

This ad of Mobilink is no less different from the ads we did before. Again we have
traditional roles as:

• Husband - Wife

• Girl friend

• Mother – Son
10
 • Dancers (Kelash girls dancing under the instructions of male)

All these traditional roles symbolize that a woman is ‘a commodity for which it is necessary
to be possessed’. No wonder in the times of Fielding we had the law saying ‘Woman is the
property first of her father and then of her husband’.

Moreover it is an add which reinforces the traditional concept of ‘male voyeurism’. Women
compete with other women to gain attention of male. Here Kelash girls are typical
examples. It is not an objective picture but loaded with symbolic meanings.

In the end Company’s jingle:

Mobilink – Reshaping Lives

Sounds good but actually it is not ‘reshaping but reinforcing’ already established codes and:

Pakistan’s favourite cellular company that speaks your

language everywhere, every time

Should be like this:

Men favorite cellular company that speaks their language

everywhere, every time

Ad: Telenor: Ashko Ki lari, Yado ki jhari, In ko b kahi jana hota hai

It would seem boring but it is a fact that almost all mobile ads are built on a same template
in which the position of actors is changed sometimes.

We are first introduced to a single woman who is weeping and is holding a stick in her hand.
Weeping appears to me a symbol of repentance: the Eve repenting what she did. The stick in
her hands shows ‘support’ which she wants and is provided by patriarchs.

Next to father and daughter relationship in which of course daughter is dependent on father.
She is playing in bazaar where we can see no women; all male dominating area.
11
Then we are introduced to husband and wife – wife cum mother. Their son is ill and they are
on the way to reach doctor’s clinic with woman sitting behind and comforting crying baby.
When they reach clinic, it is closed. Husband, a male, shows extreme anger at this while
Wife is still comforting her child.

Then a girl wearing skirt appears having a teddy bear in her hand. It is probably the first
instance in which we are seeing an individual lady but ironically the lady is not alone. She is
with her ‘teddy bear’ symbolically representing her desire to have a partner whether it be
husband or child.

Again we see husband and wife. Husband is going on a journey while wife is there at airport
to see him off. She is sad and depressed but tries a lot to conceal these feelings from
husband in order to fix the criterion set i.e. You have to be comforting!

Scene now shifts to Kelash dancer girls, wearing traditional dresses representing that ‘they
will never let traditions go down’.

Then we are introduced to a marriage ceremony in which a ‘decorated bride’ is being

carried away by men to her destination i.e. her husband’s place as the lyrics says:

Hum ap ki amanat ko le jate hain

[We are carrying your ‘amanat’]

3rd time in the ad we see husband and wife. Now the husband is not a businessman but a
‘jagirdar’, the bell rings and husband after attending the call informs his wife and she is
greatly rejoiced over it. It exposes the illiteracy of women and their submissiveness. The
Passive role attributed to them by the active men.

This ad shows that the women whether it be of upper class/ Lower class or of middle class,
she is always submissive.

Ad: Hilal Khopra Candy

12
This ad basically falls into the category of Travesty. It focuses apparently on the friendship
between Pinto and Chutki (two children) but actually it is not just friendship. It is much
more ; Chutki is girl friend of Pinto. Like in traditional stories the hero undergoes lot of
troubles, similarly here hero(Pinto) undergoes several hardships to ‘acquire his love’.
Chutki, having a traditional feministic look is like an object which the hero wants to
achieve. As it happens that he has to undergo several hardships, here he faces them inform
of Ifat Baji, Dada g, Babloo gang etc. All the women in this ad are again are representation
of symbol ‘beauty without beast’.

Ad: Sunsip LimoPani

This ad features a wife as central character and shows us her relations with other characters.
She is wearing bright dress: Yellow and green in color and prepares Limopani for others and
also for her husband who comes back from his office and it ‘relaxes him’:Again the role of
‘comfort provider’ for woman and ‘bread-winner for male’. She knows at which times one
needs it and prepares it accordingly. Another character, her sister-in-law is introduced to us
as

In ki freshness ka raz hai Lemopani!

[Her freshness depends on Limopani!]

As a women must always look fresh. Fresh is pun showing both the freshness in outlook and
freshness in terms of body. A male always demands a women who is ‘fresh’ i.e. untouched
by other men.

Moreover women in this represent a certain category of women in terms of their body
physique i.e. Ultra Slim. But in reality we see that women are not like that. According to
Kilbourne, only 5% women have such physique. The presentation of such women sets a
certain criterion for other which, for them, is necessary to achieve. Again in this ad, we can
see that men are taller than women

13
Ad: Milk Pack Cream

In this ad a typical traditional family is shown in which women are doing prescribed roles.

Mother is cooking food. She is smiling (again an association of delicate manners). Daughter
is also involved in domestic work and mother praises her in do so.

Dining table is also shown giving us a look of typical family atmosphere. The young son is
given care and love by grandfather, while young girl who is passive is given bread by her
mother.

Mother (daughter-in-law) takes care of father-in-law and is submissive and we are told
through non-verbal communication that if this situation will be in every house, there will be
happiness. Jingle also clearly shows that as far as they are following traditional roles,
happiness is there in life. The typical attributes to women in this ad are that of caring,
loving, delicate, cook, mother hood while for male are patriarch: attention providing person
and always relax.

Ad: Sunsilk: Straight Hair

The scene is that of convocation in which a boy brings his girlfriend so that he may introduce
herself to his parents. The girl and boy both are looking clumsy but the girl after looking in
the glasses of her future mother-in-law, rushes to washroom and tries a lot to make her hair
straight. At this time, Sun silk arrives as a ‘Messiah’ She tries it and then goes again to meet
her future mother-in-law who is astonished that she says

Balo ke sath kuch khas kia hai?

[Have you done something special with your hair?]

This ad tells us again about women’s duty to appear attractive and pretty. That’s why the
male though he is clumsy is acceptable while female whose just hair are not straight is not
acceptable. Also it tells us about how many hurdles a women in patriarchal society faces
14
while trying to fit to the criterion set by it for her ‘beau. Hair are a traditional symbol of
femininity (of course only in patriarchal culture) as Ibsen in A Doll’s House has used a
broken ‘hair pin’ to represent the freedom from the bondage o femininity and Hemingway in
The Cat in the Rain shows us in the symbolic wishes of American girl:

I want to have long hair

So, while women are living in Patriarchal society they must follow the rules designed by it
and try to reach the utmost level they can in doing so!

Ad: Ahmed Chatni – Ahmed Achar

This ad like Ufone’s 5 ka 15 ad, focuses on the relationship of mother and daughter-in-law
but here mother-in-law is sweet and daughter-in-law is not at all rebellious but submissive in
every limb and feature. Mother-in-law advises her daughter-in-law who is going on
shopping:

Bahu, achar to ahmed walu ka he lana

[Daughter-in-law, pickle must be of Ahmed’s company]

Daughter-in-law agrees and then we are introduced to a happy family with husband and his
mother sitting as leading figures and other women are on margin. In the end there is special
demand of patriarch to bring ‘garlic pickle’ for him!

The problem with this ad is that it reinforces patriarchal ideology that ‘women sphere is
limited to her house’. Here pickle refers to that image of women as mother and kind wife
who is taking care of all. Mother-in-law also focuses on the safety of family; again that the
safety of family lies on women shoulder as Ibsen in The Pillars of Society says:

It is you, the women, who are real pillars of society

Ad: Lux- Star Jagay

15
This ad is same like ads of Fair &Lovely in present times and that of Pears Soap in past. Lux
– Star Jagay ad tells women that they cannot be ‘Stars’ until and unless they use this soap
which will make their skin ‘fragrant and soft like rose’. Rose is a traditional symbol used to
talk about beauty but on a deeper level it refers to sexual organs of women and here this 2nd
meaning is much more apparent as we see after using that soap all are looking at Aminah
Haque and she is enjoying it. When she comes on the stage, she allures audience through the
seductive moments of her body. Zubair & Sheikh (2001) tell us that women in electronic
and print media are used to create glamour in them and ads are built in such way that
women body itself becomes a purchasable item.

After that dancing on stage she succedds to meet her beloved standing on other side of
stage; again that a women needs someone’s support. She cannot be independent. She is
beautiful and beautiful ‘objects’ must please men.

Here there is subversion that women is taller but the treatment she is receiving (usage as a
mere sexual object) makes her inferior in comparison to male in the ad.

Ad: Honda –CD 125

This ad is a classic example of women’ use as a sexual object in the field of advertisement.
In our society we know that women are not bike riders; it’s the duty of male. Women just sit
behind men. This ad focuses on the features in Honda motorbike and one of them is that it
can please women. As we see the bike rider when he passes through women nearby, they are
amazed on the magnificence of bike and skill of man. Further we see women sitting behind
man and they both are enjoying it. The important thing to notice is the sitting style of
woman on bike. Camera is focusing on her body. She is wavering hands, has long hair. In
fact she looks like a sexy but innocent girl and it is the aim of this ad to present this view.
Honda – CD 125 a key to sexuality! Such depiction of Womanhood has been thankfully
known for inciting strong and vociferous objection from various groups of the society. The

16
traditional secondary role assigned to women becomes much more prominent when in next
scene we see a young boy is sitting in front of the same man on the same bike.

Her dil pe Honda raj kare

So as it is said that if you want to win man’s favor, you must cook good to do so and Honda
company tells men that ‘if they want to impress women, it is Honda which is the key and
through this key you can open the door of any heart!’

Overall, the appearance of this advertisement is blatantly male-dominated from a feminist

point of view and contains a plethora of examples of iconic, indexical, and symbolic
meaning. The female model is not only being objectified at first glance, but looking more
closely, she also looks timid and reserved.

Ad: Safi –Natural Solution

Safi is a syrup which is combination of different herbs and is usually used to purify blood.
Here in this ad, the girl is worried about her marriage because she has lot many pimples on
her face. Then comes her Messiah i.e. Safi and after using it she becomes beautiful and her
skin is now free of spots and resultantly she is going to be married soon. The whole ad is
nothing but a reminder to young ladies that they must use Safi if they want their partners. As
it is a notion in patriarchal society that ‘woman is a burden and the sooner it laid off; the
better’. So if you don’t fit to the criterion of society i.e. Beauty, Don’t be afraid as you have
Safi which is a ‘natural solution to all the problems that you face is in getting married’.

In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan "detected a concerted campaign since the end of
WWII to convince American women they could achieve happiness in life only through
marriage and motherhood-an ideology she labeled "the feminine mystique". We can see
how Safi’s ad is portraying the same ideology to Pakistani women.

Ad: Meezan Banaspati: Her cheiz Meezan main achi Lagti hai

17
This ad in which all characters keep on dancing throughout is anti-feministic in the sense
that it portrays patriarchal ideology i.e. House is women’s sphere and she is responsible to
keep her family healthy; ‘Bus balance her dum’. Though both husband and wife appear
dancing but it’s woman who is looking absurd. The traditional roles are emphasized again
by showing that it is man who is bread-winner and woman is home-maker. She happily
brings food for him for when he comes back. Again it seems that as if it is her duty!

Then in last scene family is shown in grandfather’s house where granddaughter is shown
cooking under the guidance of grandmother. This tells us that it is the society who starts
teaching female about their duties right from the childhood so that they may adopt their
personality in the given set.

This ad which focuses on ‘Culture of Thinness’ presents a particular representation of men

and women in terms of their body physique: a size unattainable for normal men and women.
On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed
female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy
eating habits in women and girls. Media activist Jean Kilbourne concludes that, "Women are
sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch,
almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight."

Ad: Nido – Vitamin

In this ad woman is casted in the role of mother as a critic said ‘In Patriarchal society it is
not woman who is subjected to oppression but mother’. Here a mother is showing concern
over the health of her son Inam who is growing and needs healthy diet. The healthy diet is to
be selected by mother as it is a matter related to home. It is generally women who are
responsible for upbringing of children because ‘they are trivial matters and intellectual men
have many other important works to do’.

Ad: Surf Excel: Dag to ache hoty hain

18
Surf Excel is detergent which preaches its ideology that ‘Dirt is good’. We are shown that a
boy is playing in dirt in spite of the fact that his mother is forbidding him to do so. She is
worried on how to clean the cloth, Surf Excel presents the solution:

Pesh hai Surf Excel, Pehli hi dhulai me ziddi dag nikalde

aur kapre ko ker de bilkul naya. Dag to ache hote hain.

[ Now comes Surf Excel which cleans the cloth in first

washing and makes cloth look new. Spots are good!]

This solution presented to mother shows that it is her problem being related to domestic
sphere. Men and women are caught up in an entangled web which demands them to behave
in certain way and this ad reinforces this message.

According to Barbara Petro, Advertising:

An industry once plagued with ads portraying the

stereotypical domestic woman has evolved into one that
evokes imagery of the strong, independent, intelligent
women.

To her, Feminist activism resulted not only in this positive progress in the attitude of the
advertisers, but also in the development of a more gender-equalized society that forced
advertisers to pay heed to the feminist message. Since feminism occurred as a societal
condition. But we see that it is not the case in Pakistan(America in its 50’s), Ads here are
still portraying emotional, submissive, decorated and motherly women – the one whose
proper sphere is her home only! Here women are still expected to wash dishes, change
diapers, watch soap operas, worry about cellulite and their appearance, while men earn the
money, fatten happily, and determine when to have sex when they return from their
important job in the real world. Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women—and
their body parts—sell everything from food to cars. Pakistani feminists must now try to

19
convince government to establish a certain code of conduct for advertisement as there is in
New Zealand:

“Advertisements should not employ sexual appeal in a

manner which is exploitative and degrading of any
individual or group of people in society to promote the
sale of products or services. In particular people
should not be portrayed in a manner which uses
sexual appeal simply to draw attention to an unrelated
product”.

And we the common people must think that ‘Sexist Ads are not ok’. No more discrimination
for women please!

The World is not lovely but deep and dark

Changing it is an uphill task

But I will work to change it forever

But I will work to change it forever

(With due apology to Robert Frost)

20
21
22
References:

Ibsen, Henrik: A Doll’s House and other plays

Hemingway, Ernest :Cat in the Rain

Zubair, S. & Sheikh, A. (2004) Female images, Quarterly Journal of Gender & Social
Issues 3(34) 61-77

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/13241/how_feminism_transformed_advertising.ht
ml?cat=35 Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2078 Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2739178 Reading Race and Gender Accessed on: 17 April, 2009

http://www.kullin.net/2006/05/women-in-advertising.html Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

http://www.mediaawareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_beaut
y.cfm Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

http://www.mediaandwomen.org/problem.html Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Feminism-Advertising/166505 Accessed on: 16 May,

2009

http://portia.gnn.tv/blogs/14506/Muse_Feminist_Magazine_article_Sexist_Advertising
Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

http://www.shvoong.com/books/1638510-critique-print-advertisement-regard-feminism/
Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rnr/1161951010.html Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

23
http://www.wsu.edu/~amerstu/pop/ads.html Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

http://www.123oye.com/job-articles/advertising-sales-management/feminist-concerns.htm
Accessed on: 16 May, 2009

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=18401: Feminism in advertisement Accessed on:

16 May, 2009

24