Sexmission — the mythologisation of gender roles in perfume advertising. A comparative analysis
The authors of perfume adverts put lot of emphasis on creating a consistent image of their addressees so that the addressees can identify with or aspire to them. The article is a presentation of the myth of femininity and masculinity extracted from 545 print adverts of fragrances offered by the online stores of the two biggest perfume retailers in Poland — Sephora and Douglas. The starting point of the analysis is a definition, proposed by Roland Barthes, of a new myth-like form — everyday mythology deriving from popular culture and influencing everyday choices and decisions. On this basis, drawing on a content analysis combined with a semiotic analysis, the author distinguishes patterns in the perception and creation of femininity and masculinity. The present study is an attempt to answer the question about the link between the mythologies in question as well as the questions of whether a woman can exist without a man in the reconstructed discursive space and whether she is essential to his existence.