Project #2 Webpage
Gender Roles in the 1970s: The Suburban Vision in
Commercials
An Exhibition by Tariq A. Dahmas
April 10, 1996
Introduction
The ideal social setting of the 1970s was suburbia.
Suburbia was seen as the most typical family setting. It was, therefore,
viewed as the indicator and standard for what was "normal". Socially
acceptable norms were derived from the suburban image. The main tool for
delivering this image was television, and consequently television
commercials. Yet, these commercials were not as direct as television
programs. Instead, they sought to unconsciously promote certain values
and infuse them in the minds of the consumers.
Suburbia was viewed as the most ideal social setting in
the 1970s
since its space and uncongested environment appealed to most middle-class
Americans. Since this class was the largest single consumer group,
programming and advertising centered around the suburban setting.
Therefore, the suburban lifestyle became the norm. Values were promoted
through this image and it became the primary vehicle for "social
habilitation."
Gender roles was a theme that pervaded commercials of the
1970s.
Although they were not as blatant as those of previous decades, these
commercials continued to reinforced the same gender roles. An indirect,
yet effective, method of advertising was used to achieve this task.
Playing upon the subconscious of the individual, these commercials
revealed the "characteristic roles" of each sex. "It is clear that, in
advertising, the psychological means employed is persuasion" (Geis, 20).
The "acceptable" tasks that each of the sexes could perform around the
suburban home were portrayed as the commercial advertised a certain
product. In fact, these commercials played upon the acceptance by
society of these gender roles in order to sell their products.
The 1970s were characteristic years of the media in its
attempt to
define and uphold gender positions in the face of changing social
conditions. Society was changing due to the advent of the "sexual
revolution", during the previous decade, yet television commercials
promoted the accepted gender roles that had been around for decades.
Advertising was not "revolutionized", instead it was a force that
promoted and emphasized for society the status quo.
Gender in Commercials
Related Links
Gallery
of Classic Commercials from the 1970s
History of
Television Advertising in the 1970s
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