Representations of Women

Negative Representation - Virgin Atlantic

The women in the advert are wearing red, which connotes passion and seductiveness. This represents the women negatively as it shows them as being promiscuous. Different parts of the women's bodies are shown before their faces, including their legs, feet and shoulders. Focusing on different parts of the bodies objectifies the women, as well as fetishising their bodies. They are all wearing short dresses, which is self-objectification as they are opening themselves up to the male gaze. The woman are all standing in a row and all do and wear the same thing. They are all the same, which is a negative representation of women as it shows them as replaceable objects and shows that they are not individual, but all useful for the same purpose. The lighting is on the women, which shows that women want to be in the spotlight and are vain. Also, it helps to attract the male gaze to the women. As well as the main women, there are a few 'drab and dreary' women that are shown watching the better looking women in envy. This is a negative representation of women as it portrays them as being jealous of beauty as if that is an important factor. Among all the women is one man, showing the women as loose as they are all sharing one p.i.m.p. Not only are the women represented negatively, but the cartoon woman also is. It is wearing a swimsuit, which is quite indecent, and winks playfully and seductively.

Positive Representation - Race for Life

(I don't know why the video plays twice)

The women in the advert are all dressed in pink. This connotes cheer and brightness, as well as fun, which is also portrayed through the music, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. This shows a positive representation of women as it shows them as being lively and happy although they have suffered from a loss, which also shows them as brave. The women are doing the run in memory of people, "in memory of my mum", which is positive as it shows them as being respectful and caring. All of the women in the advert are of different ages, however, they are all still united and equal to each other in the race. The fact that the race is for women only shows that women can raise the money without male help. The words "help beat cancer" show women as being strong and powerful as they are beating something that people have been trying to beat for a very long time.