How do you dress a doll who's more than 12" tall : a closer look at the ways that women are portrayed by the advertising industry (HONRS 499)

The purpose of this thesis is to look at the various ways that women are often portrayed by the advertising industry. The first part looks at the physical characteristics of the typical advertised female. From there, it moves to the ways that the models act and react to the situations depicted in the advertisements and to their audience. The treatment of women appearing in advertisements and the spread of racial stereotypes is also examined. The unattainable ideal presented in ads are contracted with the reality of women in today’s world. Hope for improvement is supported with occasional positive messages in advertisements. Throughout the paper, current advertisements are referred to and analyzed to illustrate the points being made. All of these parts work together to reveal the negative messages that the advertising industry is sending society, concerning the ways that we should view females.Honors CollegeThesis (B.A.