THE IMAGE OF A WOMAN IN MODERN ENGLISH ADVIRTISING DISCOURSE

Abstract

The article studies the main peculiarities that form the image of a woman in the advertising texts and headlines in modern English glossy magazines. The paper is aimed at identifying the primary female qualities to which the authors of advertising texts address, and especially their verbalization at the lexicalsemantic and stylistic-axiological levels. Dynamic nature of the discourse and instant reaction to changing soci0-cultural realities allows glossy magazines to most effectively influence the mass audience, using communicative functions of language and various language techniques: expressive vocabulary, stylistic devices, polysemantic words and metaphorical utterances, puns, slang, etc. The research allows to identify the most exploited in gender-oriented media texts female images, as well as their distribution according to thematic groups they form. Among them: appearance, style, clothes; emotions, character, behavior; career, money; attitude to the opposite sex, and marriage; relations within the gender group (female friendship); attitude to children and relatives; lifestyle (health, sports, bad habits, hobbies); modern attributes of life, etc. The paper reveales the most common stereotypical female images, such as: beautiful woman, model woman; business woman, professional woman; wife, mother and friend. The most reflected image is of a beautiful woman as beauty is the major criterion of a happy and fulfilling life, as well as a means to succeed. Another no less common image is of a business woman. Such qualities as self-confidence, independence and control over the situation come to the fore. However, in advertising texts work is depicted as not the only area of interest, it is important to take care of the house, yourself and your appearance. The third group is the image of a housewife, wife, mother, concerned about family well-being, maintaining comfort in the home and the health of beloved ones. Thus, the analysis of the advertising texts in glossy magazines indicates a tendency to changing the hierarchy of gender stereotypes, where there is a shift of emphasis towards the recognition of women's activity and dominance in the professional field.