From overt threat to invisible presence: discursive shifts in representations of gender in menstrual product advertising

ABSTRACT

The menstrual product brand ‘Always’ and its #LikeAGirl campaign has made headlines for being at the forefront of a menstrual liberation, championing female empowerment and gender equality. This paper utilises a visual discourse analysis approach to explore the discursive shifts in ‘Always’ advertisements over the past four decades. Specifically, the question as to how the construction of menstruation has changed over time in the advertising discourse of the ‘Always’ brand is addressed. Three dominant discourses of menstruation are identified: overt threat, uncontrollable and invisible. These discourses function as strong claims to truth as they reach the everyday life of female consumers playing a pivotal role in their creation of meaning.

KEYWORDS:

• Visual discourse analysis
• femvertising
• advertising

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel Campbell

Rachel Campbell is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, BA Sociology & Social Studies, and of Technological University Dublin, MSc in Advertising. She is currently Account Manager with The Public House Advertising, Dublin, Ireland.

Olivia Freeman

Olivia Freeman is a lecturer in Consumer Behaviour in TU Dublin. She has presented at numerous national and international conferences and published in the areas of gender and consumer culture.

Valerie Gannon

Valerie Gannon is a Lecturer in Advertising at Technological University Dublin. Her research has been published in the European Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing Management and the Journal of Customer Behaviour.