Gender, Change, and Representation in Advertising Home Appliances - Report Example

Gender, change and representation in advertising Home appliances: from the 1950s to 2000s in UK al Affiliation Introduction There have been ongoing debates on the possibility of financial numerating women, thus turning domesticated duties to domestic roles. Research in the area of female domestic roles in the society has changed overtime. More research has been centred on the possibility of men assuming role of domestic husbands, however studies on the same have proved that the ability of men to effectively work at home is minimal. For that reason, there is a research point, on what are the real roles of a woman expect from production and nurturing. Justifiably, studies have proved that women are quite or more effective as compared to men in the society. Advertisements with time have understood the role of women interchangeably. However, approach and understanding of women in relations to ads is changing with time. The research is defragmented into three main sections. The first section will analyze the changing role of women in the British society. The second section will appoint several ads to give a vivid idea of domesticated roles in the society. The last section will analyze different two principle ads. The Changing role of British Women The current position of British women in the society is changing significantly. Justifiably, women are beginning to emulate equal and senior positions similar to men. Although women still tend to do some jobs around the house, men have joined in supplementing to the domestic workforce. In particular, the law has been revolutionary in recognizing the role of women in the society. In 1923, an Act relieved a wife of having proved cruelty, desertion or another cause, which would justify adultery as grounds for divorce. Such laws have been dropped with time. Further reforms indicated women control over their property was confirmed on the same terms as men in 1926. Likewise, men of all classes continued with their normal jobs, while few women had a job outside the home. The contraceptive diaphragm, which was invented in 1919, became more reliable in 1932 when a contraceptive jelly was developed to go with. With time, the successful leadership in the upper reaches of politics and the military during the war reinforced the existing social system even as power became more diffused with the advent of a genuinely democratic franchise. There no further reforms which were imposed on the House of Lords and the leadership roles in the army, politics, and empire which continued to be filled by peers. Land was now a freehold topic, where questions of equal ownership were gaining subsequent influence. Equality in land ownership was accelerated by the aftermath of the World War II and more so the evolution of the ERP program and the Marshal Plan. The Marshal plan as well carried a series of democratic ideas from United States to Britain. As such, most large landowning families were beginning to rethink the essentiality of distributing some land to women. British had lost so many soldiers in war, this making land ownership a heavily contentious issue. This could be resolved if women were encouraged to own land as well. Evidence from multiple researches suggests that patterns of work within the home have been relatively slow to adjust to changes in the women labour market. However, this does not appear to be the case given that there have been greater progress among more recent generations, than the partners of women born in the 1970s, who contributed around 8 percent more to the share of household chores than those born in the 1950s. Suggestively, more optimism for the future generations, indicate that housework contribution of boys between the ages of 11-to-16 year-old boys and girls shows. The evidence presented from the BHPS suggested that the rise of women paid work hours is accompanied by a decline in total unpaid work hours. Figure 1: A graphical representation that women should take up majority of domestic chores. (Perrett, 2012) The decline in the value of agricultural land meant that aristocracy in land was paving way for way for the development of commercial wealth. Campbell and Cowley (2014, p. 430) supportively asserts that influence in rural areas no longer commanded much weight in elections. Men with business backgrounds engaged in politics affiliated to the Conservative Party. On the other hand, the middle-class intellectual and union leaders formed the core of the labour movements. As such, the social elite and the political elite that were previously been one and the same began to detach from each other. The Labour Party women section took over the national branch network. The league had a history of political activity where aspects such universal suffrage and welfare reform were taken seriously. The radicalization of women at a national level led to the activism at social level. Activism was principally responsible in bringing union dominance and to shut women out from power and policy making. Catalano (2009, p. 45) further believes that firm conviction of gender difference barred women from full integration into the national parties, though they were rarely acknowledged. Nonetheless, the position of women in the society was changing with time. The centurial confinement of women as domestic workers was changing with time. As a result, new ideas of equal presentation, not only in the streets and national debates, but at home were beginning to gain subsequent influence. Figure 2: Percentage of Women In Paid Labour (Schwartz, 2011) Convincingly, doing housework does not turn a person into a housewife, but a domestic servant since women get paid for their labour whereas the work of the housewife is unpaid. The mistress of the house is responsible for the direction of the housework, which she performs, or delegates to servants and other family members. In conservative societies, a man could not be a house-husband. In fact, the so called house-husbands were rarely unheard of in the late twentieth century but, even in families where the women exclusive earner or primary earner. Kaufman (2000, p. 128) further claims that traditional gender roles were not simply reversed as most women continued to perform domestic chores after work, while men used hobbies to define and identify the role of women. Arguably, women living alone are not a housewife, where women become housewives in the context of marriage, economic dependency and motherhood. Justifiably, more men are still engaged in work than women. The following two charts compare the active participation of both sexes at work. Figure 3: A Pie Chart Indicating Man has a Job Figure 4: A Pie Chart Indicating Woman have A Job The net effect of rising female employment has seen a large rise in the number of hours of labour market work within families, although wide variations between families remain. These changes have affected the division of unpaid labour within home. Results indicated here shows that the total number of hours spent on housework each week is primarily because women spend less time on unpaid work. The evidence of a compensating rise in the number of unpaid hours carried by men is more than fully offset the rise in the number of hours they spend in paid work. The aggregate changes may mask variations across different family types. Considerably, the differences in employment patterns declining housework hours appear to be a result of rising employment. Reflectively, from the graphs, the depth at patterns, of specialisation, while among male breadwinner families and in those families where women work part-time, gender divisions in paid and unpaid work are unsurprisingly strong. Blackburn (2009, p. 171) argues that the case with clear gender divisions in unpaid work remain even when both partners work full-time. Collectively, a more detailed analysis indicate that husbands specialize in labour market work, contributing more than half of the families total house of paid work only to small share of housework. Reflectively, women and men work under the same number of paid hours, only that the type of pay differs. As roles are reversed, in the labour market, with a significant percentage of men share of labour market indicating marketing hours falling below half of their contribution to household hours rise but never passes half. Thus, it can be argued that men contribute an even smaller share of housework hours, just one quarter of total share suggesting that notions of identity may play an important role in driving observed patterns of male and female work behaviour. Arguably, when women contribute more within the home, the average of men housework shares rise with total family earnings and their wives are younger and better educated. Men housework contribution is additionally influenced heavily both by shares of hours of paid work and that of shares of earning. For that reason, it is justifiable that men who have a greater contribution of paid work and have greater earnings power than their wives do have a smaller share of housework. Convincingly, having children is as well important too and this is associated with men doing a much smaller share of household chores. Ads Analysis Figure 1: Shlitz Ad (Harvey, 2012) There has been a raging debate about equal sharing of domestic chores at home. The ad above presents the scenario where men equally work at home. The ad emphasizes on the importance of closing the gap between domestic work discrimination. The picture shows a smiling woman shows in the arm of his willing but incapable househusband. Such grievances are only common in the modern homes where women have migrated from domestic chores to corporate work. The previous chapter attempted to compare the number of women on active employment. Figure 2: Kenwood Ad BusinessPundit The above ad was one of the most suggestive ads of the 20th century. Primarily, the ad asserts the undisputed role of being a wife. From the ad, it is clear that the role of women cannot change with time, as technology is not bridging gender roles but coming to add value to them. Figure 3: Women Land Army (Business Pundit, 2013) This is one of the most controversial pictures as long as domestication of women role is concerned. At the height of the world war, it became apparent that domestic chores had to be recognized. Thus, the doers of these jobs had to be honoured for their service to the society. Before the war, domestic duties were not considered as professional duties. However, from the picture, much has changed, given that the national economy still requires the subsequent productivity from unpaid service. After looking at the picture, one will be left wondering whether domestic work really has a price tag. In addition, one will be left questioning whether there is need professionalize the domestic role. Figure 4: Real Men Cook Miekel, 2014 The above ad still remains to be a controversial image in modern day advertisements. The role of women as domestic husbands is gaining subsequent influence in modern day presentation. The above images show how men are ineffective in the kitchen. By protecting themselves from Kitchen appliances electric shock, it is clear that women role in the kitchen is professional. Sanghani, 2014 The image above encourages the ideological development on the role of women in any given society. As seen, the woman looks pregnant; however she is at her office. This indicates that social stereotypes against women physical abilities are just but myths. Descriptively, the women are seen to operate an executive officer, which can only be operated by her immediate male counterparts. It is clear from the image that women have a senior role to play in the society. Figure 1: Professionalizing of the Wife Role The ad demonstrates the professionalized work of domestic duties. One will be left questioning if companies can make such outstanding machines just to improve the overall efficiency at home, why then does the society has to consider such work types unproductive to the general economy. Convincingly, the women productivity at home should be considered flamboyant in any case. Figure 4: An imaging suggesting the missed confusion of women McVeigh, 2012 The ad above indicates the desirability of women to adapt to feminine lifestyle. From the ad, it is clear that women are envious of the role of men in the society. From the ad, it is clear that men carry the legacy of fun and enjoy the fact that their bodies are not subject to changes due to pregnancy. Ad Analysis Women Land Army Convincingly, the legal framework for the position of women in employment was set in three revolutionary pieces of legislations enacted in the early of the 1970s. These laws include the Equal PayAct, and the Employment Protection Act. However, the parliament did not deliberate on a strategy of compensating women for the unpaid work. The domestic workers began a mass letter-writing campaign to demand that employers pay them one dollar more per week than they currently earned. The picture is instigated by the fact that the after weeks without domestic help, desperate Anglo housewives, not quite inured to the physical demands of homemaking, reluctantly agreed to increase their employees pay. From the picture above, it is clear that women did not accept this situation passively. Bergmann (2005, p. 45) contends that the problems of the housewife has become a major political issue as women registered their dissatisfaction in projects organized, for example, the British Housewives League. The post-war labour government collectivist, producerist agenda remained a popular among men whose discontent about shortages and low rations was outweighed by an appreciation of gains such as full employment and higher wages. Convincingly, these gains were not necessarily translated into increased housekeeping money and women greatly concerned about high inflation rate in the past. Subsequently, labour appeal to women that highlighted fair share, food subsidies and welfare reform that was not without support but these policies failed to mitigate erosion of women. As a result, the conservative party was greatly favoured following its fashioned approach to champion women consumer rights by recognizing the burden borne by women during the postwar austerity and promising relief as form of decontrol and restoration of prices. In fact, the conservative party skilful exploitation of widespread dissatisfaction with persistent shortage and ration cuts was instrumental to electro reforms. Following the successive victories of conservative party in the elections of 1951 and 1955, the party polled a disproportionate share of the female vote, which indicate that the appeal to housewives brought extensive rewards in terms of electoral success. As a result, housewives central role in the austerity policy fuelled the development of women status into a consolidated citizenship. The failure of the labour party to women voices enabled the solidifying of women behind the conservative party. From the above politics, it is notable that UK housewives over approximately the same time span, but have a strong inference to draw that it is near constancy of domestic work in a given period for samples as a whole results from contrary trends. Antonopolos (2009, p. 45) asserts that women are increasing their unpaid work time because of the loss of domestic servants, working-class women decreasing. The evidence seems to point strongly towards the proposition that labour-saving technology, realized in figure 4 would encourage saving time. The research invites the duo burden argument to understand critically the nature of domestic responsibilities. According to the argument, women maintain entitled to the previous domestic as they move to paid employment. However, the argument compels husbands to not increase their domestic work to compensate or their wives change of economic activity. Francis (2014, p. 45) supportively established that the dual burden is essentially a quantitative phenomenon since of the lag in the operation of the process of adjustment. As such, the total (paid and unpaid) workhouse of employed married women tends to be higher than their husbands. Thus, ad 1 is right given that we are looking at the total man hours spent on a given establishment. However, apart from the difference in total work hours, there is also a split of the total sorts of work, and even the households where the total work is evenly divided. Convincingly, there is still a tendency for women to take responsibility for a larger proportion of the housework. Thus, there is has been a raging argument on the total energy spent in doing work. Studies by Scott (2008, p. 43), have proved that full-time employed men are more likely than men to take days off work to care for children. These individuals are more likely than men to take days off work to care for children, and more so to take extended leave to leave their jobs altogether. As such, married women are capable of devoting their energy to work both in the short-term and long-term. There are still questions about what are the implications of women invisibility and lack of recognition in economic life. Supportively, one would question whether all domestic chores are household duties should be treated as commercial transactions. Likewise, there are still questions that investigate whether housewives should become housemaids to enhance national income. Publishing (2015, p. 54) observes that it could make more logics if we estimated the value of the missing income that will have to be accrued, mainly to women. Similarly, from the picture one would ask what are the national merits if households’ activities, for example cooking or raising were treated as economic activities. Justifiably, these are contentious questions to which it is difficult to give non-supplemental answers by serving only to demonstrate that economics is not life only or even the most important factor in organizing domestic duties. Backed by the ad, one would therefore argue that such evocations demonstrates human emotions, culture and traditions with other basic human values, which often play an even and more crucial role in situation of cooperative conflicts in the society. Reflectively, if adequate methods to impute the value of unpaid household activities performed by women were to be applied more comprehensively, it would be sufficient to capture the human perspectives that put emphasis on such work. The adoption of present accounting methods, to ensure that assessment, compensation and recognition are properly recognized. Although such approaches seek to establish the authenticity of a given work type, and probably whether it is advisable to engage in such means of production, it would be argued as a dis-service to the community. Attempts to audit women contribution to domestic work will naturally fail since the monetary concept is not properly embedded in such works. Professionalizing the Wife Role From the ad by Sanghani, a crucial element is brought on board, the role of mothers and fathers in bringing forth a generation. On one hand, men in their line might experience tension between paired career courses at an earlier point as well when their hair to be decided on an occupational career. On the other hand, women in their line of succession and wives of junior sons do not experience structural dissonance concerning the linked careers. Pink (2004, p. 54) contends that conflict between domestic and pottery roles, which does not stem from questions of how and when to allocate authority. Instead, questions of competition between career women time remain a central focus. According to the image, their role conflict especially during the year when women are giving birth and caring for young children. In UK, there is a growing concern about their real roles of women in the society. As noted from the ongoing discussion, women often end up doing the majority of the work in providing for their families in both the public and private spheres, yet they will still remain in the bottom. The worst problem is that men seem to carry the legacy of success. Reflectively, feminine education levels question the position of women in the society. The problem by Sanghani (2014) is that men expect women to uphold their domestic tasks as they have been doing prior to the pregnancy, to assume even more of them as they prepare for motherhood. As a result, men put great pressures on themselves to provide for their growing families financially. For that reason, men feel that they need to distance from alcohol, in order to locate gainful employment. Reflectively, men like women are attempting to be good parents, by sharing domestic duties and spending more time with their children. However, based on liberal ideas from, Sanghani (2014), it is clear that changing attitude of women and less quickly changing the conflict of men is presented by the changing views on the birth itself. In fact, Sanghani attempts to justify that women are beginning to request men to be part of the birthing process. Many men still feel it is not their place to be involved. The differing expectations that men and women have for each other is coupled with the admission of infidelity. Nonetheless, these unions mature with time and attempt to raise and financially support their children. There is a raging debate that relationships should be equal. Consensus points indicate that it is unethical for a man not to work, while working for a woman is unethical. As well, consensus indicates that it was unethical a woman to ignore household chores. Relating to our dual-earning household presented previously, it is notable that women still cared for children as well, but a household in which the women was the sole breadwinner and majority of tasks could be described as deplorable. Another problem that the ad attempts to report is that women attempt to be leaders at home and at work. Although there have been questions investigating the eligibility of women as leaders in the workplace, research has established that women do not give men the opportunity to lead. Women naturally do almost all the household task, thus alienating men. In fact, most men do not know where to access an item A and how. According to Sanghani’s ad, family responsibilities should be fifty/ fifty although women do it all. Women are these days demanding that their husbands more effort to domestic tasks, by assisting them in cooking, caring and cleaning for their children. Sanghani’s ad notes that although these jobs are still predominantly considered women tasks, the voices from younger generation indicate such task does not undermine one’s masculinity. However, various establishments have proved that men will often shy off from a natural obligation of watching kids. Arguably, by eliminating the high career costs of raising families, companies play a positive role in supporting families and effectively utilize and benefit from their feminine potential. Schmidt (2009, p. 64) further claims UK employment policies were designed for men based on the assumption that a wife will naturally take care of domestic obligations. There is evidence that women returning to their jobs after giving birth do as well concentrate equally on men. Returning to the job is enabled by the internal organizational policies that the company decides to pursue. As part of the CSRs concerns, there are some companies that have a specialized designated baby day care at the workplace. Such an approach indicates that there is increasing professionalization in the labour market which will benefit working women. Women expertise allows resuming to these careers. To the extent that increasing numbers of educated women remain in the labour force in the low return on women. Case and Paxson (2006) asserts the representation of women in managerial jobs has opened managerial track to the position but has done little to reform working conditions in different ways. More reforms have been established to encourage working mothers to participate in professional working spheres. Gender resources managers of foreign firms regularly report that they actively enjoy happier results than men. Constructively, women’s language skills are considered better and this indicate an initiative and less reluctant to adapt to complex business involvements. Women will naturally leave the unpaid work for the paid duty given that the paid duty will naturally have assessments on performance. Assessments expand their economic and social confidence bettering women in that career. Conclusion Convincingly, it is clear from the above assessment that women role can be understood interchangeably with that of women. While men are confined by the need to provide to their family through the use of masculine power, women on the other hand are limited by the fact that their body will have to undergo changes at the time of birth. The research has therefore proved that women value in the society can only be bettered by recognizing women as an independent sex and not comparing them with men. Although the research has not challenged the professionalization of women in corporate or industrial hemispheres, it is clear that their ability to compete in these worlds is relatively weaker than that of women. As such, future research should focus on the possibility of establishing women as equal and independent players in the society and not necessarily emulating men. Bibliography Antonopoulos, R. (2009). Unpaid work and the economy gender, time-use and poverty. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Bergmann, B. (2005). The economic emergence of women (2nd ed.). Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Blackburn, R. (2009). Gender Segregation: Divisions of Work in Post-Industrial Welfare States. Asian Journal of Social Science, 171-172. Business Pundit. (2013, April 12). The Chef does everything but cooks is what wives are for. Retrieved May 4, 2015. Campbell, R., & Cowley, P. (2014). 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