Portraying Women in Advertisements: An Analogy Between Past and Present

Advertising in India from the 1980s until very recently has portrayed women as having sole responsibility for housework, even when they are employed. Women have been expected to live with restrictions imposed by men. In the last decade, the culture has begun to acknowledge women's rights in limited ways, in part because of rising living standards. As a result, some cutting-edge advertisements have begun to present a wider range of roles available to women. This article examines 10 Indian TV commercials and their relation to cultural attitudes about women and their role in society. The new advertisements recognize the need for gender equality, although they still express that ideal in relatively conservative terms.