Abstract

Gender is a feature of beauty marketing, used in marketing segmentation and communication images, where binary images are predominant. Recently, the social identity of gender has become increasingly nuanced as a more complex set of identities, including genderqueer and nonbinary, influences marketing communications. As part of cultural expression, advertising reflects and impacts how consumers perceive themselves and others, with Generation Z consumers increasingly rejecting gender labels and stereotypes. Consequently, our study involves the visual meaning making of 222 Instagram images of beauty brands’ marketing communications with models other than “female” in traditional Western society’s conceptualization of gender. The findings reveal a group of models who are not female; while most of these images are genderqueer, a group that may be considered agender is evident. Both groups have distinctive although differing characteristics, suggesting the development of new stereotypes. This study contributes to understanding the changing representations of models: While beauty brands primarily use female models, the increased use of genderqueer and agender models can attract alternative target markets. It also highlights advertising’s place in cultural expressions that both reflect and impact how consumers perceive themselves and others.

摘要

性别是美容营销的一个特征，用于营销细分和传播图像，其中二值图像占主导地位。最近，随着一组更复杂的身份（包括性别酷儿和非二元性别）影响营销传播，性别的社会身份变得越来越微妙。作为文化表达的一部分，广告反映并影响消费者如何看待自己和他人，Z 世代消费者越来越拒绝性别标签和刻板印象。因此，我们的研究涉及美容品牌在传统西方社会性别概念化中与“女性”以外的模特进行营销传播的 222 张 Instagram 图片的视觉意义构建。调查结果揭示了一组非女性模特；虽然这些图像中的大多数都是性别酷儿，一个可以被视为性别的群体是显而易见的。这两个群体都有鲜明但不同的特征，表明新的刻板印象的发展。这项研究有助于理解模特不断变化的表现形式：虽然美容品牌主要使用女性模特，但越来越多地使用性别酷儿和无性别模特可以吸引其他目标市场。它还强调了广告在反映和影响消费者如何看待自己和他人的文化表现形式中的地位。越来越多地使用性别酷儿和性别模型可以吸引其他目标市场。它还强调了广告在反映和影响消费者如何看待自己和他人的文化表现形式中的地位。越来越多地使用性别酷儿和性别模型可以吸引其他目标市场。它还强调了广告在反映和影响消费者如何看待自己和他人的文化表现形式中的地位。