EN
Advertisements have gone a long way from merely selling things. It reflects social attitudes as well. Advertising is a powerful medium of reproducing and reinforcing social values and ideologies. And gender does not escape it. In patriarchal societies, advertisements play a crucial role of reinforcing stereotypical gender roles. What an ideal women or an ideal man should be like is shown in the advertisements. It is also shown in what an ideal woman or an ideal man should not be like. While advertisements started with commodification and objectification of women, it moved on to objectifying men as well. However the objectification did not subvert gender roles. This paper will study such depiction of gender roles in advertisements in Indian media. While women‘s bodies are marked by fragility, vulnerability, sexuality, men‘s bodies are invested with values like power and authority.