Samhällets kropp
The foundation for this thesis lies in whether or not, and how, the body representation in printed commercials, specific products directed to the body (shampoo, body lotion etc.), has changed during the last fifty years. Four years have been chosen because of the changes in society that we believe might have had an impact. The commercials that have been picked out are the ones that best represent the general view of the body. We have found that the changes when it comes to body presentation has followed the social development to a certain degree, but it is difficult to say how much the society has had an affect on the body ideal in advertising. Representations of the male body is something that has escalated since the early 70?s, fifteen years earlier few commercials was made with male models, and the few there were, never showed more than the face. The change, during this period, towards a more sexualized image is similar between both sexes, but there are differences in how the male body and the female body are represented. The woman is seen as a passive, beautiful creature only there to be admired and looked at, whilst the man is closely connected to a context, such as sport, and radiates security and self-control. This is consistent through the analyzed commercials and tightly coherent to the body ideal and gender roles of that time.