Gender Roles and Domesticity Through Advertisements in the 1950s

Key Points

• This analysis aims to explore how 1950s advertisements established and reinforced women's roles as caretakers within the home.
• Examined selected advertisements from a 1952 issue of Life Magazine.
• Analyzed visual and textual rhetoric in advertisements.
• Applied Doreen Massey’s theories on space, place, and gender to contextualize findings.
• Advertisements predominantly depicted women in domestic spaces like kitchens and living rooms.
• The analysis showed that media reinforced the notion that femininity is tied to caregiving roles.
• Findings suggest these portrayals limited women's physical and social mobility.

Abstract