Women, Advertising, and the Illusion of Agency
14 days return policy
Shipping & Delivery
Product details
- ISBN 9781041115694
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 13 Nov 2026
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
This book critically examines the notion of female sexual agency in advertising, exposing how postfeminist discourses co-opt feminist language to sell products while reinforcing patriarchal norms. Combining feminist theory, poststructuralism, and interviews with feminist consumers, it dissects the illusion of agency and the panoptic systems of surveillance that discipline women into self-policing their bodies and desires, as well as each other.
Through original frameworks (the Agency Spiral and Postfeminist Panopticon), the book reveals how ads reduce women’s agency to consumerist performances of sexuality that are perpetually negotiated and shaped by norms, perceptions of choice, the gaze, and spatiality. The author integrates key theoretical insights within relevant discussions to reveal how advertising both reflects and shapes cultural understandings of gender, power, and sexuality.
This unique, insightful book is a valuable read for scholars and students in gender studies, media/cultural studies, and marketing; feminist activists and educators; media professionals, and general readers frustrated by the gap between feminist ideals and commercial realities. A provocative and accessible critique, it arms readers with the tools to see and start dismantling "the prison of empowerment" that is postfeminist advertising.
Irina Glass Balog is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Marketing at the School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Specialising in gender representation in advertising, she focuses on the intersection of feminism, postfeminism, and media discourse. Her work critiques how advertising co-opts feminist language to sell false notions of empowerment and explores themes such as sexual agency, power structures, and the paradox of "choice" in consumer culture. A passionate advocate for gender equity, Irina combines academic rigour with a provocative voice to challenge the status quo. This book is her call to dismantle the illusions that postfeminist advertising creates.
