The representation of women as a competitive self-objectified image : a new design identity of misleading slimming advertising

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De Lange, Rudi W

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Art Historical Work Group of South Africa

Abstract

Misleading slimming advertisements are a prominent visual feature in South African magazines that target young women. These commercial messages are particularly pervasive in magazines that focus on health, fitness, and beauty. An analysis of slimming advertisements in the Fitness magazine has identified a trend to avoid using overt misleading claim-based messages in favour of competitive self-objectification. This new design identity differs from traditional slimming advertisements in that it features the objectified as the primary graphic element and makes fewer, if any, contestable textual claims. Reading these objectified images through the female gaze as well as from a positivist paradigm predicts two contrasting and opposing outcomes. Objectified imagery may trigger negative body esteem, causing viewers to reject the message and form a negative brand association. Viewers may succumb to the explicit visual call for competitive self-objectification, adopt this as the norm and so accept the marketing message. Objectified imagery without measureable textual claims allows marketers to circumvent the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa’s Code on Slimming and enables them to use these images as misleading visceral graphic elements.
Misleidende gewigsverlies-advertensies is ’n prominente visuele verskynsel in Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrifte gemik op jong vroue. Hierdie handelsboodskappe is veral volop in tydskrifte wat fokus op gesondheid, fiksheid, en skoonheid. ’n Ontleding van gewigsverlies-advertensies in die tydskrif Fitness dui op ’n vermyding van openlik misleidende aanspraak-gebaseerde boodskappe na een gekenmerk aan mededingende self-objektivering. Hierdie nuwe ontwerpsidentiteit verskil van tradisionele gewigsverlies-advertensies in soverre dat dit die geobjektiveerde as die primêre grafiese element bevat en minder, indien enige, aanvegbare tekstuele aansprake maak. ’n Vertolking van hierdie geobjektiveerde beelde vanuit die oogpunt van ’n vrou sowel as vanuit ’n positivistiese paradigma stel twee kontrasterende en opponerende resultate op die voorgrond. Geobjektiveerde beelde mag aanleiding gee tot ‘n negatiewe waardering van die eie liggaam, en wat daartoe aanleiding kan gee dat ontvangers die boodskap verwerp en ’n negatiewe assosiasie met die handelsmerk vorm. Daarenteen mag ontvangers swig voor die eksplisiete visuele oproep tot mededingende self-objektivering, dit as die norm aanneem en sodoende die bemarkingsboodskap aanvaar. Geobjektiveerde beelde sonder meetbare tekstuele aansprake stel bemarkers in staat om die Owerheid vir Advertensiestandaarde se Verslankingskode te omseil en om hierdie beelde subtiel in te span as misleidende grafiese elemente.

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Keywords

Objectification, Misleading advertising, Design identity

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

De Lange, RW 2014, 'The representation of women as a competitive self-objectified image: a new design identity of misleading slimming advertising', South African Journal of Art History, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 13-26. [http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_sajah.html]