Sexualized Branded Entertainment and the Male Consumer Gaze

Matthew P. McAllister; Lauren J. DeCarvalho

doi:10.31269/triplec.v12i1.506

Matthew P. McAllister The Pennsylvania State University
Lauren J. DeCarvalho University of Arkansas

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31269/triplec.v12i1.506

Keywords: Male Consumer Gaze, Branded Entertainment, Sexualization, Television, Advertising, Branding, Victoria’s Secret, Hooters

Abstract

This article applies the “male consumer gaze” – integrating work influenced by Erving Goffman and Laura Mulvey – to two branded televised events: the 2011 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and the 2012 Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant. Critiqued elements include gendered body positioning, televisual and narrativizing techniques, social and integrated media, and branding strategies that combine to create a flow of consumption-based male gazing. Such trends may intensify with changes in media economics and niche marketing.

Author Biographies

Matthew P. McAllister, The Pennsylvania State University

Matthew P. McAllister is Professor of Communications in the Department of Film/Video & Media Studies at The Pennsylva-nia State University, USA. He is the co-editor, with Emily West, of The Routledge Companion to Ad-vertising and Promotional Culture (2013, Routledge).

Lauren J. DeCarvalho, University of Arkansas

Lauren J. DeCarvalho is Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Arkansas, USA. She has a BA in Journalism, an MA in Media Studies, and a PhD in Mass Communications, all from The Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on representational issues of women in film and television.