Old-fashioned women. The represetation of female image in the italian telefision advertising

In Italy, the relationship between women and advertising has always been close. Commercials, posters and print ads have hosted several female figures from the beginning of commercial communication. Despite the differences of times and contexts, the Italian women representation matches with many results deriving from the Erving Goffman’s studies. So, considering the findings of the Canadian sociologist as a theoretical basis, this paper analyzes the image of gender in the Italian television commercials, with the intention of assessing whether the old female identities have been replaced by new, empowered and more modern figures. The research reveals that the female figures are still quite traditional. However, their apparent stiff frames reflect a dynamic image. The new representations do not constitute a trend, but they prove that the topic is more complex than what it seems and the issues are much more nuanced than in the past.