From Objectification to Representation: The Evolution of Female Representation in Spanish Advertising
Introduction
Modern Spain’s transition to democracy in the 1970s has been reflected in the country's industries, and advertising in particular. During the Franco dictatorship, Spaniards were subjected to a repressive order. This included the censorship of media and the elimination of individual rights, specifically for women. The Catholic church censored gender representation in the media; women held the title of “wife, mother, or guardian”. The death of Franco in the 1970s led to the liberation of the media. Therefore, by the 1980s, Spain had a thriving advertising industry. Not only was it economically successful, but it also acted as a representative of the shifting ideals in terms of gender, sexuality, and modernity. As Gonzalez Lopez (2022) points out, the recent shift in women's representation in Spanish advertising has created a hybrid construct of independent women, albeit still rooted in traditional patterns of domesticity.
Thus, advertising became a “mirror” for examining the societal development within modern Spain. As San Miguel (2014) observed, advertising reflects not only the endurance of those subjected to patriarchal values, but their achievements in defining femininity. More so in the 2000s, when television diversified the narrative possibilities of female representation (Ruiz, 2014). Today, Spain has a diverse advertising landscape featuring different types of multimedia–television, print, digital, etc. Despite this, the topic of women’s representation in Spanish media remains in the discussion of scholars, agencies and the public.
In the European Commission’s Annual Report on Gender Equality (2022–2023), Spain ranks among the EU’s most gender-balanced governments, compared to those of countries whose governments consist primarily of men. The Observatorio de la Imagen de las Mujeres (Instituto de la Mujer) highlights complaints filed annually against how women are represented in advertisements. This includes themes of sexism, mockery, and domesticity.
Despite efforts to diversify advertising imagery since the 1980s, scholars and agencies question whether any real progress has occurred. San Miguel (2014) states that despite the development of democracy and the elimination of domestic ads from the 1980s, gender bias can still be found embedded in gestures, voices, and occupations. Similarly, the Council of Europe’s Combating Sexist Advertising: Ways Ahead claims that Spain continues to struggle with the implementation of anti-sexist regulations in the advertising industry, like other EU countries.
These ongoing contradictions between policy and practice highlight a deeper question about what “progress” in representation truly means: how has academic and industry research described the evolution of female representation in Spanish advertising from the 1980s to today, and what factors have driven these changes? An examination of academic and industry research regarding the evolution of female representation in contemporary Spanish advertising offers a unique and incisive perspective on the evolution of gender rights and norms in Spanish society.
Theoretical Framework
To better understand how female representation in Spain has changed from the 1980s to today, we must first understand its theoretical framework. More specifically, we need to be grounded in the feminist theory, patriarchy, media representation theory, and Spain’s own cultural context. These concepts showcase how advertising not only affects gender norms but also influences Spanish society.
Objectification & Sexualization
The feminine critique begins with the idea of objectification as the central concern of feminist theory, when women are appreciated visually and reduced to just that. Montes-Vozmedian (2018) argues that objectification is an “institutional layer” within Spanish advertising, meaning it is a norm that structures society. Although we’ve seen significant change during the transition between dictatorship and democracy, women are still represented through body parts, poses, and a strict emphasis on beauty. For example, magazines like Telva still showcase narrow beauty standards. Advertising specifically maintains objectification to effectively market itself. Since it aligns with global beauty standards, images sell quickly regardless of cultural or political change.
For this reason, sexualization is tied to Spain’s extension of objectification. With the creation of the “modern woman” in ads, we begin to see an independent, yet still sexualized female figure. Gonzalez Lopez (2022) discusses something similar, known as the “hybrid woman”, like Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalia. Within her work, she references traditional femininity, but also uses sexualized imagery to highlight her power. So, although they appear to be liberated, they are restricted by aesthetic standards. This contradiction isn’t accidental, but emphasizes the commodification of the female body. Together, objectification and sexualization form a consistent, intertwined pattern within advertisements.
Patriarchy and Gender Roles
As we look back towards the 1980s Spain was surrounded by social structures that prioritized male authority. Deeply shaped by Francoism, the ideals of wife, mother, and homemaker were emphasized. The Catholic Church aided in consolidating and framing femininity as domestic, care-oriented, and moral. Advertisements were seen encouraging these values even after Franco’s reign ended. Due to their culture and patriarchal history, advertisements cannot easily erase the gender roles of the past. Society has instilled gender hierarchies that prevent advertisements from becoming neutral.
To better understand this, Salazar Benitez (2016) evaluates Spain’s anti-sexist measures. As Spain is one of the leading European countries for gender equality, it has strict laws that address obvious forms of sexism. However, Salazar Benitez notes that the content is often overlooked, including gendered voice-overs, stereotypes, gender cues, and domestic settings. Although they may not be overt, they still uphold a subtle patriarchy. For that reason, these laws are limited without a redefinition of their focus. Although progress seems imminent, covert bias persists. “Gains” still come with expectations of beauty, emotional labor, and caretaking (feminist theory).
Media Representation Theories
With the understanding of objectification and sexualization towards women, we also need to understand how the media is used to shape this perception. Similar to that discussed above, the media is a key factor in determining what consumers deem important. We’ve seen this agenda-setting theory in modern-day examples, including Franco’s Regime. Advertising and the media set an agenda for femininity and masculinity. However, for women, it’s much more directed towards the themes of domesticity, sexuality, youth, and professionalism. Many look to the media to determine what “kind” of women to be in society. In Franco’s Regime, it was targeted towards what women were allowed in society.
On the other hand, we have the framing theory, where the media shaped how these agendas were interpreted. For example, women framed as “empowered” could be encouraged through beauty, lifestyle, or consumption choices. However, it has underlying properties of materialism, and it’s not political. San Miguel (2014) references how even after the 1980s elimination of domestic ads, gender bias still existed. This suggests the issue may focus less on ideology, but on aesthetics.
Moreover, the concept of repeated media exposure also offers a keen insight into long-term perceptions known as the cultivation theory. Although they’ve since been removed from Spanish media, the duration of their effect on society’s mind still lingers. Even minor biases matter, like women as helpers. Slowly, these ideas assimilate and set societal norms that are hard to completely erase. Ruiz (2014) discusses how the 2000s expansion into TV had little effect on equality regardless of the media diversification. For this reason, even in modern Spain, public opinion is still shaped by these unequal representations.
Spain-Specific Frameworks
Outside the sphere of Spanish advertising, Spain has their own legislation to ensure equal treatment of men and women. Davies (2022) discusses the Ley Orgánica de Igualdad Efectiva entre Mujeres y Hombres, which was a law enacted to ensure gender equality became a part of public action. The law aimed to stop sexist imagery and biased portrayals. Besides this, regulatory bodies like the Instituto de la Mujer and the Observatorio de la Imagen de las Mujeres hold the public accountable, tracking formal complaints and monitoring advertising patterns to determine if any sexism is prevalent. In spite of these organizations, Davies (2022) notes that this enforcement is inconsistent. Even though Ley Organica de Igualdad Efectiva entre Mujeres y Hombres regulates explicit sexism, it misses subtle stereotypes, gestures, and emotions that contribute to sexism just as much.
Although Spain is committed, the Council of Europe (2009) admonishes that it struggles to follow through. All of Europe is faced with industry resistance, vague legal definitions, and regulatory issues. Spain is a key example, as their progress is complex. However, European integration initially brought new progressive values and global beauty norms. The ultimate determiner was Spain’s cultural climate. Although post-Franco identities and feminist movements have pushed progress forward; evidence of this can still be seen in modern Spain, particularly in public, through regulatory bodies and an increasing media literacy.
III. Historical Context & Academic Findings
The growth of women in advertising is best represented through its historical context. From the post-Franco regime in the 1980s to the digital media of the 2020s, this paper will examine the political, cultural, and technological advancements that shaped the gender portrayals we see today. We must understand this concept, as it is one of the most influential cultural media. Navarro Beltra & Martin Llaguno (2011) emphasize that throughout Spain’s history, advertisements have acted as a symbol of power and influenced public opinion, career aspirations, body image, etc. For that reason, the representation of women must be integrated into the changing historical times. Since the authoritarianism of Franco’s regime, up to the digital revolution of today, each decade offers a new construct of female identity and feminist advertising.
The 1990s to the early 2000s brought about the publications of feminist scholars and regulators that shed light on sexist advertising. One of these includes The Observatorio de la Imagen de las Mujeres, which has played a key role in documenting formal complaints addressing public advertisements. This infrastructure encouraged the expansion of academic literacy and the publication of scholarly articles (Ruiz, 2024). However, Spain has since adopted European guidelines regarding gender equality, media ethics, and sexism. The European Parliament (2008) and the Council of Europe (2009) specifically outlined the frameworks to encourage countries outside of Spain to align with European human rights principles.
In the digital era, there continue to be contemporary contradictions in representations in advertising. Montes-Vozmediano (2018) highlights how the sexualization of women remains prevalent online, where regulations are weaker. With the creation of influencer and social media marketing, there has been an increase in gender empowerment, as well as protest. Scholarly studies suggest that contemporary campaigns have decreased explicit sexism seen in advertising (Valenciano Salvanes, 2020; Saldana Larena, 2021).
Post-Franco and the Introduction to Early Democratic Advertising
Francisco Franco was a powerful dictator in Spain’s history, holding power for 36 years. Even after he died in 1975, the Francoist legacy continued to remain in the gender ideology of Spain well into the 1980s, as discussed by Gonzalez Lopez (2022). Under Francoism, all rights previously established for women during the Second Republic were abolished. This included divorce, abortion, and contraception. Women were now legally subordinated and restricted to domesticity. For this reason, advertisers at the time encouraged these concepts within their work, often depicting women as caregivers, emphasizing how they should act. These narratives persist due to the concept of institutional inertia; More specifically, when industries continue to push similar narratives that keep the status quo the same. In this case, the advertisement industry was male-dominated, with executives pushing the Francoist agenda. Due to this, sexist narratives from that era continued to be recycled because they were familiar to audiences and considered a low failure risk.
However, in the 1980s, the decline of Francoism saw the proliferation of Western values and television as a mass medium. The use of television at the time greatly increased the reach of these ideals, in good and bad ways. On one end of the spectrum, it was an easy way to reach a diverse audience quickly and successfully. However, that also meant the persistence of domestic advertising even during the beginning of democratic advertising. Contrary to the current Catholic conservative values at the time, Spain was in the beginning stages of a sexual revolution. Large multinational brands from the West brought Western actresses and models. Elke Sommer was one of those who flaunted a bikini in Ibiza in 1962 (Bahia de Palma, 1962). This new imagery brought about cultural challenges in local gender norms. What’s more is that they successfully blended these ideals with contemporary roles while also keeping them somewhat traditionally domestic. This is contrary to the San Miguel (2024) emphasis that women were primarily highlighted as domestic consumers of household products due to Spain’s modern consumer market.
With that being said, in the context of Spain’s sexual revolution, female bodies began to be more aestheticized with the approach of liberal culture. Although the revolution was mainly viewed as liberating, it opened doors to a new shift in modern advertising. Gonzalez Lopez (2022) argued that although explicit censorship ended, depictions of women shifted from domestic to market-oriented sexualization. More specifically, advertising companies would strategically highlight women’s bodies and viewpoints for advertising success. The emerging “modern woman” reinforced the notion that a woman’s prime social capital was their physical appearance rather than their professional appearance. They were rarely perceived as capable of action and instead were objects of pleasure. This introduced the concept that scholars refer to as “liberalized sexism”, where women's bodies became tools for competitive advertising rather than empowerment.
So, despite the apparent liberalization and political reforms, including gender equality, the democratic transition did not fully fix this issue. San Miguel (2014) argued that because these media institutions remained male-dominated, the creativity rested largely in the hands of men. This resulted in the slow and systemic cultural change of gender stereotypes that outlasted the political regime. Thus, the 1980s existed as both a transitional period and remained conservative. Spain’s advertisements and society continued to balance between tradition and modernity, a conflict that would continue looking towards the 1990s and 2000s.
The 1990s and the Emergence of New Cultural Tropes
With the arrival of the 1990s, Spain’s advertising agencies and consumer culture began to converge. Contrary to the 1980s, this decade held sexist advertising accountable. The Observatorio de la Imagen de las Mujeres admonished that this was driven by feminist activism and NGO monitoring. At the same time, this period included an increase in Spain’s alignment with Western advertising trends– “superwoman”, sexualized imagery, and bodily discipline rather than empowered representations (Lluch, Martorell & Serra Folch, 2023). It was an era of complete contradiction between scrutiny and modernization.
After Franco, King Juan Carlos I encouraged the country's democratic transition, and now, with the beginning of the 1990’s this peaceful transition began to come to an end. Television solidified its position as Spain’s most competitive mass medium. Channels like Antena 3, Telecinco, Canal +, etc., offered a new landscape for advertising markets to conquer. However, San Miguel (2014) analyzed the true effect of democratization. Although democracy itself brought freedoms, the symbolic democratization of gender equality often fell behind. This era continued to showcase patriarchal assumptions in advertising, even more subtly than that of the 1980s, making them harder to expose in a culturally modernized form. The domestic role used in advertisements was henceforth reframed, but certainly not removed entirely. At this time, women continued to be painted as housewives, but with competence. Instead of promoting a more traditional domestic role as troublesome, it was depicted as empowering. This was a strategic repositioning to gain traction during the decade.
More than that, the paradoxical figure of the “empowered” woman was the beginning of many Western postfeminist tropes to infiltrate Spain (Gill, 2007). Due to the re-opening of the country's economy to the outside world, market liberalization and European integration brought a plethora of international brands in its wake. These include tropes like the professional woman, supermom, and sexual younger woman.
From viewing women as objects of pleasure in the 1980s, advertisers began to depict them in professional office settings. However, they did not hold positions of high authority. The trope represents a balanced woman who can do everything. This opened the door for unrealistic expectations of women and emotional labor. On the other hand, the supermother supported traditional advertising messaging and reinforced the nurturing domestic housewife. It was strategic and consumer-driven; with the correct purchase, you could also be a supermom! However, scholars like Gonzalez Lopez (2022) were quick to criticize this development, stating it only covered up deeper issues. These tropes weren’t meant to be political agents for change, but to be viewed by consumers.
With what seemed to be the correction of issues in the 1980s, the 1990s should have been a significant period of reform. Unfortunately, advertising continued to publish stereotypes that coincided with high success rates. Although the decade became more modern and liberal, women continued to be pinned down by traditional bias.
Postfeminism of the 2000s
After the advancements of the 1990s, we now enter the era scholars like Rosalind Gill refer to as the rise of postfeminist media culture. Similar to prior decades, this era focused on regulatory systems such as the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. However, we begin to see the blatant stereotypes and sexualization of women integrated into self-choice. Monte-Vozmediano (2018) and the Council of Europe admonish how new policies, industry, and culture reshape sexist tropes in Spanish advertising.
Furthermore, the 2000s fully embraced and celebrated women’s empowerment, referred to as postfeminism. Instead of remaining ignorant of this fact, advertisers took advantage of this movement by utilizing it in their ads. They now communicated that gender equality had already been achieved, now encouraging femininity as a personal choice. According to the scholar Gonzalez Lopez (2022), this decision reframed feminine expectations as voluntary, centered on consumption and pleasure.
. Contrary to the traditional domestic caregiver, advertisements highlighted self-management. The typical female body was now presented as a high-maintenance beauty site to be upheld and taken care of as another form of empowerment. Cosmetic and beauty lines encouraged exercising, hair removal, fashion trends, etc. This was a double-edged sword, however, as they target insecurities as a way to push consumption.
With this being said, the other side of the spectrum changed during the 2000s as well. Men started to adopt the typical responsibilities of a woman. Although this was a slow and cautious transition, it was extremely significant. Television shows and advertisements showcased men in domestic roles, but comically painted them as innocent helpers trying to aid their wives (Berganza Conde & del Hoyo Hurtado, 2011). This is the first time in decades that masculinity and femininity have begun to make significant shifts towards the inclusion of 2010.
Femininity and the Present
Finally, we enter the most influential era of Spain’s history, according to scholar Ana de Miguel, from 2010 to now. This era was driven by influencer culture and digital engagement. The topic of feminism in the media reached the mainstream, bringing public critique and watchdog journalism. Influential scholars such as Montes-Vozmediano (2018), Valenciano Salvanes (2020), and Saldana Larena (2021) have documented substantial progress in Spain’s culture, including increased diversity and representation. Similar to the increase of television as a mass medium in the 1980s-90s, the digital era offered a new landscape for advertising strategies. This includes “femvertising”, a term coined by Samantha Key that represents pro-feminist advertisements and uses the feminist word as a marketing tool. The 2010s to now have accelerated change in Spain.
The rise of feminist critique on social media held sexist advertisements more accountable than television ever could. Campaigns that once went unnoticed and untouched resurfaced and were criticized by people on social media. With the choice to cancel culture or change, advertising companies were forced to focus their creativity on producing inclusive results. This included the concept of “femvertising”. Scholars like Sarah Banet-Weiser described this as a brand's increasing usage of feminist language to build their brand's reputation and credibility. This concept was faced with scrutiny by the academic community for reducing feminism to a marketing aesthetic without real change.
Equally important is the new inclusion of gender fluidity and LGBTQ+ within Spain’s society. Similar to the 2000s, masculinity continued to change as well. Men became more emotionally expressive, and the power trope between men and women changed exponentially. Spanish advertising reached a new height of representation, but despite this, some gender stereotypes persist. Certain advertising scopes continue to reference domestic roles, showing that progress isn’t linear.
IV. Discussion & Findings
As is evident, the transition to democracy in Spain did not eliminate the Francoist ideals. Advertising companies continue to create products that have subtle gender inequalities. Spain has indeed made progress, however. For example, the introduction of television and the western brands that brought hybrid portrayals of women brought an increase in the sexual revolution and holding sexism accountable in the media. We could begin to see this towards the beginning of the 1990s, when regulatory systems like the Observatorio de la Imagen de las Mujeres put the issues on the map. Henceforth, ad companies focused on sweeping any gender portrayals under the rug. This includes using the concept of empowerment as a marketing strategy. Meanwhile, scholars began to identify new postfeminist tropes that began to grow from this strategy–supermom, office worker, etc. The switch from explicit sexism to subtle sexism created issues for regulatory systems into the 2000s. Despite the new EU policies in Spain, they didn’t make headway until the digital media of the 2010s. The increase in influencer marketing and digital advertisements gave consumers an easier platform to criticize and catch stereotypes online. For that reason, it seems that advertisements have become more widely used to focus on economic factors rather than cultural factors.
The dispositions of the current research emphasize these findings. For example, the Council of Europe (2009) considers the possibility that the advertising landscape in Europe isn’t perfect and continues to let sexist portrayals slip through despite reform. Therefore, Spain exemplifies a country included in a global pattern, not exempt from it. The European Parliament (2008) also supports this line of reasoning. Between the 1980s-2010s, sexualization became embedded in European social norms, including in the data of the Observatorio de la Imagen de las Mujeres. We continue to see consistent complaints involving stereotypes, gender equality, and the domesticity of women’s roles. Due to the rise in digital advertising, Montes-Vozmediano (2018) highlights how beauty norms, body expectations, etc., are still reinforced during this time. The number of shifts in advertising culture between the 1980s and now is why we see a shift in Spain’s media analyses in the 2000s on the topic. Ruiz (2014) exposes this concept, comparing it to the regulatory developments during that time as well. For this reason, existing research showcases that Spain’s progress is moderate, but still susceptible to other factors.
With that being said, regardless of the moderate progress, there are still reasons as to why representations changed in the first place–the first being legal. As discussed above, EU policies within the European Parliament (2008) and the Council of Europe (2009) encouraged legislative changes and pushed Spain to update its regulations. The approval of the Ley Organica de Igualdad Efectiva (Davies, 2022) also worked to encourage and pressure the need for new portrayals in advertisements. There was also the use of regulatory devices like the Observatorio de la Imagen de las Mujeres, which allowed consumers to file public complaints, leading to increased public debate. The existence and power of these agencies in and of themselves affirm that society has evolved in a more progressive direction. Feminist movements amplified the call to action as well, continuing to make women's representation in advertising a national debate. Finally, strategic economic and digital media incentives brought about new ways to reinforce traditional values. The use of “femvertising” and empowering undertones kept standards circulating in the digital media, which allowed for critical backlash.
Where do we stand now? Since the 1980s, Spain has made progress over time in terms of sexism in traditional advertisements. After 2010, representation in the media grew to include women in news roles, as well as opening up doors for the LGBTQ+ community. Even the concept of masculinity has progressed on emotional levels. But scholars continue to suggest that progress remains uneven.
Conclusion
Despite four decades of change, the timeline of women’s representation in Spain’s advertising is still not linear. With the enduring cultural values of the Francoist regime, Spanish society continues to balance between tradition and modernity. Instead of a complete transformation, the country resolved to adapt regardless of democratization. There is no longer explicit sexist advertising, but it continues subtly in digital media. On the other hand, it remains to be seen how Spain will continue to assess gaps in representation in terms of race and class. Although there is influential research on the feminist journey, there is a need to examine the role of AI-generated media, as well as the evolving role of masculinity since the 1980s, more in-depth.
Although Spain has made progress, a complete change continues to be sought after. Spain’s efforts and changes are reflected in the advancement of its legal systems, its societal norms, and its economic landscape. However, for continued progress, Spain needs to revise regulatory guidelines. Subtle messaging continues to circulate in the digital landscape. To directly address these patterns, we need to continue to adapt further. With the significant but uneven progress the country has made, a question remains: will the representation of women in advertising ever fully reflect equality? The answer depends on whether society is willing to continue challenging the ideals being reinforced.
