A Critical Analysis of Race and Gender Representations in Media Advertisements

The golden age of American prosperity and ‘happy’ family pictures. Yet, beneath this carefully curated image lies a constructed media narrative that reinforce sexist and racist ideologies and strengthen systemic inequalities. In the mid-20th century, with television becoming a part of homes and print ads filling magazines, advertising took place as a medium for cultural and political marketing tool. Beyond cheerful family pictures, vibrant colours, and idealized scenes, advertisements, especially from 1940s to 1970s, played a pivotal role in shaping dominant ideologies. These advertisements were not only about selling products but also specific visions and representations. Women were routinely depicted in domestic roles that were reinforcing the ideal of the submissive housewife and erasing alternative female roles. These portrayals not only limited women’s roles in public imagination but also naturalized gender hierarchies as part of the “American Dream.” Furthermore, advertisements in this era were loaded with ideological messages that celebrated whiteness, patriarchy, and rigid domestic roles. Non-white individuals were typically represented through dehumanizing caricaturised, and exoticized stereotypes. Through this lens, advertisements functioned as powerful instruments of social conditioning. They normalized systemic inequalities by presenting them as natural. In doing so, advertising during this era actively contributed to the maintenance of racial and gender-based power structures. These visual ideals were not innocent or incidental. They served to stabilize postwar capitalism, encourage consumption as a civic virtue during a time of social upheaval. Through a critical lens, this analysis reveals how advertisements from 1940s to 1970s functioned as a tool for cultural hegemony and objectification of women.

Published in 1969 by Muriel Cigar Company, Tipalet cigarette ad still sparks debate due to its portrayal of female passivity and power dynamics. The ad features a good looking man blowing smoke in the women's face and it basically suggests that the act of blowing smoke will attract the women, which put the woman in a position of submission. It conveys the idea that men can effortlessly manipulate women and their desires through a mere product like a cigarette. The woman is depicted not as an independent individual, but as someone who will follow, submissive. The ad is a great example of advertising that uses sexual allure to drive consumer and to sell products.

'See how it covers over black.' Created for Elliot Paint & Varnish Co. during 1930s, this paint ad reveals how a simple product about paints can become a tool for racism. The ad suggests the idea that the colour 'black' is something that could be covered by the colour 'white', which reinforce racial hierarchies and white supremacy. The whiteness presented as a virtue or the superior one while Black people were often seen as inferior or as a threat to the social order. As with many racist ads from the past, there was little immediate backlash when this ad was first published. The ad appeared in an era when racial segregation was still legal in many parts of the United States. It draws on the longstanding tradition of racial stereotyping and discrimination, where Black individuals have been seen as someone to be fixed to fit into a society that was constructed around white supremacy.