Sexual Objectification of Women in Alcohol Print Advertisements in the Philippines

Abstract

This research explores the sexual objectification of women as core models perpetuated by alcohol advertisements. The findings are based on five (5) distinct print advertisements from the leading alcohol brands in the Philippines. The research focuses on how women are portrayed stereotypically in print advertisements. The research utilized both critical discourse analysis (CDA) and semiotics. It allows scholars to examine how various meanings and ideologies are produced, digested, and legitimized via social behaviors, instead of only reviewing discursive texts. The study is predicated on Fairclough's three-dimensional framework: description (textual characteristics), interpretation (discursive practice), and explanation (social practice). According to the findings, ads promote gender inequity. Advertisers use a concentrated technique to depict sexual gender stereotypes against women in alcohol ads. Such advertising supports the notion that women have sexually exploitative and fantasizing images in the alcohol industry, with men as large consumers. The study also indicates how the female role may be portrayed in other marketing industries evaluating alternative multimodal texts.