Advertising and Gender: Social and Commercial Campaigns against Gender-based Violence and Stereotypes

Abstract

This article examines how male violence against women is represented in Italian social and commercial advertisements by firstly analysing the complexity of this phenomenon – so looking at the definitions, data and the cultural order humus of these violent relationships. Such complexity should promote a paradigm shift able to put masculinities and heterosexuality at the core of the analysis. The second part focuses on the most recent developments in recent Italian social and commercial campaigns on the subject, showing their connection to broader changes in the public discourse on gender-based violence. How do we represent the phenomenon? Are these ads able to make the complexity at play visible and therefore to be more effective?

Keywords: communication, gender, violence, advertisements, social communication