As far back as the first portraits of Adam and Eve, the woman was an object to be viewed, and the man was spectator. It is a convention we are so accustomed to that we would never notice these roles had it not been pointed out ... or you've read the book Ways of Seeing.
The most recent French Connection ad campaign, The Man The Woman, is a great example.
In print, the campaign portraits the man and woman separately, never together in the same shot, and always with a written blurb to accompany the visual. However there are some striking differences in the way this was approached for each gender.
The woman is always spoken for by a third party, whereas the man uses direct statements in speech marks, as if he was directly quoted. Her text is in lower case, whereas his is in capitals only. The result of these formatting decisions suggests that the woman cannot, or will not talk her mind directly, she is either spoken for or perhaps gossiped about. People might be talking about her in admiration or jealousy. On the other hand, the man has no trouble expressing himself, and judging by the capital letters - does so in a booming voice. A caveman figure who appreciates a good suit.
The man talks about concrete objects, things he's wearing, things he's doing. The woman is mostly mentioned in terms of the effect she has on others - particularly men. It's not about who she is, but rather what others make of her. She is distant, aloof, mysterious, or just plain boring depending on your interpretation. While he is direct and proactive.
This is the French Connection man and woman.
