Critical Discourse Analysis of Female Weight Supplement

Advertisements;

from the 19 th and 21 st century.

I have chosen to analyse and contrast weight gain and weight loss

supplement advertisements from the past to the present, as the set

of advertisements contrast and present a discourse of femininity and

beauty of women over time. Between, 1908 to 1984 advertisements

promoted a fuller, curvier figure from products such as ‘Wate On’

and ‘Ironized Yeast’. However, within the present adverts there has

been a general lack of weight gain products altogether. Society is

obsessed and surrounded by the premise that beauty and success in

life and romance comes from a slimmer and skinner figure from

products such as ‘Quick trim’, ‘smoothie king’. Although all these

products vary in name and form of drink, pill or tablet they all

hold one promise; to change and adapt the female figure to what

society deems acceptable and what adverts construct as the norm. I

have chosen these advertisements as my critical concerns lie with

the premise that ‘Images of ideal bodies, most often female bodies,

are some of the most dominant and consistent messages produced by

advertisers.’ (Shields 2002 : x) I seek to analyse how these

advertisements function to represent ideology of femininity, through

analytical discourse and identifying particular sets of desirable

and attractive concepts of the discourse of femininity. I will do

so by exploring the change in the desired image over time that

consistently adheres to a common theme of depicting women as

‘straightforward objects of the male gaze’. (Gill 2008)

The first example advertisement for the product ‘Ironized Yeast’,

would have appeared in a newspaper or magazine of its time and it

can be evidently shown that through the promotion of the weight gain

product an ideology of femininity is constructed via the male gaze.

The model posing in the left hand of the advertisement declares the

title ‘it’s hard to believe they once called me skinny!’ and within

context of the image, ‘they’ refers to the male figures at the

bottom right of the advertisement; these two images combined denote

the discourse of the advertisement as a whole in its relation to the

female subjection of the male gaze. As ‘advertising images of

females frequently contain an invisible yet implicit man who

approves of and defines the feminine ideal’ (Shields 2002:74)

The ideology of femininity is also constructed through a specific

lexical choice of positive adjectives that ‘convey an ideology of

desirable women’ ( Phakadephasook 2009: ) The product and it’s

usage in figure 1, are framed by positive and negative adjectives in

the long copy that are ‘pertinent in advertising as they convey a

positive or negative affective meaning.’ (Kaur et al 2013)

Adjectives such as ‘attractive pounds’, ‘beauty bringing pounds’ are

presented in opposing binary to the negative of being ‘skinny and

friendless’ thus signifying that by being ‘skinny’ you are unpopular

and friendless and creating a terror of looks as there can be a

‘mundane physical terror associated with not receiving ‘looks’ of

admiration.’ (Goldman 1992: 123) These positive adjectives are used

to attract the female consumer and create the myth that men of

society desire a fuller, voluptuous, female figure and constantly

throughout this discourse of advertisements ‘The ‘ideal’ woman is

stereotyped through visual and textual aspects of the

advertisements’ (Kaur et al 2013).

Moreover, through personal address and reference to the female body

figure 1 also refers directly to the culture fantasy of body size

and shape that advertisers and media impose upon the female in

society. The long copy reads; ‘Watch flat chest develop, skinny

limbs round out attractively, skin clear to beauty-you’re an

entirely new, enticing person.’ This personal address attracts the

audience by being spoken to on their own level, using truth claims

to gain trust and reliability for their product.

A second advertisement by the same product in figure 2, is a clear

advert with no long copy although again it can be seen that the

models within the image signify a specific ideology of the idealised

female form. The viewer is offered two figures of the female form

and personally addressed the question in large text positioned above

the image ‘How do you look in your bathing suit?’ The ‘skinny’ model

on the left represents a woman who is lifeless, dull, and unhappy

whereas the female on the right signifies a sex-appealing woman who

is attractive, confident and full of life. These two female forms

act as signs in relation to identifying the ideal form and portrays

that ‘Advertising has been subtly distorting reality and

manipulating consumers to make them buy a way of life as well as

goods.’ (Kaur et al 2013)

As well as the use of personal address within figure 2 a

linguistic strategy of truth claims is also used to entice the

female viewer by declaring that the product ‘-gives thousands

natural sex-appealing curves’. This can be attributed as a

particular concept of ‘desirable features’ (Phakadephasook 2009)

that women are led to ideologically believe are the features of

femininity. This relates back to female attractiveness in relation

to the male gaze as mentioned previously; because as well as the two

(Figure 2 )

objected female forms there is a second voice of the advertisement

from a male speaker that asks ‘Skinny? Thousands gain 10 to 25

pounds this new easy way’ as well as the lexical choice of ease and

efficiency of the product the message that emanates from this

signifier is from an ‘invisible source yet gendered. Because the

sender is invisible a male voice is assumed.. There is no female

voice behind these ads rather they are constructed by a

‘hegemonically masculine sender’ (Duffy 1994:11)

In addition, Figure 2 gives the option of two forms of the female in

society, deeming one acceptable and one unacceptable and as Michelle

Lazar states ‘feminism is also appropriated through recuperating its

critique of beauty advertisements for creating unrealistic and

restrictive images of body ideals, much to physical and

psychological detriment of women, who in reality are in all shapes

and sizes.’ (Lazar et al 2008)

(Figure 3)

The third ad that promotes a product for weight gain is Wate- On

(fig 3) and it does so through tapping into societal norms and

ideologies of femininity and creating illicit assumptions of

individuals in society. The title addresses the viewer with a

rhetorical question ‘Why be skinny?’ and replies with an imperative

‘Come on and enjoy life!. The long copy of the figure 3 is littered

with truth claims and ‘presupposition manipulation’ (2007) ‘most

people look forward to summer’// ‘but many underweight people hate

the summer. Simply because they haven’t heard about SUPER WATE-ON’.

(fig3) The title, the long copy and the image of the voluptuous

female, act as signifiers of the advertisement as a whole; implying

that the figure of the woman addresses other (skinny) women ‘As the

texts voice is located not in the head/mouth/brain but in the body.

With this voice, the goal is to elicit envy in the eyes of women and

desire in the hearts of men.’ (Goldman 1992: 128)

The lexical choice of the ad is emphasising that not only will you

gain ‘healthy flesh’ but also an appetite for life itself. Norman

Fairclough states that ‘texts of this sort are interesting in

presupposing a view of the world that is ‘common sense’ for some

people’ (Fairclough 1989: 78) The female in the top of the print in

figure 2, is a presented female with desirable assets that figures

as a signifier for enjoying life, and which speaks to a created

ideology of femininity that to be curvy is more fun and more

beautiful than being underweight. The linguistic strategy of

presupposition manipulation used, speaks to the concept that the

bodily condition of being skinny is undesirable and a problem to the

desirable image and ‘women with these ‘problems’ are in trouble and

lacking in confidence’ (2007) As well as a discourse of femininity

and creating a myth of beauty through the use of its product, figure

3 can also be analysed through discourse as a social practice that

is ‘socially constitutive’ and ‘socially shaped’. (Price 2007:57)

Discourse of social practice is manifested in the long copy of fig 3

through producing a situation and identity where ‘underweight people

hate the summer’ and those with a fuller form ‘enjoy life’.

Moving analysis towards the later weight supplement advertisements

of the century there is an evident change in discourse to the ‘new’

in femininity and this ‘type of ‘new’ has been commonly mobilised to

signify shifts in social subjectivity for women’.(Taylor 2003) The

subjection of the female form through the promotion of the product

shifts from it being undesirable to be ‘skinny’ to it being a

desired norm. Figure 4 is an advertisement for a dietary supplement

in the form of a drink; the main image is a figure of a slim woman

in underwear, holding a measuring tape around her waist. This

symbolises an ideology of the subjection of the female through

constant measuring and adjusting of the female form and what it

means to be feminine.

Figure 4

Furthermore, the tag line ‘make your ex wish he wasn’t.’ attracts

female viewers with the slang term ‘ex’ of personal address through

social practice. This tactic ‘is to create the need and desire for

the products and services by means of ideologies’ (Phakdeephasook

2009) and through this the advertiser is tapping into the ideology

that women improve their bodies for the benefit of men. On the

surface it may seem that figure 4 is addressing a discourse of

empowerment within femininity through improvement of self however,

Hilary Radner suggests that ‘representations of the new woman can

work to contain feminism by confining women’s agency to the

construction of a particular feminine appearance via process of

consumption’ (Taylor 2003) This construction works via the male

gaze, and with figure 4 addressing the female viewer’s personal

heterosexual relationships it can be seen that ‘the surveyor of

women in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns

herself into an object’ (Routledge Shields :74) According to Laura

Mulvey ‘pleasure looking has been split between active/male and

passive/female. (Routledge Shields:74)

Furthermore, where these adverts attempt to promote self-agency for

the improvement of femininity and attractiveness it can be analysed

that ‘real problems for women are concealed under guise of

individual self-empowerment, superficial solutions; and artificial

transformations that in fact undermine true agency and real feminist

change.’ (Crymble 2012:63) Figure 5 achieves this with promotion of

its product ‘Quick Trim’ through the use of personal address and a

constant reference to efficiency and ease, with the main title

‘Reach your weight loss goals FAST!’ and within the long copy ‘Jump

start your diet in just 14 days’//help you achieve results FAST!’ The

tactic of promoting the product in terms of ease and efficiency is

used consistently over the past century as it is also used in

figures 1 and 2, but the ideology of what is deemed desirable and

the aim of the effective and fast acting product reach different

results. The product also emphasises the use of the weight

supplement with ease to ‘naturally compliment your lifestyle (figure

5) and ‘this set of associations of brand with lifestyle may act

more subconsciously than rationally based advertising, fitting

instead with consumers’ aspirations and beliefs about the kind of

person they are, or want to be.’ (Delin 2000:126)

Moreover, within figure 5 ideology is constituted through a concept

of ‘body management’ (Phakdeephasook 2009) that can be done

‘effortlessly and effectively through the magic of advertised

products’ (2009 : 72). The product is also described as a ‘secret

weapon’ (fig 5) that the female consumer can possess to ‘construe

the opposite features as enemies with whom women are fighting

against.’ (2009) Signifiers of empowerment in the ‘new’ feminine

beauty are evident in the celebrity model’s stance and posture, and

at first glance it is evident that this advertisement differs from

that of figure 1, due to the lacking presence of the male ‘gazing’

model. However, ‘ironically men once dominated women on the basis

of propriety claims made on the beauty of women; today; male

domination gets reproduced on the basis of women acquiring

proprietary control over their own bodies- or over the appearances

given off by their bodies’. (Goldman 1992) and what is unmistakable

throughout these weight supplement campaigns is that ‘women’s social

power does depend on management of her ‘beauty assets’ (1992 :123)

It can be shown that through the discourse analysis of these weight

loss and gain advertisements, an ideology of femininity and

desirable beauty is reproduced through concepts used by advertisers.

This change in female form over the past century is attached

consistently to the male gaze, displaying that the construction of

the accepted ideal of femininity is produced for the benefit of the

male in society. It is shown through the advertisements that there

is a message of female empowerment, that by using these certain

products they can be in control of the shape and size of their own

body. However, the consumer is still a slave to constructing

themselves and conforming to a particular gendered body shape and to

a constructed ideology of femininity. What is evident from this

analysis is that ‘advertising in women’s magazines plays an

influential role in formulating, maintaining and altering how

readers understand the construction of socially acceptable gender

norms’ (Crymble 2012 :64 ) regarding it to be an effective use of

advertising to use the construction and changing discourse of the

female form and gender norms as a selling point of the product.

Bibliography

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