Synthetic Sisterhood

Synthetic Sisterhood

It has been suggested that media professionals encourage us to think of all media products of having a ‘personality’. The fact we ‘like’ or ‘relate’ to a particular products personality helps us pick it above all other media products that may be similar. This then becomes that products unique selling point.

There are many ways a product can create a personality. For example;

1.      Star endorsements- if a product has a celebrity face behind it, it can make the product more desirable.

2.      The company’s logo- using a logo like a mascot can make a product more desirable. For example, if a company’s logo is a pink heart it may attract to females more or if the products logo is a skull and cross bones it may be more attractive to males.

3.      The origin or place or the product- people may find products more desirable if they are from a certain country. For example, English people may find English products better as they are authentic to their own country.

4.      The products target audience- a products target audience normally mirrors the personality of the product.

Media experts in the 1960’s found that language was being used in products to make them seem rather male or female. Language is an extremely important factor in a products personality. Media experts found that adverts that used a female voiceover tended to promote caring, motherly products. They also found that adverts that used a male voiceover tried to create an impression of being powerful authoritative and informative almost creative a father figure.

Feminists have picked up on this media practice and have criticised it; feminist claim, that this supports unfair stereotypes. This idea was re-explored in the 1990’s by Mary Talbot. Talbot looked at magazines and newspaper articles and has called the updated version of this theory ‘synthetic sisterhood’. Talbot also suggested that female writers try to create a sense of sisterhood. To create the sense of sisterhood the writers use informal, chatty language by constructing a simulated friendship. However, the voice/ personality of articles in newspapers, magazines or webpages are normally a false ‘sisterly’ one.