The focus of this essay is to analyze and scrutinize the Renault advertisement termed ‘status redefined‘. The rationale behind the choice of the media is to examine and investigate the perception of the public about the concept of status and gender inequality, from the design and content development of the Renault advertisement. The idea of gender objectification has over the years misrepresented and induced an unconscious and perhaps conscious bias against women and ladies, which has been harmful to their identity, particularly in advertising. It is significant to note that the increase in the argument about the concept of gender identification has widened, and more importantly, gained more acceptance in the United States. The Renault advertisement vividly presents the significance of status and the corresponding male domination in society.
The young man that eventually went away with the Renault 2011 model exemplified the society’s choice for affluence and status. The definition of real masculinity is predicated upon power, identity, and state, which can only be expressed through the selection of cars a man ride and other elements of affluence. The advertisement also gives credence to the fact that the female identity in the advert content aligns with traditional philosophical concepts. The issue of feminism amongst other theoretical concepts finds expression in the advert. To further expose and analyse the content of the advert in line with the idea of gender and status, three theories will be utilised to explain the advertisement. The first theory is the gender identification theory, followed by hegemonic masculinity, and lastly gender essentialism.
The theories, which include gender identification, hegemonic masculinity, and gender essentialism, reinforce the establishment of man’s dominance and the element of power and status, which is expressed in the media advertisement. The advertisement reinforces an already entrenched belief in the consciousness of men that validates the concept of hegemonic masculinity and further enhances the idea of gender essentialism in respect to the issue of feminism that has experienced a massive debate in recent time.
Theory Section
It is essential to establish the distinction between gender and sex, to explicitly explain the concept of gender identification, hegemonic masculinity, and gender essentialism. The idea of sex refers to differences between a male and a female as a result of their biological and physiological differences. Gender, on the other hand, can be described as a socially learned perception between a male and a female. These two terms place a contention between the roles and expectations required of the male and female in society. The concept of gender identity can be described as the socially imposed perception internalised by an individual as relating to gender (Saperstein, 2018). This perception is usually subjective, based on the predominant culture and social orientation of the individual.
Hegemonic masculinity refers to the superiority of the male over other female and perhaps other males (Morettini, 2016). This concept validates the existence of dominant masculinity. This idea is more culturally and socially constructed, particularly in marriage, in which the male must exercise some level of aggression and violent behaviour to exercise the internalised perception of domination over the female. This also places a burden on the male from a historical context to display strength and toughness as the case may be, and more importantly success to establish his domination. The concept of gender essentialism revolves around the fact that there is a fundamental difference between the male and female, due to the intrinsic or significant differences each sex possesses (Dzubinski, & Diehl, 2018). One of the concepts used to counter gender-based biases in society is gender essentialism. This negates the idea of equality that is propagated and promoted in society. The approach also supports the normative perspective of the two genders, which are male and female. The antagonists of this theory don’t argue about the differences between the male and female entity as a result of their biological and physiological differences, but instead, say that the differences in sexes should not be the basis to deny any of the sexes opportunities.
Application Section
The Renault advertisement showcases a young man and a lady that came for an auction. This auction attracted several individuals based on the class and status of the owner of the building where the sale is taking place. The auctioneer who was making the young man and the lady around to check what the vendor has to offer, showed several models of cars as they moved around the house. They were shown several cars by the auctioneer, from models made in the 50s, 70s and the 80s. The auctioneer later took the young man and woman to the back of the house, where car models made in the 50s and the 60s were shown to these individuals to canvass them in buying those old model cars.
Suddenly, the auctioneer saw a brand new Renault that was brought by the young and the lady! The young man and lady were then shown sitting in their car, telling him, this is Renault Fluence 2011. The main essence of the advert was to establish the fact that the new model Renault car redefines status. Despite the attitude of the auctioneer to showcase the cars he had in his house, the new Renault car, was able to dazzle his imagination, which is shown in his expression. It is imperative to further state that the commercial was designed for the Indian market and based on the historical antecedent and cultural perception of Indians, old model cars are held in high esteem and are used in expressing status, power, influence, and affluence.
The concept of gender inequality has been dramatically expressed, and likewise, the issue of status and power has been given expression in the advert content. The content of the advert greatly reinforced the philosophical theories established in the previous paragraphs. These theories, which are described and explained in the earlier sections, are vivid from the first scene of the commercial to the last scene. In the commercial, the principal figures were men, and this reinforces the concept of hegemonic masculinity, which establishes the male as a superior figure over the female counterpart. This hegemonic tendency is also expressed among men. The domination and superiority are not only to the female gender but also in some instances to the male gender too. The auctioneer, who was showcasing the cars in his house, was showing his status from the model of the car until he saw the Renault the young man and the lady brought (Morettini, 2016).
It is evident that all through the commercial, there was no prominent and pronounced role given to any of the females that were featured in the ad. This reinforces the concept of gender inequality as these theories explain. It is also significant to state that throughout the commercial, the lady with the young man who was the principal focus of the advertisement, never contributed to the discussion, even though, she has her own opinion.
This further reinforces the application of the concept of gender essentialism. In the Indian context, in which the commercial is designed for, the female gender is considered inferior to the male counterpart. This idealised and culturally constructed view further reinforces the concept of gender identification, which made the lady in the commercial not to contribute to the discussion. It is strategic to note that after the young man and the lady entered the Renault car, the man sat in the driver’s seat, which connotes leadership. The position of the driver demonstrates the role of giving direction, taking responsibility for actions on behalf of other people in the car, and lastly, submission by other people in the car to the leadership of the driver.
This further reinforces the concept of hegemonic masculinity, which makes the man assume the leadership position in some culture with in-depth patriarchal settings and the woman to assume the subordinate position according to the research conducted by Jewkes et al., 2015. The study also establishes the fact that the theoretical foundation upon which the concept of hegemonic masculinity is built is predicated upon mutual consent from both the male and female, which gives the man a superiority mindset over the woman. This superiority is not enforced through coercion nor violence. This is critically significant to reinforce the concept of gender inequality.
The position a woman assumes in consonance with the Renault commercial, according to Pushpeganday, 2010, is a function of their biological, psychological, and social orientation. The notion of the reproductive functions which is characterised under biological, cognitive and emotional capacities, which is described as irrational, and their mothering functions portrayed as social are the elements that have reduced the female to its maternal perception. These are significant themes that validate the concept of gender essentialism and make a woman accept her position as not equal to a man.
The core theme of the commercial is to redefine status. The first scene of the commercial begins with the gathering of prominent individuals in society. This establishes the fact that the auctioneering process was designed for a class of people in the community. The vendor, who owns the house in which the auction took place is also a prominent individual and as a consequence, attracted the people of his class. However, he was wowed by the car one of his guest brought, which amazed him and exceeded the models he was having in multiple proportions. This validates the fact that possession also determines the status of individuals in society. The quality of the cars, house and property an individual owns, will ultimately determine his/her condition and the level of power of influence the individual can exhibit.
Conclusion
The focus of this essay is to examine and analyse a piece of media and use philosophical theories to explain the content of the press about status and gender inequality. The three approaches that were used are gender identification, hegemonic masculinity, and gender essentialism. It is essential to establish the fact that though these theories have been critically debated in recent time, however, their application is evident in the media content. The media content is the Renault fluence commercials with the themed status redefined. The essay has been able to explain the concept of gender inequality about gender identification, hegemonic masculinity, and gender essentialism.
Similarly, the Renault commercial has also be used to explain status, about the theories above. Conclusively, the essay has been able to adequately argued that gender inequality is reinforced through the media content, by using the philosophical approaches. The future concerns are essential, the possibility of having a gender equality awareness that will be acceptable in the historical and patriarchal setting. This concern stems from the fact that there is a proliferation of the equality movement in most of the world in recent time.
References
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- Dzubinski L.M., & Diehl A.B., 2018. The problem of Gender Essentialism and its Implications for Women in Leadership. Journal of Leadership Studies, Vol12, Issue1, pp 56 – 61, Available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jls.21565
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- Jewkes R., Morrell R., Hearn J., Lundqvist E., Blackbeard P., Lindegger G., Quayle M., Sikweyiya Y., & Gotten L., 2015. Hegemonic masculinity: combining theory and practice in gender interventions. US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health, Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4706037/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7GI3OXiZ5A
- Kalogeropoulos A. & Nielsen R.K., 2018. Social Inequalities in News Consumption. The University of Oxford, Available at https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2018-10/Kalogeropolous%20Social%20Inequality%20in%20News%20FINAL.pdf
- Morettini F.M., 2016. Hegemonic Masculinity: How the dominant man subjugates other men, women and society. Retrieved 2nd April 2019, Available at https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/27/10/2016/hegemonic-masculinity-how-dominant-man-subjugates-other-men-women-and-society
- Pushpeganday M.D., 2010. Gender essentialism: a conceptual and empirical exploration of notions of maternal essence as a framework for explaining gender difference. Research Space, Available at https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/xmlui/handle/10413/7524
- Saperstein A., 2018. Gender Identification. State of the Union, Available at https://inequality.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Pathways_SOTU_2018_gender-ID.pdf
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