Collectors Statement

The idea behind my collection was to compare the differences between women
embracing or expressing the standard female stereotypes in the entertainment industry; versus
women advertising in what is not the typical behavior of women. My main focus was the Damsel
in Distress stereotype that is constantly found in movies. I found this to be a more relevant issue
when deciding what to include in the project. It also relates to the work we have done in the
course. The male gaze is a major component of the Damsel in Distress stereotype and other
feminine stereotypes. From the week two reading Berger states, To be born a women has been
to be born, within an allotted and confined space, into the keeping of men (4). This means that
being a women means you are limited to the options of serving men by cleaning, cooking,
caretaking, etc. Our society has continued to live by these stereotypes and it has been prominent
in the entertainment business.
My project is divided into two parts; one collection involving stereotypical female
advertisements, and another representing women who are breaking these stereotypical behaviors.
I found contrasting identities between each of these parts. It seemed that the more stereotypical
advertisements were found during a earlier period in time. While the women breaking the
stereotypes are more prominent in our society today. Obviously this is not the case at all times,
however I did think it was interesting to note. In an article released in 2009 Divya Barghava
states, Generally it is shown in advertisement a womans goal in life is to attract and attain a
man:-women are shown in advertising as always young and attractive. They are frequently
depicted as sexual objects. This is directly related to our course in terms of the power of images
and objectification. As of recently I have found numerous examples of women portraying what
would be considered a more masculine side of themselves. The ESPN body issue is one of the

many upcoming platforms women have used to portray muscular body types that may not have
been ideal several years ago.
As mentioned before I categorized my collection into two different sections. I did this in
order to keep consistent and express my ideas more thoroughly, rather than scattering all the
images together. This also prevented giving too many examples of a certain stereotype or
advertisement and allowed me to present both sides of the discussion. The first portion of the
collection focuses on the stereotypically suggested behaviors for women. These images can
relate in many ways such as: Damsel in Distress, objectification, the male gaze, marginalization,
and the power of images. I have a more detailed description of each image on the website. The
second portion of the collection presents a more powerful and uncharacteristic behavior of
women in advertising. This would include women: fighting, shooting, modeling muscular body
types, and, leading others. This presents the viewers with insight to both sides of the discussion
and hopefully improves their knowledge on the subject.
Gender is relevant in every aspect of my project. I use the controversy of the female
status to debate questionable marketing techniques used in the entertainment industry. The cover
image of my website is a women in a stereotypical pose with a shopping bag in her hand. I do
this in order to convey a message without the viewer having to search for it. This is another
related lesson to our course from week one. Horowitz discusses connections dealing with art in
the short novel Making Connections with Art. Often the very first word that comes into your
mind carries the greatest significance for you. That being said, it is difficult to change a persons
belief that they have already developed. I believe this is one reason why our society continues to
struggle with stereotypical behaviors.

Overall I used gender and stereotypes to highlight problems found in the entertainment
industry. I used several examples in order to convey a message from both point of views. The
power of images, objectification, the male gaze, and marginalization are all underlying themes I
used in order to convey these gender stereotypes. I hope that this will help further our knowledge
and improve how our society views gender roles and art.

Works Cited
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin,
2008. Print.
Bhargava, Divya. "Women And Negative Stereotypes: An End Before A Start By Divya
Bhargava." Women And Negative Stereotypes: An End Before A Start By Divya Bhargava. N.p.,
2009. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.
Horowitz, Frederick A. More than You See: A Guide to Art. San Diego: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1985. Print.