Addressing the Feminine in Cosmetic Advertisements

Abstract

The linguistic and semiotic configurations used in Pakistani advertisements propose a significant dimension in exploring the ways in which a beauty narrative centering on femininity is created and represented. In this context, this research examines the linguistic and semiotic features used in the Pakistani discourse of advertising to study the beauty narrative created by the advertisers through addressing the feminine. The data consists of the advertisement texts shared on the official Facebook pages of three cosmetic brands. A socio-semiotic approach to discourse analysis is used to study the linguistic and semiotic representations in the advertisement texts to examine how the feminine is portrayed in these advertisements with respect to style, attitude, identity etc. The findings indicate that a certain woman image based on the respective perceptions of feminine beauty ideals of the producers is created and represented that focus mainly on the white skin, young age, and glamorous persona.