Edgars celebrate beauty_H-Metro_03 April 2015

Name of article: Edgars celebrate beauty

Name of publication: H-Metro

Date: 3 April 2015

Country: Zimbabwe

Theme: Gender Equality

Skills: Language

Genre: News

GEM classification: Subtle stereotype

Description: Edgars Stores Limited marked the end of their Beauty Extravaganza Promotion by treating women to free makeovers outside the stores to create awareness and celebrate the beauty of local women.

Analysis:This article highlighted the following:
• It reinforces gender stereotypes that women are appreciated for their beauty.
• It highlights entrenched societal beliefs that women are always worried about their looks and are willing to spend money on beauty commodities.
• It portrays women as slaves of beauty waiting to be judged by society.
While the article appears to be a simple store promotion, it is loaded with a lot of gender stereotypes. The headline “Edgars celebrate beauty” reaffirms gender stereotypes entrenched in our society about how women are supposed to look.
There appears to be set standards of beauty.

Women are not born beautiful but have to be taught how to look beautiful hence “we used today as an activation day where we set up outside the store and were giving makeovers to women for free who want free makeover advice”. Not only that, women buy beauty in order to meet societal expectations as the story states that “the promotion is meant to share ideas and knowledge regarding awareness of the products that we sell that is cosmetics namely fragrances, hair care and body care lines”.

The source of the story is the Edgars Stores Limited Marketing Executive while all other seven women are seen but not heard. While the story is placed inside, there is use of full colour include writing the headline in red and framing it in red, the colour associated with love, as if to say women are only loved for their beauty.

The story is accompanied by three photographs with images of seven women. With no voice or image of men, the story makes beauty a “task for women” in their attempt to please men. A close camera shot on the women’s faces makes it worse as it sends a message that only light skinned women are beautiful. The story does not provide information on dangers of using these cosmetics.