Female Representation in Beauty Advertising on Instagram

Although the representation of women in advertising has been studied for more than five decades, it is still considered a significant topic of academic pursuit since gender roles are redefining, which is also reflected in the portrayal of women in advertising. Moreover, advertising as a form of visual communication produces meanings within culture and, at the same time, reflects and shapes social norms and beliefs. Advertising perpetuates female stereotypes by portraying them as subordinate and passive, mostly in traditional roles as mothers and wives, and decorative ones, as well as sexual objects and sexualized, emphasizing their physical appearance and sexuality over their skills and achievements. However, such stereotypical portrayals are increasingly being challenged, particularly in new media due to the femvertising. Furthermore, femvertising is an advertising strategy that represents women more authentically by highlighting their talents and capabilities, displaying female power and diverse representation of beauty, and thus empowering them. Given the importance of female representation in advertising, which has primarily been investigated in traditional media, there is a limited body of literature examining the portrayal of women in contemporary beauty advertising on Instagram in Croatia. By narrowing the focus to the specific socio-cultural context of Croatia, this study aims to provide significant insights into how local cultural norms and values are reflected in female representation in Instagram beauty advertising. A qualitative approach was employed, and a thematic analysis was conducted. A meticulous analysis of 150 Instagram posts from official accounts of Croatian beauty brands La PIEL, Skintegra, and Immortella has resulted in three main themes. That is, ‘Female submissiveness’, ‘Empowering women’, and ‘Promoting body positivity’. The findings revealed that Croatian beauty brands stereotype women by portraying female submissiveness, sexual objectification, sexualization, and promotion of beauty ideals. Simultaneously, they empower women through pro-woman messaging, portrayals of women in non-traditional roles and their power, and promotion of body positivity. Due to the fact that this research demonstrates the coexistence of female stereotypes and empowerment within female representation, future research could investigate that duality's effects on customer perceptions and behavior.