New Feminist Studies in Audiovisual Industries | “Menvertising” and the Resistances to New Masculinities in Audiovisual Representations

Abstract

This article introduces an innovative definition and a method of enquiry for “menvertising” audiovisual commercials. Inspired in prior “femvertising” campaigns, it explores recent campaigns that question stereotypes and portrayals of men traditionally associated with hegemonic masculinity. The article presents a literature review of the study of gender portrayals in advertising and of the notion of hegemonic masculinity, and explains the three principal reasons to explain men’s lower identification with commercials that promote new portrayals of masculinities that deviate from or subvert hegemonic masculinity (resistance, reactance, and masculine gender role stress). It offers a methodological framework for the study of menvertising and applies it to three different international commercials which show different levels of commitment to the advancement of gender equality versus a commodification of what the brands at times perceive as an advantageous approach to gender portrayals.