Dolce and Gabbana’s 2007
international
ad campaign at its roots is a reflection of western societies
expected norms and values of gender role behaviors for both males and females.
This particular image manages to perpetuate the socially constructed terminology
of masculine and feminine traits and reinforces the existing dichotomy between
the two genders, that males possess stronger more dominating characteristics,
while females are weaker and more passive (Holmes, Jan 10
th 2008).
The advertising company and image also disseminate the continual “binary
distinction” (Holmes, Jan 10
th 2008) existent in society by
portraying the males (by way of stance and positioning) in a positive light
while the female’s submissive stance could be viewed as negative.
Beyond
the facetious depiction of male supremacy the advertisement creates through its
false dichotomy, it manages to socially reinforcement acceptable gender
functions for both males and females. The depiction of the four males
surrounding and forcefully straddling the female establishes the viewpoint that
in order to be inherently accepted as males, men must be dominant over females.
The image reinforces psychoanalytical theorist Kaschak theory of the “Oedipal
male” who “feels entitled to having his needs gratified by women, his> sense of entitlement” (Nelson, 57). By one of the male models forcing
himself on the women and the acceptable observation made by the other males,
the image is not only setting a precedence that this is acceptable behavior for
all men, but also that it is a requirement in order to be portrayed as
masculine by other males. The surrounding males create a kind of “stimulus
generalization” (Nelson, 58) in that by not objecting to the actions taking
place they “reinforce gender-appropriate behavior” (Nelson, 58). The
image also creates a public dilemma in that the image itself creates a sort of
“stimulus generalization” in that children often mimic what they see,
particularly the actions of someone of the same sex (57-59), which may result
in many children seeing the actions of these males as socially acceptable in a
modern society.
On
the reverse side of the male dominated image is the lone female who is being
overtaken by the surrounding four males. By placing the female in a rather
provocative pose and in a powerless situation the image manages to only
reinforce the notion of the helpless female dichotomy (Holmes, Jan 15th
2008). The advertisers in a blatant attempt to sell clothing chose to instead
dress the female in a scantily clad bathing suit, which is predominantly
covered by the companies’ logo, minimizing the importance of the clothing in
the advertisement, and possibly minimizing the importance of women in general.
Dolce and Gabbana in an attempt to push their clothing manages to also make
light of the serious issues of abuse and rape. The image of the over powered
female (by the males) in no way portrays the women fighting back, no kicks or
screams, which to certain males may reinforce this as acceptable behavior, in
that females don’t really want to fight back, and that conquest is merely a
part of the evolutionary male.
In
reducing the image to a mere superficial level the advertisement reinforces the
“stereotypical ideal image of women and men” (Nelson, 194). This modern
advertisement is anything but revolutionary in that it follows advertisers
images from the 1970’s by portraying the female “as wannabe sex objects”
(Nelson, 194). For a fashion company that in the same year as this
advertisement used an obese fema