ABSTRACT

This study analyses the visual construction of girls and notions surrounding young femininities articulated by 15 contemporary advertisements of Nordic fast fashion companies, available on their public Facebook pages in Finland. A visual discourse analysis identifies some blatantly stereotypical and a few complex visual constructions of girls as heterosexual, caring, innocent, sexy posers, active self-presenters and self-surveyors, carefree and environmental activists. The implications of our findings, particularly in shaping societal notions surrounding girls, are discussed. The study contributes primarily to the research field of visual commercial representation of girls by unpacking how their complex portrayals can create an equivocation that eventually resurrects stereotypes surrounding young femininities. It advances studies on Nordic consumer culture by highlighting that girls’ portrayals by Nordic companies may not clearly reflect the values of state feminism. The study can benefit marketers by sensitising them to how the complex visual representations of girls may (re)produce stereotypes.

摘要

本研究分析了北欧快时尚公司的 15 个当代广告所表达的女孩的视觉结构和围绕年轻女性气质的观念，这些广告可在芬兰的公共 Facebook 页面上找到。视觉话语分析将女孩的一些明显刻板印象和一些复杂的视觉结构识别为异性恋、关怀、天真、性感的装腔作势者、积极的自我展示者和自我调查者、无忧无虑的环保活动家。讨论了我们的发现的意义，特别是在塑造围绕女孩的社会观念方面。该研究主要对女孩视觉商业表现的研究领域做出了贡献，揭示了她们复杂的形象如何产生模棱两可，最终复活围绕年轻女性气质的刻板印象。它通过强调北欧公司对女孩的描绘可能无法清楚地反映国家女权主义的价值观来推进对北欧消费文化的研究。该研究可以使营销人员对女孩复杂的视觉表现如何（重新）产生刻板印象更加敏感，从而使他们受益。