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A Framework for Looking: Understanding Dominant Visual Norms

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Title:
A Framework for Looking: Understanding Dominant Visual Norms
Creator:
Norman, Katharine
Publisher:
University of Florida
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Language:
English
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1 online resource

Thesis/Dissertation Information

Degree:
Master's
Degree Grantor:
University of Florida
Committee Chair:
Delacruz, Elizabeth Manley
Committee Co-Chair:
Kushins, Jodi

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Advertising research ( jstor )
Art education ( jstor )
Arts ( jstor )
Educational research ( jstor )
Femininity ( jstor )
Gender roles ( jstor )
Graphics ( jstor )
Hair ( jstor )
Objectification ( jstor )
Women ( jstor )

Notes

Abstract:
This paper is a study of advertising imagery and the way that we view women’s bodies because of it. I employed a hybrid of art historical and feminist analyses to inform our way of seeing imagery from ads that are focused on women. Key visual clues are brought to light, and the understanding of why they carry the connotations that they do are discussed. The questions I seek to answer are how we can use this information for art education, and how it can change the way our culture views women. The effect this imagery has is deeply embedded in our culture, and has significant influence on all of us, but particularly young girls and women. In addition to this paper, I have created an ISSUU publication that uses pictures of ads juxtaposed to my own pictures re-created from ad’s imagery, using every day models. The project addresses topics of feminine touch, ritualization of subordination, licensed withdrawal, body display, location and objectification as evidence of women’s portrayal in advertising’s imagery. Those topics will also be discussed further in the paper.
General Note:
Art Education terminal project

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University of Florida Institutional Repository
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University of Florida
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Copyright Katharine Norman. Permission granted to the University of Florida to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
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1039729411 ( OCLC )

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UFIR:
Institutional Repository at the University of Florida (IR@UF)
UFETD:
University of Florida Theses & Dissertations
IUF:
University of Florida

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " . " A FRAMEWORK FOR LOOKING: UNDERSTANDING DOMINANT VISUAL NORMS By KATHARINE NORMAN A CAPSTONE PROJECT PRESENTED TO THE COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA August 2014

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " / " ©2014 Katharine Norman

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 0 " Acknowledgements I want to thank the University of Florida art education community for being so supportive, creative, and inspiring. The wonderful people make this program the amazing program that it is, and I am honored and thankful to be a part of it. I would also like to thank my mom for being a pillar of support, my entire life. I wouldn't be where I am today without her.

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 1 " ABSTRACT OF CAPSTONE PROJECT PRESENTED TO THE COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS A FRAMEWORK FOR LOOK ING: UNDERSTANDING DOMINANT VISUAL NORMS By Katharine Norman August 2014 Chair: Elizabeth Delacruz Committee Member: Jodi Kushins Major: Art Education Abstract This paper is a study of advertising imagery and the way that we view women's bodies because of it. I employed a hybrid of art historical and feminist analyses to inform our way of seeing imagery from ads that are focused on women. Key visual clues are brought to light, and the understanding of why they carry the connotatio ns that they do are disc ussed. The questions I seek to answer are how we can use this information for art education, and how it can change the way our culture views women. The effect this imagery has is deeply embedded in our culture, and has significant influence on all of us, b ut particularly young girls and women. In addition to this paper, I have created an ISSUU publication that uses pictures of ads juxtaposed to my own pictures re created from ad's imagery, using every day models . The project addresses topics of feminine tou ch, ritualization of subordination, licensed withdrawal, body display, location and objectification as evidence of women's portrayal in advertising's imagery. Those topics will also be discussed further in the paper.

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 2 " Table of Contents Title Page ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 1 UF Copyright page ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 2 Acknowledgements ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 3 UF Formatted Abstract ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 4 Table of Contents ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 5 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 7 Statement of the Problem ................................ ................................ ........................ 7 Purpose of the Study ................................ ................................ ............................... 8 Research Questions ................................ ................................ ................................ . 8 Rational and Significance of the Study ................................ ................................ ... 9 Assumptions ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 9 Limitations ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 10 Definition of Terms ................................ ................................ ............................... 10 Literature Review ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 12 Methodology ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 19 Subjects ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. 20 Data Collection Procedure ................................ ................................ .................... 20 Data Analysis Procedure ................................ ................................ ....................... 21 "

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 3 " Findings ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 23 Feminine Touch ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 23 Ritualization of Subordination ................................ ................................ .............. 24 Body Display ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 26 Location ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 28 Objectification ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 29 Summary across all Findings ................................ ................................ ................ 30 Discussion and Conclusion ................................ ................................ ............................... 30 Discussion and Interpretation of Findings ................................ ............................ 31 Implications and Recommendations ................................ ................................ ..... 32 Conclusion ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 32 References ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 35 List of Figures ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 38 Author Biography ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 39 "

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 4 " The beginning of this project goes back to a topic and ideas that I have visited time and time again in this program, understanding visual imagery and culture. The two put together, visual culture , have such an extensive meaning to me, and an even greater hist ory within art education. I believe there is a lot to learn from our visual culture, and that can only happen once we understand what we are seeing. Another passion of mine has always included topics of feminist issues, so it is no surprise that my capston e project is a culmination combining these two ideas. One of the greatest disservices we can do ourselves is to not understand the extent to which advertising images we see on a regular basis effects us, particularly as young girls and women. The ideas I w ill present could be their own studies within psychology, feminist history, sociology, or marketing, all of which I have looked to, but my main focus is making them applicable in art education. The focus I will present to you is how we can learn to read th e visual vocabulary s et before us, particularly when dealing with advertising images, and specifically those portraying women. Statement of the Problem This study draws attention to the negative effects our culture has created for girls growing up at this time. There is sig nificant evidence I will present which links the constant, unrealistic portrayal of women's beauty standards today to the deteriorating health, both physical and mentally, to young girls in this country. This is an issue that all peo ple, regardless of your gender, should be concerned about. Not only do I want girls and women to recognize how they are being portrayed in certain imagery, but for boys and men to see the stereotypes being perpetuated and why they are not okay to be normal ized.

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 5 " Purpose of the Study The purpose of this paper and my project is to shed light on commonalities found in advertising's imagery and use of women. The more aware we are of the visual text presented to us, the better we can understand them, and unders tand how they effect us. As part of my project I create d my own images with the hope that they will make you stop and really question the advertising images you see. The images that are my photographs are reconstructions of actual ads (to the best of my ability), and if taken at face value they should seem a little silly or a wkward. The idea is that it's not normal for a regular woman (my models) to be lying on their couch, t opless, and uncomfortably posed; so why is it perceived as normal when the same imagery is being used to sell you a product? Or a name brand? My images ar e also a tool for the viewer to see a real woman set up just as a model for an ad's photo shoot is , but the final product I am giving you is sans Photoshop. The women I used for my photographs haven't been altered in any way. This isn't just to give the vi ewer a curvier subject than the ads they are based off of, I want you to see that it is much more than a body type I am trying to debunk here. My models have freckles. Moles. Their hair is frizzy. They have tan lines. Scars. These little details are what m ake us human, and it comes down to even these minor things that are commonly Photoshopped away on the model in your typical ad. These flawless images being created and presented to us time and time again in advertising are the very thing that has caused o ur culture to set an unrealistic standard of beauty for women . Research Questions How can we use imagery from advertising to inform art education? While the feminist issues and psychology in advertising 's imagery that I'm exploring are all

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 6 " important an d informative, I can not forget the init ial intent for my project; how this is a lesson of visual culture that is pertinent in art education. I believe t he best way to approach this is through art history. I am essentially presenting a case of iconology and cultural studies, which are both use d in a variety of ways for art history and art education. What are the effects advertising imagery of women's bodies have on young girls and women? I have come across an abundance of studies, many of which I will addre ss in the Literature Review portion of this paper, that make it impossible for us to ignore the relationship between media images and the declining health of young girls and women. Girls are harshly self judging their bodies , based off of models they see in ads from magazines, and when they don't see the s ame thing reflected, a strong sense of body dissatisfaction can ensue and that's only the tip of the iceberg. Rationale and Significance of the Study This study is needed to in form educators, particularly those in art, about how important it is that we deal with the visual culture that is advertising imagery. In particular , that which deals with women's bodies. The b etter we all understand how it a ffects our culture, the better we can understand our need to use it as an informative tool. A tool to understand, a tool to see, and a tool to ask for change. Assumptions The assumptions I have about the content of this study deal with ideas that we have normalized the ad imagery we s ee. It's not uncommon to see a woman's body being objectified in a Victoria's Secret ad, because they are everywhere. There is no shock value to the lacily clad breasts and butts they present. It's not uncommon for every girlfriend of mine to be on a fad diet, because we are told constantly verbally and

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " .7 " visually to be thinner. My friends say they know the models in ad s have been Photoshopped, but they don't care they still want to look like her. These are grown women! What I fear is that this mindset is becoming too internalized amongst women, and worse, in young girls. Vision is mediated by the mind, and from what I can tell, we are living in a society that has been brainwashed. We have created a culture that expects unrealistic beauty standards of wome n. I am out to know why, and understand how this has happened. Limitations My study presents only a small part of the visual culture that we live with everyday, and I am only looking at one aspect of inequality that it perpetuates. There are a variety o f mediums that you could address with the same concerns that I have still in the visual realm, such as television, cinema, Internet, fine art, graffiti, etc. There are also non visual avenues that you can address with the same intent that I have, such as song lyrics in pop culture. There is al so a plethora of discrimination to be addressed besides that of generalized women in advertising; minorities, body type and sexual aff iliation, are just a few, yet an entirely different study. Definition of Terms My study is based off of Katharina Lindner's coding categories, which she used to examine advertising imagery from the magazines Vogue and Time , from 1955 2002. Lindner defi nes nine categories, which I will go into later in this paper, but the ones that follow are ones that became most applicable to my study and project. Feminine touch . The woman touches herself (e.g., hair, face, lips) or her clothes in an unnatural way or uses her fingers and hands to trace the outline of an object, cradle

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " .. " it, or caress its surface. This type of touching is to be distinguished from the utilitarian kind , which involves grasping, manipulating, or holding objects. Ritualization of subordination . The woman lowers herself physically in some form or other of prostration; canting postures are associated with acceptance of subordination. This includes lying or sitting on the ground, bed, or sofa whether in the presence of another person or not, canti ng of the head or entire body. Also included in this category is a woman being embraced by a man, who inhibits her movement, or a woman leaning against a man's shoulder or holding on to his arm for support, dependent on, and subordinate to the man present. Body display . The woman is shown wearing revealing, hardly any, or no clothes at all, which is often associated with sexualized images of women. Location . The woman is shown in a domestic environment, such as the kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom. This also i ncludes depicting the woman in a decontextualized, that is, unidentifiable, environment that does not allow for any purposeful activities. (2004, p. 414) Objectification is Lindner's ni nth category, but because of it s use from a variety of scholars and its commonality in feminist issues, it is defined separately. This is a fairly common word to come across in feminist writing. A couple of scholars in my research defined it in their own way; Linda Smolak says it is when "women's bodies or body parts are tr eated as objects to be looked at and enjoyed by men " (2003). Similarly, Lindner defines "objectification" in her study of women in advertising as "portrayals of women that suggest that their major function or purpose in the advertisement is to be

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " ./ " looked at " (2004, p. 413). However, Susan Bordo discusses objectification as something that goes beyond looking : T he notion of women as objects suggest that the reduction of women to Ômere' bodies, when actually what's going on is often far more disturbing than that, involving the depiction of regressive ideals of feminine behavior and attitude that go much deeper than appearance . ( 1997, p. 124) While I would like for you to keep Bordo's notions in the back of your mind throughout this paper , when I am discussing objectification (I would like to note here it is not a term only applicable to women, that is just the case for this study) , it is primarily that the use of a woma n's bod y is being presented with no other purpose than to be looked at by the viewer. Domin ant Visual Norms . When I heard Bordo use this term in her presentation " Wish List for My Daughter: How Image Makers Can Help Make Things Better for Girls (and Boys) in the Twenty first Century " (2003), I thought her a genius for articulating this concept s o well. It is not an ads use of a thin model vs. a curvy one that tells women they should be thin, it is the exclusion time and time again of curvy models that leads us to believe that is the wrong body type to have. The imagery that becomes dominant visual norms sends a very clear message to girls and women about how they should look (Bordo, 2003). Literature Review A Call for Visual Culture and Why Art Education Comes Into Play It is hard to doubt in this day and age the need f or including the study of visual culture with our art education. It is an area that informs how we live with and process the

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " .0 " imagery that inundates our daily living. As Chang, Kim and Lim state, "visual culture reflects and represents our everyday lives" ( 2012, p. 19). Using art education as a tool for our students to understand that imagery will serve us all best. Kindler provides an array of reasons for why the inclusion of visual culture is so important to children, including that the increased availabil ity of visual culture has improved placements on IQ tests (2003, p. 294), that it produces a better developed "visual brain" which allows for better connecting to the "visual world" (2003, p. 294), and the overall enrichment of our student's education (200 3). In early debates on how visual culture is to play a role in art education, Eisner specifically used the case of a TV advertisement as an example that visual culture is affecting our students, and as educators we need to adapt our curriculum accordin gly (2001, p. 7). Freedman pointed out that imagery found in children's drawings often come from pop culture sources (1994, p. 159), including that of advertising (1994, p. 162). So whether we choose to work with it or not, visual culture is in our art cla ssroom and our art education already. We cannot ignore factors that influence our children in such a strong way. When they are reproducing imagery that they see on a daily basis, it is our job to make sure they understand the meaning behind it. Freedman ev en goes as far to say that it is our social responsibility to teach with visual culture (Freedman, 2000, p. 324). Chung would more than likely agree, as in his article he studied how visual culture can specifically speak to identity, and help students rela y their personal experiences for "greater social importance" (2009, p. 6). Gaining Understanding of Gender Views with Visual Culture and Advertising Advertising is, without argument, a main source of visual culture that our youth

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " .1 " deal with today, and one that is very pertinent to how we view gender (Chung, 2009; Darts, 2004; Freedman, 1994; Ornstein, 2011). In a case study from Freedman, she focused on students responding to advertisements, and she particularly identified the gender infused responses give n by the children. She noted that the students automatically took the role of "a consumer audience member", and that there were "certain cultural meanings" in which they brought to the ad (1994, p. 164). Freedman went on to recognize that gender roles can be generated from such visual culture and that such imagery can lead our ideas in a certain way (1994, p. 166). Popular imagery has an effect on the way in which we see ourselves, and in particular that which pertains to women (Freedman, 1994, pp. 162 163) . Freedman has most accurately researched ideas that I am interested in regarding the effect visual culture, specifically advertising, has on gender, our culture, and how it relates to art education. At the end of her article she summarized wonderfully, " as illustrated by the research on gender stereotypes in advertising, the messages students encounter in visual culture are often mixed and fragmentary", and that "without guidance, students typically develop only limited understandings of the complexities of visual culture" (1994. p. 168). Imagery can be a tricky thing to decipher, and can lead one to particular conclusions that may or may not be true. Chalmer s reminds us through a quote from June King McFee, "we need careful content analysis of the values being projected through mass media, as well as continued study of the diversity of values being projected in American society" (2005, p. 6). How Gender and a Woman's Body is Defined Through Advertising Imagery My early research for this project was d evoted to the particular time frame of

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " .2 " advertising imagery post WWII, and how it viewed women. While this project has become a more modern study, I believe it is still important to acknowledge some of those early findings, as they have influenced the imag ery that we see today in ads , as well as influenced some of the stereotyping that is deeply ingrained in this country . While it was perfectly acceptable for women to do what had to be done in wartime, even if it meant stepping into a man's role while he wa s out fighting abroad, once the war was over and men returned home, so were the women expected to return to the kitchen. Elaine Tyler May lends the trend of women's return to domesticity contentment postwar to America's need for security (Rawlinson, 2009, p. 53). The people in our country "wanted secure jobs, secure homes, and secure marriages in a secure country" (Rawlinson, 2009, p. 53). This was the driving force behind a multitude of ideas looking to create a comfortable, domestic America (Rawlinson, 20 09). How were women so easily courted back to the kitchen you may ask? One study by Neuhaus discussed the role that women were expected to fit via a study on cookbooks, published (or revised) in the postwar years 1945 1963 (1999, p. 530). She asserted that cookbooks were a reflection of the "deep ambivalence Americans felt about the gender roles in the postwar years" (1999, p. 531). However, she went on to explain that the ambivalence didn't come until later, and that the 50s were often viewed as normal and stable times in which "men and women enjoyed the comfort of clearly marked gender roles" (1999, p. 531). She stated that there was a need for maintain ing such roles, and that the text provided post WWII gave America just that (1999, p. 532). I would specu late that within that "text", imagery is completely applicable. Neuhaus provided us with a quote from Humble, reiterating that by the 50s, the home was "the c entre of a woman's existence... turning them [housework and

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " .3 " cooking] into full time occupations, d espite all the labour saving gadgets"(1999, p. 543). We are able to back up Humble's theory through imagery and advertising specific cases that show the ease and comfort of housework via new appliances. This is exemplified in Republic Steel Kitchens ' "Take it easy Kitchen". In it s ad from 1955, Republic Steel Kitchens show off the benefits of the new kitchen , which allowed for saving time and energy (Rawlinson, 2009, p. 63). It would, as Nixon boasted, save the housewife "from a life of drudgery" (Rawlinson , 2009, p. 65). Upon closer look at the ad itself, we see that it is promoting the kitchen as the woman's domain, a place where she is the "expert", and a place that is free of male participation (other than the occasional figure shown seated aside) (Rawli nson, 2009, p. 66). Thusly, we are left to believe that the kitchen is the place for women. The topic of location is important to my study because women are often still presented in domestic settings in ads. What has changed from the 1950s ads and the dom estic settings we saw women in then, is that now they are often not actively doing anything but posing in a particular domestic looking area. Lindner explains that with both "traditional domestic settings" and "decontextualized environments", "women are r estricted in their range of possible activities"(2004, p. 420), which I conclude leads us to believe one thing: she is there solely to be looked at. This leads to another central theme of my study, objectification. Seeing women portrayed this way time and time again, ingrains certain thoughts, and as Lindner concludes, gives us "ideas about how women are supposed to behave and the roles they are supposed to occupy within society" (2004, p. 409). This has led our society to believe women are objects purely f or decoration, pleasure, and beauty. It has also created a beauty obsessed culture, which goes to

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " .4 " extremes in order to obtain certain qualities. Qualities that I will verify for you, are unattainable. Bordo discusses women's bodies we see in the media, and refers to them as "technologically fabricated", and goes on to say that pursuing that look is not only draining, but "is treacherous to physical health and psychological well being" (1997, p. 15). The quality I would like to address here is that of thinness, and how it is a crippling aspect of "beauty" that advertising has if not created, perpetuated. "Disordered patterns of bingeing, purging, exercising, and dieting are virtually the norm among high s chool and college women" (Bordo, 1997, p. 15) . This is hardly the only quote I have addressing eating disorders, young women, and it's lin kability to advertising imagery (APA Task Force , 2007; Bordo, 1997; Bordo, 2003; Kilbourne, 1999; Orenstein, 2011; Smo lak, 2003). Bordo notes that "an old fashion industry justification for skinniness in models was that clothes just don't Ôhang right' on heftier types" (p. 108). I'm so glad someone was able to justify the need for hyper thin women. However, that does not help young girls in anyway trying to obtain that "skinniness", and terrified of become one of the "heftier types". "One study asked ten and eleven year old boys and girls to rank drawings of children with various physical handicaps; drawings of fat child ren elicited the greatest disapproval and discomfort, over pictures of kids with facial disfigurements and missing hands" (Bordo, 1997, p. 108). Other statistics confirm "nearly half of girls in first through third grades want to be thinner; that 81 percen t of ten year old girls were afraid of getting fat; that half of nine year old girls surveyed were already dieting" (Orenstein, 2011, p. 134). And if that isn't terrifying enough, " t he number of girls who fretted excessively about their looks and weight ac tually rose between 2000 and 2006

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " . 5 " (topping their concern over schoolwork), as did their reported stress levels and their rates of depression and suicide" (Orenstein, 2011, p. 18). These are young girls ruining, even taking, their lives at the cost to be sk inny. And if you aren't sure that these findings relate to advertising imagery, here's one more statistic, " girls between 11 and 14 see on average 500 ads a day" (The Representation Project, 2014, http://therepresentationproject.org/resources/statistics/ ). Jean Kilbourne accurately states, "if we looked only at advertising images, this would be a bleak world for females" (1999, p. 131). What Art Education Needs to do with This Resear ch I have provided evidence for the importance of visual culture in art education, and how specifically in the form of advertising it is very influential to children and our culture. Through the particular case of how women are portrayed in advertising, we ca n see that it is not a thing to ignore. If we use dominant visual norms as a teaching tool, maybe they will stop dominating young girls' feeling s of dissatisfaction towards their bodies . Amy Richards suggest that if we can teach boys and girls not just to recognize a "sexist ad", but to "teach them as individuals to be able to say, ÔI don't like that ad, that ad does not reflect my reality ' " (2003), c ouldn't that lead to change in our culture? If we address the images that have perpetuated "striptease cultu re", "rape culture", and those that have promoted the "porno chic" and the "heroin chic" (Bordo, 1997; Hatton & Trautner, 2011, p. 257; Kilbourne, 1999) , could we reach a point when those terms are obsolete? The only way those statements can become a reali ty is by creating a visually literate youth, because "culture does not make people, people make culture" (Adichie, 2012).

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " .6 " Methodology For my research I a dapted a hybrid of feminist and new art historical approaches to study and interpret women in advertising images. What I intend to relay with my research is a n informed analysis of images for their use in art education. This type of research does not lend itself to a structured format that has to be closely followed, rather the more important idea is to best understand what is being presented: the key influences that inform and how we can best relay their meanings. You may wonder why I say "new" art history, an d frankly I could just leave it at "an art hi storical approach" and hope the majority of readers reading this would understand the type of critical a nalysis I have in mind. Chanda suggests, "new art histories emphasize a stronger commitment to studying the broader cultural context of works of art" ( 1998, p. 19), and that they rely strongly on inquiry through "iconology, iconography, and social art history" (p. 19). These are the ways in which I plan to exhibit images of women in advertising to bring light t o their uses and meanings. Particularly, iconology will help to decipher meaning as it considers "possible underlying philosophical ideas inherent in the compositions, forms, motifs, images, stories and allegories" (Chanda, 1998, p. 20) of specific works, in my case, advertising images. In addition, the feminist view will be playing a key role in my study. DeVault suggests that feminist methodology isn't so much a set way of doing research, but rather probing questions and answers that bring change, "to f ind what has been ignored, censored, and suppressed" ( 1996, p. 32). She is also adamant about the importance of a feminist approach to research across all fields of study, and how it can connect us. In my case, it will be used to better inform art history, advertising and, of course, art education

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " /7 " with regard to what imagery choice is saying to the audience. The correlation I've found amongst feminist methodology, whether it was Cancian's (1992) structured break down or DeVault's (1996) insistence that th ere are no strict guidelines to follow, is that at the end of the day, what is being presented is done so to propel change. As DeVault states , what this methodology should support is research that values women , "leading to social change or action beneficia l to women" (1996, p. 33). The questions I will ask to reach that point in my research and eventually through my project are: How are gender issues in our society influenced by advertising imagery? What is the best way to relate past advertising cases to t oday? How can we use imagery from advertising to inform our art education? The ability to answer these questions will only come from an informed view on the material I've presented and accurately honing in the research that will give me that. Subjects I a m studying advertising imagery that is strictly of a woman or women , where they are the main subjects of a given image. To keep the study more focused, images portraying both women and men are not included. The focus is how a woman's body is presented to t he viewer through advertising. Data Collection Procedure In order to get a variety of images, I accumulated them from several types of magazines, including: Allure , Cosmopolitan for Latinas , Elle, Fitness Rx , Live Better Naturally , Lucky , Men's Health , Porter , Self , Seventeen , Teen Vogue , Us Weekly and Vogue . There were a total of roughly 60 images t hat I pulled from the magazines and made notes. Of them, I've included 11 of them in this paper , and used 9 in my project.

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " /. " Data Analysis Procedures " Here, I will refer to the previously mentioned study from Lindner. It was a study that continued from Erving Goffman's 1979 look at "print advertising and its impact on gender relations in society" (Lindner, 2004, p. 409). Lindner used specific coding categories to better understand the ads from Time and Vogue magazines, covering 47 years. I felt those nine categories exemplify motifs I see every time I open a magazine. They are as follows: 1) Relative size. When both men and women are present, the man is taller and/or bigger than the women and takes up more space in the picture. 2) Function ranking. When both men and women are present, the man serves as the instructor or performs an executive role. 3) Feminine touch. The woman touches herself (e.g., hair, face, l ips) or her clothes in an unnatural way or uses her fingers and hands to trace the outline of an object, cradle it, or caress its surface. This type of touching is to be distinguished from the utilitarian kind, which involves grasping, manipulating, or hol ding objects. 4) Ritualization of subordination. The woman lowers herself physically in some form or other of prostration; canting postures are associated with acceptance of subordination. This includes lying or sitting on the ground, bed, or sofa whether in the presence of another person or not, canting of the head or entire body. Also included in this category is a woman being embraced by a man, who inhibits her movement, or a woman leaning against a man's shoulder or holding on to his arm for support, d ependent on, and subordinate to the man present.

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " // " 5) Licensed withdrawal. The woman removes herself psychologically from the situation at large or is shown mentally drifting from the physical scene, leaving her disoriented and dependent on the protectivenes s of others. This is indicated by an expansive smile or laughter, covering the face or mouth, or withdrawing her gaze from the scene at large. Being involved in a phone conversation also falls into this category. 6) Body display. The woman is shown wearing revealing, hardly any, or no clothes at all, which is often associated with sexualized images of women. 7) Movement. The woman is inhibited in her movement, by being wrapped in a blanket for example, which limits the amount of control she can exert on the environment. 8) Location. The woman is shown in a domestic environment, such as the kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom. This also includes depicting the woman in a decontextualized, that is, unidentifiable, environment that does not allow for any purposeful activities. 9) Objectification: The woman is portrayed in such a way as to suggest that being looked at is her major purpose or function in the advertisement. (2004, p. 414) Following her categories, I broke down the 60 ads pulled from the previously menti oned magazines. There were particular categories that came up more often than others, and a couple that fit multiple images, time and time again. It is from these most popular that I will share in my findings, and use in my project.

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " /0 " Findings Here, I wil l present the visual commonalities I found in advertising imagery, and look at them broken down by the parameters of Lindner's ca tegories. I will discuss visual clues, the ideas behind them, and provide visual references from the ads I accumulated. Femini ne Touch The unnatural touch a woman uses on herself, or the object she is presenting to us (the viewer), is often associated with fetishes. Particula rly, those concerning the mouth are ones I found dominant. Hatton and Trautner found "mouths to be an important characteristic of sexualization" (2011, p. 8). In their own study similar to that of Lindner's, they use the mouth as a scoring category, stating that the images scoring the most points in the category " were explicitly suggestive of sexual activity," lips parted or completely open, "posed for penetration," with their tongue showing, or with something in there "such as a finger" (Hatton&Trautner, 20011, p. 8). Pollock provides us with reasoning for the mou th "as a classic fetish" because it "involves and displaces knowledge of female genitals" (1988, p. 178). Figure 1 : Jambox ad, exe mplifies Feminine Touch (m outh)

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " /1 " Others touches included a suggestive, or sexualized way of touching one 's self, typically o n the thigh or face (which usually led back to the mouth). A recent series of ads for an OPI nail polish collection show off both of these. Figure 2 : OPI ad, exemplifies Feminine Touch (face) Figure 3 : OPI ad, exemplifies Feminine Touch (thigh) Ritualization of Subordination In my project, on the page for Ritualization of Subordination, I looked up synonyms for subordinate . I don't think this is a word we particularly come across often, and I was afraid that the lengthy term "ritualization of subordination" might threaten people at first. However, the synonyms I produced make the term very clear : dependent, inferior, lower, minor, secondary, subnormal, insignificant, smaller, submissive, subs ervient, underaverage, unequal (thesaurus.com) . Are any of these words representative of how women should be made to feel? I would think not, yet we understand from previously defining this term, it's perpetuated from a woman lowering

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " /2 " herself physically, c anting, or slumping, in posture, and also lying or sitting down. For me, I felt the images of women I placed in this category often look vulnerable . I will also go into a particular detail I feel fits into this category, but let me provide you with a few visuals first. Figure 4 : Calvin Klein ad, exemplifies Ritualization of Subordination Figure 5 : Jimmy Choo ad Figure 6 : Jambox ad

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " /3 " What figures 5 an d 6 relate, in addition to their ritualization of subordination from sitting and slumping, is another motif I came across often in this category, and that's the spread legs. I had already gathered the images from magazines, and categorized them, when I was reading Bordo's book and came across her statement: Even the pornographic motif of spread legs arguably the worst offender in reducing the woman to the status of mere receptacle seems to me to use the body to "speak" in this way. "Here I am," spread legs declare, "utterly availa ble to you, ready to be and do whatever you desire." ( 1997, p. 125) I almost shouted out loud, "I know that motif!" I hadn't even questioned it or realized its abundance. However, it was imagery that I had come across many times and the implication now ma kes sense. Body Display This category seemed like a bit of a given to me; as I've previously eluded to, I think we live in a culture that doesn't give a second thought to nudity heck, it's practically a given for most well known models. The point I tri ed to bring out in this category for my project is the extreme to which advertising takes it, it is far from necessary to sell a product, and frankly it is always a distraction from the product that the ad is "about". I think we all chalk it up to "sex sel ls," but why are we okay with that? The figures that follow are two sets of my photographs, and the ads off which they were created. Just think for second, do you notice the nudity, or the product first?

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " /4 " Figure 7 : M.A.C ad, exemplifies Body Display Figure 8 : Ashley as M.A.C ad Figure 9 : Anona ad, exemplifies Body Display Figure 10 : Alex as Anona ad

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " /5 " I will note here that I did not even realize the other animal legs that were added to the actual An ona model, until I handed the photo to Alex, my model, to show her her "muse" she had to point the legs out to me. That is how much I was consumed with the nudity of the ad, so that's why I kept it even though it is not completely realistic. Location This is one of the categories that I found most intriguing. As I mentioned earlier in the paper, my initial idea for this study was t o concentrate solely on the "location" of women in ads, particularly post WWII. So, I have been very drawn to this categor y because I do feel there is this greater sense to it subliminally telling the viewer where a woman's place is (e.g. the home). What I am most drawn to in Lindner's definition is the part, "environment that does not allow for any purposeful activities" (20 04, p. 414). She is specifically referring to the decontextualized environment, not the domestic environment, but I found that it was often applicable to both. I came across many couch lounging models, typically half dressed, in which I was stumped to fin d any purposeful activity served. I also felt that these images strongly lent themselves to the Objectification category as well, but I will talk more about the crossover of categories in a bit. First, two ads to exemplify this category:

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " /6 " Figure 11 : Ferragamo ad Figure 12 : Dior ad (decontextualized environment) (domestic environment) Objectification Much like the Body Display category, I felt more like saying, okay, which ad doesn't this fit? Yet, there were ones that surely did scream it more than others. My favorite phenomenon in this category I began to refer to as th e naked hair ad. Never before have I realized how often hair models look as though they have no clothing on. This particular image is one I came across many times, even in the variety of magazines: Figure 13 : Naked Hair ad

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 07 " Her eyes are closed, head tossed back (mouth parted), are we not lead to believe she is thinking anything other than "look at me"? Oh yes, and please b u y this hair product so t hat you'll look like me. Summary Across all Findings For the most part, many of the categories overlap in any given image. I hope you learned that by Figure 13, and thought Ôbody display and sexualization by way of mouth!' As I went, I know I pointed out things I found more common to be true about our definition of the given category than others. This is the case for an entire category of Lindner's that I will point out here. Licensed withdrawal, which begins as being defined as, " t he woman removes hersel f psychologically from the situation at large or is shown mentally drifting from the physical scene ," but is followed by " leaving her disoriented and dependent on the protectiveness of others" (Linder, 2004, p. 414), left me feeling that it is somewhat dependent on others (particularly male) being present in the image, and since those weren't images I included in my study, I felt it best to leave that category out. However, as the definition te lls us further, "this is indicated by an expansive smile or laughter, covering the face or mouth, or withdrawing h er gaze from the scene at large," (Lindner, 2004, p. 414) and I found the withdrawn gaze incredibly common. That, coupled with its meaning of being withdrawn from the situation at hand, I feel it's important to note because it plays into how we are viewing women. Discussion and Conclusion The goals here are to see that advertising imagery is handing us a fairly distinct way in which to view wo men. Subordination, objectification, sexualization, these are not terms that should not be linked with women's bodies but they are. We can visually see it,

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 0. " and prove it. Just as we can prove that women and young girl's health, both mentally and physically , are on the decline . Discussion and Interpretation of Findings Going into this study I felt I wasn't really going to be surprised at anything I found, I'm a very visual person and felt I had a good grasp on what I see daily, and the subliminal messages if you will of the visual culture surrounding me. Yet, here I am, constantly seeing spread legs, open mouths and naked hair everywhere I look! Were they really so abundant all this time? The naked hair motif may be my own personal joke , but I have provided the actual scholarly facts as to how opened lips and legs are making sexual references. Ones that are even porno culture references, as Bordo (1997) reminds us. These are not good associations for our culture to have mainstreamed. In how many ways to we need to be told there is "evidence that the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harmful to girls' self image and healthy development , " (APA Task Force, 2007) before there is a change? The category that I kept going back to in my study was objectification. I know it's not a new one, and that there are several takes on it, and even that men can be objectified; but it still seems to be th e most prominent and the most harm ful. It is saying her e I am as an object, a thing for you to gaze upon. A thing that may be prompting sexual suggestions, and the fact that I am psychologically dismissing myself from the scene by my distant stare, must mean I am okay with that. I am okay for you to sexualize me. I am okay for you to do what you will because I am not present. I am okay with it because the positioning of my body tells you that I am submissive. I am okay with it. That is what our culture gets. It is also what young girls and grown women (my fad dieting friends!) get.

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 0/ " We will be looked at, young or old. And if you're young, you should start the perfecting now. The actual imagery in ads, which I mentioned early on, is so worked over by Photoshop, it's flawless. There is no way to compete with flawl ess. Yet instead of teaching young girls to embrace their " flaws " , we are letting them diet before they've even reached puberty? Significance, Implications, and Recommendations I know that my imagery or my study may not be applicable for everyone in art education , particularly in a school art class, but I hope that it serves as an inspiration. I do have some suggestions as to how this could be adapted into the art classroom. H ave your class recreate their own ads and take pictures of them. Documen t the process in a journal or sketchbook as a writing exercise in addition to the photographs. For me, the process of re creating the ads and working with my models was just as important as the outcome of the pictures. Have students find their own ads they see as problematic stereotyping. Age? Race? Use those ads to post in your classroom and have discussions about them. What visual clues do they hold? Students could also create their own set of analysis for ad images. What motifs do they find common? How d oes one articulate that? I used Lindners' categories as my tool, and ended up with my own form of analysis by the end of it. This was key for me understanding the imagery I worked with and presenting the dominant visual norms of women in ads as I did. If this topic has sparked your interest at all, I ask you to please read further into it. I had wonderful resources that taught me so much. I have always considered myself a feminist, though sometimes I'm afraid our society can make that a scary thing, but th is study and project have reminded me that I just want to see change for the generation of

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 00 " girls growing up. I feel so lucky to be a young woman in our world today, but there are clearly still some things we need to address. Why shouldn't our world be even brighter for the next phase of young women? I came across some wonderful organizations that are making it a priority to change stereotypes and negative connotations for women in our culture. The Representation Project was one of my favorites, and you can visit some of their great video tools here: http://therepresentationproject.org/resources/videos/ . I'd also suggest Women's Media Center http://www.womensmediacenter.com/content and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media http://www.seejane.org/index.php . Conclusion What I hope may come of this is a new light shed on our visual culture, particularly advertising images, but that you may see a need for it somewhere else. There needs to be more awareness of what we are seeing, and the ideas imagery may be perpetuating. In the case of girls and young women, to understand that what our culture has normalized has been hurtful to u s, in more ways than one. I hope that my ISSUU publication sparks you to use your own art as a voice for change, or use my art, or create your own juxtapositions. I hope that you think the images of my friends are just as beautiful as the ones with the mod els, because they are. I hope you get that message, and that you share that message. To view my ISSUU publication: http://bit.ly/Vvtw2O .

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+," " " " 01 " Figure 14 : Screen shot from ISSUU publication (Feminine Touch) Figure 15 : Screen shot from ISSUU publication (Ritualization of Subordination)

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+,35 References Adichie, C. N. ( 2013, April 12). We should all be feminist [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc&feature=youtu.be . American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force. (2007, February 19). Sexualization of girls is linked to common mental health problems in girls and women -eating disorders, low self esteem, and depression; An APA task force reports. Retrieved from http://www. apa.org/news/press/releases/2007/02/sexualization.aspx . Bordo, S. 1997. Twilight zones: T he hidden life of cultural images from Plato to O.J. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. Bordo, S. (2003). Wish list for my daughter: How image makers can help make t hings better for girls (and boys) in the twenty first c entury [Symposium on women in advertising]. Retrieved from www.aef.com/on_campus/symposia/2003/index .html . Cancian, F. M. (1992). Feminist science: Methodologies that challenge inequality. Gender & Society, 6 (4), 623 642. Chalmers, G. (2005). Visual culture education in the 1960s. Art Education, 58 (60), 6 11. Chanda, J. (1998). Art history inquiry meth ods: Three options for art education practice. Art Education, 51 (5), 17 24. Chanda, J. (2007). Achieving social and cultural educational objectives through art historical inquiry practices. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 41 (4), 24 39. Chang, E. , Kim, M . , & Lim, M. (2012). Three approaches to teaching art methods courses: Child art, visual culture, and issues based art education. Art Education, 65 (3), 17 24.

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+,36 Chung, S. K. (2009). Autobiographical portraits of four female adolescents: Implications for teaching critical visual culture. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 10 (11). Retrieved from http://www.ijea.org/v10n11/ . Darts, D. (2004). Visual culture jam: Art, pedagogy, and creative resistance. Studies in Art Education, 45 (4), 313 327. DeVault, M. L. (1996). Talking back to sociology: Distinctive contributions of feminist methodology. Annual Review of Sociology, 22 , 29 50. Duncum, P. (2002). Clarifying visual culture art education. Art Educat ion, 55 (3), 6 11. Duncum, P. (2001). Visual culture: Developments, definitions, and direction for art education. Studies in Art Education, 42 (2), 101 112. Eisenhauer, J. F. (2006). Beyond bombardment: Subjectivity, visual culture, and art education. Stu dies in Art Education, 47 (2), 155 169. Eisner, E. (2001). Should we create new aims for art education? Art Education, 54 (5), 6 10. Freedman, K. (1994). Interpreting gender and visual culture in art classrooms. Studies in Art Education, 35 (3), 157 170. Freedman, K. (2000). Social perspectives on art education in the U.S.: Teaching visual culture in a democracy. Studies in Art Education, 41 (4), 314 329. Hatton, E. , & Trautner, M. N. (2011). Equal opportunity objectification? The sexualization of men and women on the cover of Rolling Stone. Sexuality & Culture, 15 (3), 256 278. Kilbourne, J. (1999). Can't buy my love: How advertising changes the way we think and feel. New York, NY: Touchstone. Kindler, A. M. (2003). Visual culture, visual brain, and (art) education. Studies in Art Education, 44 (3), 290 296.

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+,37 Lindner, K. (2004). Images of women in general interest and fashion magazine advertisements from 1955 to 2002. Sex Roles, 51 (7/8), 409 4 21. Neuhaus, J. (1999). The way to a man's heart: Gender roles, domestic ideology, and cookbooks in the 1950s. Journal of Social History, 32 (3), 529 555. Orenstein, P. (2011). Cinderella ate my daughter: Dispatches from the front lines of the new girli e girl culture. New York, NY: HarperCollins. Pollock, G. (1988). Vision and difference : Feminism, femininity and the histories of art . New York, NY: Routledge. Rawlinson, M. (2009). American visual culture . New York, NY: Berg. Richards, A. (2003). Bar bies and boycotts: A third wave of f eminism [Symposium on women in advertising]. Retrieved from www.aef.com/on_campus/symposia/2003/index.html . Smolak, L. (2003). B o dy image, eating problems, and media [Symposium on women in advertising]. Retrieved from www.aef.com/on_campus/symposia/2003/index.html . Tavin, K. (2004). Wrestling with angels, searc hing for ghosts: Toward a critical pedagogy of visual culture. Studies in Art Education , 44 (3), 197 213. The Representation Project. (2014). Statistics from miss representation. Retrieved from http://therepresentationproject.org/resources/statistics/ .

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+,38 List of Figures Figure 1: Jambox ad, exemplifies Feminine Touch (m outh) . ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ.. . 23 Figure 2: OPI ad, exemplifies Feminine Touch (face) ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ 24 Figure 3: OPI ad, exemplifies Femine Touch (thigh) ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ .. 24 Figure 4: Calvin Klein ad, exemplifies Ritualization of Subordination ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ.. 25 Figure 5: Jimmy Choo ad ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ. 25 Figure 6: Jambox ad ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ. 25 Figure 7: M.A.C ad, exemplifies Body Display ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ.. 27 Figure 8: Ashley as M.A.C ad ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ. 27 Figure 9: Anona ad, exemplifies Body Display ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ... 27 Figure 10: Alex as Anona ad ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ... 27 Figure 11: Ferragamo ad (decontextualized environment) ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ ÉÉ.. 29 Figure 12: Dior ad (domestic environment) ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ. 29 Figure 13: Naked Hair ad ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ. 29 Figure 14: Screen shot of ISSUU (Feminine Touch) ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ 34 Figure 15 : Screen shot of ISSUU (Ritualization of Subor dination)ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ.. 34

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!"#$!%&'($)"#($"*(()+,39 Author Biography Katharine has her undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky in Art Studio, with a double emphasis in photography and fiber. She also has a strong background with studies in art history. Those studies , coupled with this Master's degree, will hopefully help gain her a job with a non profit arts organization. Local arts centers, galleries and museums had the biggest impact on her growing up, and being able to give back through a similar setting as an ed ucator is her ultimate goal.