Pat M. Steinem, Gloria. Sex, Lies and Advertising. 223-229.

Pat Mooney
10/4/07
Gender, Race, and Class in Media, WGS220 - 05
Steinem, Gloria. Sex, Lies and Advertising. 223-229.

Description:
o Steinem, the editor/writer of Ms. magazine articulates the difficulty of women to have a stake into gendered product advertising so that women could be represented more equally and have exposure to products they actually consume (223)

Analysis:
o Difficult to get through to many of the companies to advertise towards women often because many of the executives are men (224)
o Support for the cause was applauded by some, but rarely openly advocated by companies (224)
o Convincing companies of products traditionally advertised to male to advertise to women proved to be a challenge (sometimes because the companies believed the female consumers would be asking for money to buy the products form a boyfriend or husband) (225):
• Electronics (VCRs)
• Lionel trains
o The magazine did experience some success in the field of alcohol and liquor products (227)
o Food products also presented problems because Ms. refused to place recipes using the products (226)

Vision:
o To have fair advertising where women are exposed to the products they use in a way that does not niche the product users into given categories and stereotypes articulated through advertising

Strategy:
o A two-pronged approach to change advertising:
• Convince advertisers who offer products used by all, but advertise primarily to men to advertise in a woman’s magazine to an entirely female audience
• Continue to advertise to favorites of traditionally female oriented advertising (223)
o In actuality a grass roots movement was able to be born (229)