Shower gel analysis/ Q's
Initial Questions
1. What type of reader knowledge does this text assume?
It seems that the text is assuming that the reader is a married women. I know this as they talk about a man being messy and talking about the husband in the stereotypical way. I also know that it is for a wife as the product is directed towards women.
2. This text was found on the side of a shower gel bottle. How might this have influenced the kinds of linguistic decisions the text producer made.
As this was on the side of a product, the text would have to be relevant to both the product and the audience and shouldn't have any taboo language. to be able to tick these 3 boxes, the text producer made a typical scenario of a married women with no children. They also replaces taboo language (swear words) with the word "blooming" to make it specific to the flowery product.
Detailed questions
1. How does this text represent males and females.
This text seems to be going along with present day stereotypes for married men and women, or a couple that are living together. It shows men to be messy that uses everything he finds if it's his or not. Ontop of this, they're presenting the women as being the tidy ones who doesn't like the mess that the man is making, and is also the one who has to tidy up after him.
2. Why do you think the text makes such extensive use of the intensifier 'blooming'?
The intensifier blooming is being used to show how flowery the product is and is also being used to replace swear words. Because it's being used instead of swear words, I get the feeling that this is playing along with another one of the stereotypes put onto women which is how women shouldn't swear because it is 'unlady- like'.
NOTES - REST ARE IN GENDER BOOKLET (PINK)
Initial questions
1. What type of reader knowledge does this text assume.
They assume the reader is a (married) woman who doesn't like how messy her husband is - stereotypical traits of a husband and wife - No kids, living alone with husband.
2. This text was found on the side of a shower gel bottle. How might this have influenced the kinds of linguistic decisions the text producer made.
As it's on the side of a product, the text producer wouldn't have been able to put swear worlds on it and they would've changed words to make it refer back to the product, hence the extensive use of the word "blooming"
Detailed questions
1. How does this text represent males and females.
-Shows what (married) men are like - stereotypes - they're messy and uses all of your things.
- women are the ones that want everything clean unlike the men (typically, stereotypical)
- colouring of the bottle, bright pink and yellow - 'female colours' - pretty/ 'girly'
2. Why do you think the text makes such extensive use of the intensifier 'blooming'?
- used instead of a swear word
- used as an adjective
- stereotypes? women shouldn't swear? it's un-lady-like.
3. How is this text structured?
- lots of rhetorical q's - gets audience thinking?
4. What is the effect of the final statement 'we only want you for your body'?
- stereotypes - men should be the smart ones, women should have the good appearance, men only want them for their body and don't care what's within?
5. Look for other examples of health, beauty, and grooming products that are specifically aimed at either men or women. What kinds of language and persuasive strategies do they use? How do they represent gender? Are there any patterns that you can see in your data? And any interesting exceptions?
- Lynx for men - dark colours i.e. black, browns + other 'boy' colours - blue, red, orange etc. - men should be tough, strong etc. - adverts - they spray it, then lots of women rub after him. All of the women are wearing bikinis and have large breasts, flat stomachs etc. - when you spray it all the ladies will go after you. - shows that women are submissive to men, the men get their pick of women where as the women have to fight to get his attention - men are the domineering gender.
Dove - for women - talks about the products itself, tells listeners what's in the product and exactly what it does. talks about having super soft skin that smooth etc. The advert is full of people in the shower with good looking, soft skin that women are meant to have. Product is all about being soft, smooth
Dove - for men - Advert contains rugby players. Doesn't talk about the product at all as in; what's in it, what it does. Shows men that the first thing they have to do to be manly is stay hygienic. The men are presented as strong, tough, sporty people. To be a man you HAVE to be hygienic and you HAVE to be strong and muscly like a rugby player.
Venus - All the women have tanned skinny legs that are already shaved in the advert - shows that women shouldn't be hairy and they should always shave. In adverts, the models bodies tend to be spray tanned in such a way that they look thinner, and their bodies are also photo shopped on the film - this creates unrealistic beauty trends that can't be achieved - women are expected to be so 'immaculate' that it isn't possible without faking it.
Women care a lot about what is actually in the product and like to know what the product does for them. Men don't seem to care too much about what's in the product they just tend to pick up the first thing they see or the thing they usually use. - Men go more for the products that seem to 'reel in women' and go for the ones that are shown to make you stronger and more powerful. Women like to go for the products that make you soft and likes to go for products that make you all nice. Women need to be immaculate, skinny, tanned, toned etc - thy have unrealistic beauty trends that they can't live up to do the falseness of models in adverts. Men don't seem to care so much about what they look like but more about how they're stronger and braver on the inside.
1. What type of reader knowledge does this text assume?
It seems that the text is assuming that the reader is a married women. I know this as they talk about a man being messy and talking about the husband in the stereotypical way. I also know that it is for a wife as the product is directed towards women.
2. This text was found on the side of a shower gel bottle. How might this have influenced the kinds of linguistic decisions the text producer made.
As this was on the side of a product, the text would have to be relevant to both the product and the audience and shouldn't have any taboo language. to be able to tick these 3 boxes, the text producer made a typical scenario of a married women with no children. They also replaces taboo language (swear words) with the word "blooming" to make it specific to the flowery product.
Detailed questions
1. How does this text represent males and females.
This text seems to be going along with present day stereotypes for married men and women, or a couple that are living together. It shows men to be messy that uses everything he finds if it's his or not. Ontop of this, they're presenting the women as being the tidy ones who doesn't like the mess that the man is making, and is also the one who has to tidy up after him.
2. Why do you think the text makes such extensive use of the intensifier 'blooming'?
The intensifier blooming is being used to show how flowery the product is and is also being used to replace swear words. Because it's being used instead of swear words, I get the feeling that this is playing along with another one of the stereotypes put onto women which is how women shouldn't swear because it is 'unlady- like'.
NOTES - REST ARE IN GENDER BOOKLET (PINK)
Initial questions
1. What type of reader knowledge does this text assume.
They assume the reader is a (married) woman who doesn't like how messy her husband is - stereotypical traits of a husband and wife - No kids, living alone with husband.
2. This text was found on the side of a shower gel bottle. How might this have influenced the kinds of linguistic decisions the text producer made.
As it's on the side of a product, the text producer wouldn't have been able to put swear worlds on it and they would've changed words to make it refer back to the product, hence the extensive use of the word "blooming"
Detailed questions
1. How does this text represent males and females.
-Shows what (married) men are like - stereotypes - they're messy and uses all of your things.
- women are the ones that want everything clean unlike the men (typically, stereotypical)
- colouring of the bottle, bright pink and yellow - 'female colours' - pretty/ 'girly'
2. Why do you think the text makes such extensive use of the intensifier 'blooming'?
- used instead of a swear word
- used as an adjective
- stereotypes? women shouldn't swear? it's un-lady-like.
3. How is this text structured?
- lots of rhetorical q's - gets audience thinking?
4. What is the effect of the final statement 'we only want you for your body'?
- stereotypes - men should be the smart ones, women should have the good appearance, men only want them for their body and don't care what's within?
5. Look for other examples of health, beauty, and grooming products that are specifically aimed at either men or women. What kinds of language and persuasive strategies do they use? How do they represent gender? Are there any patterns that you can see in your data? And any interesting exceptions?
- Lynx for men - dark colours i.e. black, browns + other 'boy' colours - blue, red, orange etc. - men should be tough, strong etc. - adverts - they spray it, then lots of women rub after him. All of the women are wearing bikinis and have large breasts, flat stomachs etc. - when you spray it all the ladies will go after you. - shows that women are submissive to men, the men get their pick of women where as the women have to fight to get his attention - men are the domineering gender.
Dove - for women - talks about the products itself, tells listeners what's in the product and exactly what it does. talks about having super soft skin that smooth etc. The advert is full of people in the shower with good looking, soft skin that women are meant to have. Product is all about being soft, smooth
Dove - for men - Advert contains rugby players. Doesn't talk about the product at all as in; what's in it, what it does. Shows men that the first thing they have to do to be manly is stay hygienic. The men are presented as strong, tough, sporty people. To be a man you HAVE to be hygienic and you HAVE to be strong and muscly like a rugby player.
Venus - All the women have tanned skinny legs that are already shaved in the advert - shows that women shouldn't be hairy and they should always shave. In adverts, the models bodies tend to be spray tanned in such a way that they look thinner, and their bodies are also photo shopped on the film - this creates unrealistic beauty trends that can't be achieved - women are expected to be so 'immaculate' that it isn't possible without faking it.
Women care a lot about what is actually in the product and like to know what the product does for them. Men don't seem to care too much about what's in the product they just tend to pick up the first thing they see or the thing they usually use. - Men go more for the products that seem to 'reel in women' and go for the ones that are shown to make you stronger and more powerful. Women like to go for the products that make you soft and likes to go for products that make you all nice. Women need to be immaculate, skinny, tanned, toned etc - thy have unrealistic beauty trends that they can't live up to do the falseness of models in adverts. Men don't seem to care so much about what they look like but more about how they're stronger and braver on the inside.
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