Roles of Women in Ads

Advertisements always have some sort of stereotypical, gender bias underlying tone of how things should be. In today’s advertisements a man is most likely drinking beer and watching the game after a long day of work, where as the woman is portrayed as the house keeper and the one that takes care of the family. This tradition of the woman being a mother and wife and the father bringing home the bacon started long ago and as one can see is still around today. This has cause many controversies and although the amount of gender biased advertisements has lessened over the years, people, mainly women, still question why these ads are the way they are. Where did it all begin? Why were women solely portrayed as the caregiver when they did so much more? What progressions have advertisements made since the first stereotypical ad was produced and why?
  Since the 1950’s advertisements have always portrayed women in the same way: the ideal woman. The ideal woman is one that has a hot meal ready for the husband when getting off of work, a caregiver to the children, and someone that cleans the house and keeps it clean. This image of the ideal woman came upon the United States after the Cold War ended and most male figures in women’s lives came home. This was because The United States wanted let everyone know that America is a family nation and that there is no greater thing than family. 
Upon seeing these advertisements people would then mimic how the family in the ads would act. The woman would now know that it is the social norm to clean the house, cook the meals, and take care of her children and husband. These social norms was primarily women’s roles and not only would one do that, but would also do that before doing anything else they would need to do. This is where real stereotypical tones started to play into advertisements. It wasn’t until the 1960s when feminism started arising that women started to question why the women in advertisements are the “ideal woman.” Soon other women started to realize that they do a lot more activities than solely being a wife or mother and why don’t these ads show this woman as well?  It brought up questions as to whether or not women should really act the same as they have all these years before and why they haven’t questioned this before. 
Today, advertisements don’t solely characterize women as domestic, women are not only the ones taking care of the kids. This may be because more women are working now and times are changing. One will see advertisements of a woman at the office or going out for drinks with friends. However, no matter how many advertisements there are like these, there are still gender biased, “old fashion”, “ideal woman” ones being portrayed. Is that just America hanging on to old traditions or is it just the way women are meant to be characterized?