Representation of desire and femininity
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Toyoko Sato
Abstract
This paper proceeds as a case discourse analysis of a singularly important 1988 advertising campaign, “Hoshii mono ga hoshii wa” (I want what I want) for the Seibu Department Stores, an energetic driving force of Japan’s taste culture. Although the campaign is more than 20 years old, it remains one of the most inspiring advertising campaigns in Japanese history. The case provides an opportunity to study how the concepts of desire and femininity are salient signifiers in late-modern Japan as one kind of representation in paternalistic socio-economic systems. This paper focuses on both the textual sphere of the campaign and the socio-historical/cultural background of the Japanese consumer society in relation to the semiotic and the social. Thus, critical discourse analysis is the chosen methodology. Judith Butler’s (1993) construct of performativity including the concepts of iteration and foreclosure provides the conceptual ground. In my analytical process, I articulate those iterations and foreclosures in the advertisement. For Butler, desire is the desire for recognition and it is connected to the subject’s capacity for self-knowledge. Construing the advertisement as the desire for recognition attempts to show how gender can be perceived as a “doing” and how commercial advertisements can be a site of reflection for women living in a late-modern consumer society.
Abstract
This paper proceeds as a case discourse analysis of a singularly important 1988 advertising campaign, “Hoshii mono ga hoshii wa” (I want what I want) for the Seibu Department Stores, an energetic driving force of Japan’s taste culture. Although the campaign is more than 20 years old, it remains one of the most inspiring advertising campaigns in Japanese history. The case provides an opportunity to study how the concepts of desire and femininity are salient signifiers in late-modern Japan as one kind of representation in paternalistic socio-economic systems. This paper focuses on both the textual sphere of the campaign and the socio-historical/cultural background of the Japanese consumer society in relation to the semiotic and the social. Thus, critical discourse analysis is the chosen methodology. Judith Butler’s (1993) construct of performativity including the concepts of iteration and foreclosure provides the conceptual ground. In my analytical process, I articulate those iterations and foreclosures in the advertisement. For Butler, desire is the desire for recognition and it is connected to the subject’s capacity for self-knowledge. Construing the advertisement as the desire for recognition attempts to show how gender can be perceived as a “doing” and how commercial advertisements can be a site of reflection for women living in a late-modern consumer society.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Gender imbalances revisited 1
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Part I. Patriarchy and emancipation in private spaces
- “He beat her so hard she fell head over heels” 17
- The discursive construction of gender among Dholuo speakers in Kenya 49
- Snippa – a new word for girls’ genitals in Swedish 69
- What it means to be a Bosnian woman 81
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Part II. Mediating gender in public spaces
- Greek men’s and women’s magazines as codes of gender conduct 113
- Representation of desire and femininity 145
- Gendered discourse(s) 169
- Gender ideologies in the Vietnamese printed media 195
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Part III. Trajectories of patriarchy and emancipation across professions
- Constructing masculine work identity through narrative 219
- Stereotyping gender 249
- Living in therapeutic culture 273
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Gender imbalances revisited 1
-
Part I. Patriarchy and emancipation in private spaces
- “He beat her so hard she fell head over heels” 17
- The discursive construction of gender among Dholuo speakers in Kenya 49
- Snippa – a new word for girls’ genitals in Swedish 69
- What it means to be a Bosnian woman 81
-
Part II. Mediating gender in public spaces
- Greek men’s and women’s magazines as codes of gender conduct 113
- Representation of desire and femininity 145
- Gendered discourse(s) 169
- Gender ideologies in the Vietnamese printed media 195
-
Part III. Trajectories of patriarchy and emancipation across professions
- Constructing masculine work identity through narrative 219
- Stereotyping gender 249
- Living in therapeutic culture 273
- Index 303
