Michelle Zink

Cole Stratton
MSCH-A 315
September 30, 2017

Gender is one of the most talked about topics in todays society. From the earliest days of

human existence, gender roles have largely affected human culture. While these gender roles

have seemed to change a lot during the past few decades, there are still images that

predominantly present the gender roles of a past generation. These roles include the idea of

women being inferior of men. One of the main places that theses images are still present are in

advertising. Through advertising, companies are projecting these gender roles onto society in

order to sell their products.

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This ad was commissioned for SuitSupply, a Dutch company for mens clothing.

SuitSupply has an international market in mostly Europe and North America. The company is

represented in this ad by a man wearing a suit with his legs firmly planted on the ground. Next to

the man is woman in a vulnerable position. The man is gently lifting the womans dress to reveal

her underwear as he look under her skirt. These signifiers in the ad suggest that men have the

right to do whatever they want to women.

In the film, The Codes of Gender: Identity and Performance in Pop Culture, a professor

in media and cultural studies, Sut Jhally, presents many examples of how gender is presented in

advertisements. A main point he indicated stated that one cannot identify masculinity without

discussing femininity. In order for something to be masculine, an opposing viewpoint is needed,

which is femininity. One image he analyzed in terms of gender roles is the image of woman

lying down in an ad. Jhally believes that when lying down, a woman is vulnerable. This position

allows for sexual availability and submissiveness to any individuals in the vicinity. While the

woman in the SuitSupply ad is not completely lying down, her position allows for the same

analysis. She is pushing her chest out towards the man and putting her head back. Her legs are

wide open, suggesting sexual availability. She is surrendering herself to him and anything he

may want to do to her. She is submitting herself to his command. Another idea Jhally presented

was that of groundedness. In his analysis he stated that women are typically depicted with their

knees bent and off-center with the image. Men, on the other hand, are typically shown with their

legs firmly on the ground and near perfect posture. In SuitSupplys ad the woman is very much

off-center while the man is grounded and ready for anything. Although the woman is off-center,
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it is interesting that she is positioned higher than him in the photo. Its as if SuitSupply is putting

the woman on a pedestal. This could make the statement that sex and women are always in high

ranking in a mans mind. One point Jhally did not speak to is the approval of a man in an ad. In

this image, the man seems to be examining the woman. His face does not show detest nor

approval. He is simply deciding whether or not he would like to continue with this woman. This

is a statement the ad seems to be making.

It is evident that the advertisement is appearing in a discursive context in regards to

gender roles. It brings back the notion from the twentieth century that women are inferior to men

and should submit themselves to whatever men would like to do to them. While the feminist

movement has made leaps and bounds from where it was in the last century, there are still

individuals that have kept these same views on masculinity being defined by a submissive

woman. In their ad, SuitSupply is continuing the notion of vulnerable women for strong men. Its

making the statement that if a male consumer were to buy one of their suits, he would be able to

take control and do whatever he would like. It is also making the statement that he is able to

examine and decide if a woman is worthy of him. This advertisement is reinforcing the discourse

of male dominant gender roles for a male audience.

Due to the age of the man in the ad, it can be assumed that SuitSupply is trying to reach a

demographic of adult men, likely between the ages of 18-49. It is also likely that it is targeting

men due to the lack of a psychographic of women that would agree with the images presented by

the company. The psychographic they are targeting is likely heterosexual men longing for some

sort of confidence and power in their lives. By showing a man who is confident enough in this
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suit to perform these actions on a woman, men who lack this self-confidence will do anything,

including to buy this product, to try and find this confidence for themselves.

While this advertisement is extremely controversial, it could essentially persuade an

individual to buy this product. Gender roles are a part of modern culture that will always be

talked about and challenged. Though it may seem that media and advertising have moved away

from gender stereotypes to sell products, it is clear that there is still a long way to go until they

are completely terminated.