Gendering oil through the lens of advertising : gender roles in oil company advertisements as a mirror of culture and of social change

This electronic book is a longitudinal investigation into the ways in which oil companies have adapted their advertising to both influence and appeal to their contemporary publics. Taking a dramaturgical approach, it examines the roles and attitudes attributed to the characters that populate the advertisements and with whom the intended audiences should identify. The analysis shows that despite the fact that society is striving towards increased gender equality, the general narrative of oil companies remains unchanged. The casting of the advertisements shows that oil and its derivatives are provided and developed by strong, heroic and competent men to ease and facilitate the lives of the weaker, dependent female population.The text has not been sent for peer-review.