Iconic Representation of Women in Philippine Magazine Advertisements

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The knowledge of how women are represented in a specific advertisement to hit the target audience of the products being introduced is not only confined in a certain field of discipline and groups of people; instead it traverses to different aspects of humanity where consumerism is fundamental. Thus, this study attempted to determine the iconic representations of women and find out how these have shaped the role they portrayed in the magazine advertisements. Using the qualitative analysis particularly Ferdinand de Saussaure's semiotic theory, icons on beauty products, vehicle, food and beverage, clothing and accessories, and vitamins and food supplements were analyzed. The analysis of results revealed that the iconic representations of women in magazine ads were relative size, feminine touch or touching any object, function ranking, the family, ritualization of subordination, licensed withdrawal, body display, feminine power and women empowerment which come in various signifiers and signified concepts. These iconic representations shaped the roles of women portrayed in the ads which include their roles as sex object, mother/nurturer, physically attractive or decorative, working or career woman, dependent, recreational and authority.