Sex, Lies, and Advertising

168 – Sex, Lies, And Advertising – Gloria Steinem

Gloria explains many ways to control the media through advertising and the difficulty involved in getting advertisers to take women’s magazines seriously. Apparently, advertisers believe that only men make important purchases, and women should be shopping and cooking because they are not technically inclined. Racial, ethnic, and sexual preferences are also causes for advertising discrimination. Many advertisers believed the articles should relate to the ads, while others believed their ads would not meet the proper audience. It seemed to be a vicious circle of cause and effect and overanalyzes, which eventually led the magazine to a reader focused product with no advertisements.

She reflects back to the early 20th century when husbands were the revenue source for magazines, and there were no advertisers. The magazine consisted of information to assist women to be better wives, mothers, and homemakers. However, the magazines turned toward the image of a catalog, due to the invention of clothing patterns and the mass manufacture of household items, which led to manufacturers placing demands on the type of stories adjacent to their products or in the overall magazine (page 183).

She began by presenting a problem, gave examples of advertising problems (maybe too many), and then reflected on its origin. She concludes with a proposition for women to take control of their magazines by making their opinion known to editors, publishers, advertisers, and each other.