The construction of masculinity in male facial care product advertisement

Abstract

Many studies are done on gender bias on women, but a little on men. If one of women’s stereotypes is wearing makeup, then one of men is no need taking care of his face. However, the consumption of male facial products has shown an up going trend. Ironically, it is not commonly perceived as users of facial care products, since they would be labeled as gay. This study aims to show that gender bias does not only happen to women but also men. In addition, the media is supposed to be the means to liberate and empower marginalized groups and not present news by reinforcing stereotypes of the group. The research question is how ads construct a masculine figure by emphasizing on his needs for facial treatment? The theoretical concepts used in this research are social construction of reality, stereotypes and fetishism while the method of data collection is semiotic text analysis through purposive selection. The results show that masculinity represented in the advertisement figures defines the stereotypes that fit with consumptive urban society behavior. Construction of the advertised product is not for the purpose of selling it for its function, but rather to support the exclusive image and identity of the target buyers.