Both sex and gender are terms very well known to all of us. However, do we know what they actually mean and represent? In the documentary Codes of Gender, these terms are discussed in more detail and it is argued that “the two sex/two gender distinction is a socially created one, not natural”. The documentary also shows how gender is represented in advertisements by using a set of codes, which, at the same time, assign a set of contrastive cultural characteristics and therefore determine how we display gender in our minds.
To show some of these codes, I will compare male and female pictures of Instagram models – pictures of a singer and dancer Alahna Ly and pictures of “20 hottest male models on Instagram”.
At first, I will start with the pictures of Alahna Ly. In the pictures of Alahna Ly we can see a typical characteristic of ritualization of subordination. Alahna Ly shows herself in an unstable position where she usually has one leg raised or she when she lies down in a recumbent position. These positions communicate dependence and vulnerability because she puts herself in a position in which she would not be able to defend herself. Moreover, these postures communicate submission and powerlessness. It is obvious that pictures of Alahna Ly are highly sexualized and therefore express sexual ability and one might call her pictures pornographic. Her pictures standing on one leg could be also considered as communicating vulnerability because she is off balance and in addition, in the pictures she usually looks over her shoulder and not straight to the camera. Her poses with the “duck-face” also communicate her submission. She obviously uses the communication of psychology because in her pictures she looks very dreamy and checked out of social scene. Lastly, there is a characteristic of infantilization present in her pictures. Very often she puts her fingers in her mouth which expresses her nervousness and uncertainty. She is dressed in dolls clothes in some of her pictures and she surely connects infantilization and sex.
On the contrary, the pictures of male models communicate something totally different. From the pictures of these models we can see the communication of superiority which is pictured as men being in an active position, in control and aware of surroundings, just as the model Landon Falgoust in his picture. Men are pictured as grounded and strong and express easy confidence which is obvious from the very first picture of Matthew Noszka who looks straight to the camera and his posture is not even close to off balance. We can see the certain and direct look in many other pictures, such as the picture of David Gandy or Alexandre Cunha. Many of these men show their musculus body which affirms the feeling of strength and superiority.
As proved by the analysis, the male and female gender are expressed by different characteristics using different codes. Since we are used to seeing these advertisements and people in usual poses meeting these characteristics, it may be difficult for our society to accept new codes of the gender and get used to the fact that there might be more than just strictly male or strictly female genders.
RWS-510 Rhetoric and Culture 