Motherhood in TV commercials

What is it about?

Although many studies have examined the image of women in advertising, the current study is the first to look at the representations of motherhood and mothering practices in contemporary Israeli TV commercials in an attempt to shed light on the ideological constructs they reflect and promote. By using critical discourse analysis, the major recurring features identified by the analysis can be regarded as indications of conflicting ideologies in respect to motherhood. Hence, while some commercials express an anti-essentialist attitude, suggesting the absence of a maternal instinct or any innate universal female component, others reflect an essentialist stance whereby numerous mothers (in Israel or the world over) have the same experiences, contend with the same problems, and make the same choices.

Featured Image

Photo by Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash

Photo by Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash

Why is it important?

To date, only very few studies have examined the representation of mothers and ideologies of motherhood in advertisements and none have looked at these representations in Israeli TV commercials.