Women as Sex Symbols
REPRESENTATION
REPRESENTATION
• A significant group we will study this year is the
representation of New Zealand female youth – in particular
the way they are frequently portrayed by the media as sex
symbols.
• In the early post-war years in New Zealand, women were
usually portrayed in a positive manner by the media.
Women were considered crucial in rebuilding society and
the population after the devastation caused by World War
One and Two. The qualities women were valued for at this
point in time largely consisted of domestic skills rather than
intellectual ability or ambition. Any woman who considered
a career over a husband and family was considered to be
unnatural and a failure to her sex.
REPRESENTATION
• The representation of New Zealand female youth
has changed dramatically by the late 20th and 21st
century. Women are now increasingly portrayed
by the modern media as sex symbols, valued only
for their ability to sell products to the masses.
Women are frequently dismembered in
advertising causing women to be seen as objects
or part of an object rather than a person. This has
severe consequences for the way young women
feel about themselves and the way they are
viewed by society as a whole.
NZ ADVERTISING EXAMPLES:
L&P 1990
Tui Advert 2006
The Axe Effect - Lynx 2006
Lynx Metamorphosis 2006
Dove Evolution
Primo Advert 2007
Burger King Advert 2007
Media Influence
Female Representation
NZ's Next Top Model
Representation response
• Describe the group you have studied
• Describe how this group has been represented in
at least TWO texts you have studied.
(note HOW refers to costume, camera shots, music etc)
• Explain the message or value conveyed through
this representation
• Analyse the implications of this representation