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Due Date: April 18th—in class (paper copy, no emailed papers).

In Erving Goffman’s ground breaking book Gender Advertisments, he argued that advertisements did not portray men and women the way they actually behave and interact; but, they portray the way in which we (as members of society) think men and women should want to be or should be—the ideal male and the ideal female. [footnoteRef:1] For this assignment, you will find three magazine (or similar print) advertisements and do an analysis of either race, gender or both. You will pay special attention to portrayals of social status, power, traditional roles and stereotypes. [1: Goffman E, Harper and Row P. Gender advertisements. [Gender advertisements]. Gender Advertisements. [Gender Advertisements] [serial online]. 1979;Available from: SocINDEX with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 20, 2013.]

In writing your paper:

1) Write an introduction which demonstrates an understanding of stereotypes, power, social status, gender roles, and inequalities. Also, analyze the influence of media and advertising on socialization—why should we care if inequalities are perpetuated in advertising? What are the consequences?

2) Analyze each advertisement for the race and/or gender content, using the concepts we have learned in class. You will also need to consider the source of the ad—what magazine was it printed in? Who is the magazine aimed at? Who is the intended ‘audience’ of the ad? What is being sold?

3) Write a paragraph or two comparing and contrasting the portrayals of gender and/or race in your selected advertisements. From your analysis, what conclusions can we draw? In our society what, in Goffman’s words, should a woman be? What should a man be? How do we expect a white person to behave? How do we expect a black person to behave? An Asian person? What do these advertisements say about the existing inequalities in our society? Were you surprised by what you found?

4) You must use a least one empirical source for your paper. Both of your textbooks are sufficient but we also recommend looking at Goffman’s Gender Advertisements, a copy of which will be put on hold in Bierce Library for this class. No Wikipedia, Answers.com, ect—these are not academic sources. If you reference something that is not your original idea IT MUST BE CITED.

---Things to Keep in Mind---

***You MUST turn in a copy of your three ads with your paper***

*Studying gender can include studying male and female, masculine and feminine.

*Studying race/ethnicity can include studying all races. Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, ect.

*A strong paper will include ads from multiple sources. You must use at least two different sources to find your advertisements for this project.

*This assignment may be easier if you pick a theme for the advertisements, such as a certain type of product or service (perfume, restaurant, laundry detergent, law firm, ect).

Grading Rubric—Paper Option 1: