Den manliga blickens primat : En semiotisk bildanalys av genusrepresentationer i webbutiker

The advertising picture is today a complex and debated subject. Its constitution is a result of the norms of society, at the same time as it is a co-creater of them. The power and influence of the advertising picture in the creation of societal values, has for a long time been acknowledged among the feminist acadamia. It reproduces ideas of masculinity and femininity, which affects how we interpret and understand gender. Advertising is commonly associated with physical or visual adverts in newspapers, on tv or the internet. Something that is not usually seen as advertisement is underwear-pictures in web catalogues. All picture genres that intend to contribute to sales can however be seen as a form of advertisement since their purpose are to entice customers to consume. This picture genre seems to have been quite unexamined among the feminist acadamia, which makes it even more relevant. This study aims to examine pictures in web catalogues of seven clothing companies (Asos, Bubbleroom, Ellos, Halens, Nelly, Shopbop and Zalando), with the purpose to analyze representations of gender. Focus lies on how male and female models are portrayed through body language and gaze while they show underwear. This is examined with theories about gender, masculinity and femininity, voyeurism and body language. The methods that are used is content analysis and semiotics. The combination of the methods aims to get an outline as well as a profound insight into how the clothing companies represent gender. The result of the analysis shows that men and women were stereotypically portrayed from masculine and feminine norms, and that the womens bodies were sexualised much more than mens. The conclusion of the study is therefore that the clothing companies represent routine-like ideas of masculinity and femininity, which contribute to and can bee seen as a part of the gender system