Women's Images in Print Advertising

The aim of this study was to research whether and how the images of women in beauty advertisements in the British and French Vogue Magazines have changed over time, particularly between the decades 1920 to 1930 and 1995 to 2005. Moreover, it was the goal to find out more about whether the historical, political and social context was reflected in women’s images in advertising in the decades investigated. All beauty-related advertisements of these magazines and decades were categorized into role model types. This categorization led to a comparison of the two decades researched and revealed that although, during the course of the 20th century, women have achieved a number of significant rights, they are, nevertheless, objectified to a greater extent today than was the case in the 1920s. This objectification of women can cause severe psychosomatic disorders which proves how powerful the position of the media in society is. Clearly, the media and their controlling gatekeepers such as editors, who dictate the beauty ideals, are not only to blame for such consequences, as these ideals are readily accepted and followed by the readers of the magazines.