Professional Documents
Culture Documents
rocked the ADF. These include the 2011 Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) Skype
scandal whereby footage of a female cadet having sex was broadcasted to other cadets via
Skype and the 2013 Jedi Council which saw seventeen servicemen attach demeaning
commentary of sex acts with women.
ADF Context
Currently, 18% of the RAAF is comprised of women, seeking to increase this number.
RAAF First Flight Camp atin different settings ranging from indoor physical activities,
interviews,
Part 5 provides a visual embodiement of the RAAFs target audience.
o My life in the airforce is not what you might expect Witty remark at the end
which has a subliminal subtext.
On a superficial level, her life in the airforce as a woman involves equal
rights, good employer, working with aircraft.
Dig deeper and the responder is rewarded as they realise that they did not
expect a woman to work in the airforce (albeit not within any respect iven
thee recent scandals), but in reality women do work and in good
conditions.
What the human nature of males and females really consists of, them, is a capacity to
learn to provide and to read depictions of masculinity and femininity and a willingness to
adhere to a schedule for presenting these pictures, ad this capacity they have by virtue of
being persons, not females or males. One might just as well say there is no gender
identity. There is only a schedule for the portrayal of gender (Goffman p.8).
Cultural Associations with Femininity and Masculinity RAAF seeks to break down
these barriers as they become increasingly blurred in this 21st century society.
o Concepts Associated with Femininity
Nature
Body
Instinct
Passion
Carnality
Impulse
Consumer
Emotion
Irrationality
o Masculinity
Culture, Mind, Logic, Reason, Spirituality, Control, Producer, Discipline,
Rationality
Traditionally, men were rational and women emotional.
o Masculinity associated with mind, logic and rationality naturally more
rational than women. Disciplined, controlled.
o Femininity defined as emotionality, irrationality, sensuality (Bordo 1993).
Womanhood has a dangerous, appetite and volatile nature.
o Amberley air base to encourage more females to consider a career in the armed
forces (Diversity in the Air Force) .
o FUTURE-PROOF the RAAF.
I will be ruthless in ridding the Army of people who cannot live up to its
values, and I need every one of you to support me in achieving this. The
standard you walk past is the standard you accept.
If youre not up to it, find something else to do with your life. There is no
place for you amongst this band of brothers and sisters.
Advertising provides the consumer with a blueprint of how to live the good
life.provides us with images of how real women and real men should be.
Advertisements present the consumer with repeated exposure to stereotypical
representations of men and women in order to give us an implicit assumption of how men
and women really are (Stevens and Ostberg, p. 392).
o Advertisements may reflect, sustain, challenge or even subvert the predominant
cultural values of a society (Stevens and Ostberg, p. 393).
ADF/RAAF attempts to challenge and even subvert cultural values not
only within the ADF, but also externally.
Aims to challenge and subvert the norms of society so as to capture the
attention of their intended market, that is, women interested in the ADF
(seeking to be outside of the norm, given equal pay and rights, etc.).
o Do not use a complacent strategy, which merely involves upholding the status quo
by employing traditional gender stereotypes. This strategy is typically used in
conjunction with traditional (laissez-faire) and cultural (playful) approaches.
o On the other hand, the RAAF seeks to emancipate itself from the shackles of
typical cultural depictions of femininity/women in the Defence Force. In doing so,
the RAAF harnesses the inherent power within the advertising industry to forge a
more nuanced and complex view of femininity by embracing a subversive
strategy with a cultural approach (destabilising isologues). Such a strategic
approach allows the RAAF to achieve its objective, that is, to destabilise
preconceived ideologies of the ADF being a sexist, misogynist organisation to one
which thrives on embracing the values of inclusiveness, equality and respect.
Cultural Approach RAAF is engaged in actively co-producing consumer culture and
the norms associated with it. Places more weight, and in turn responsibility, on the
RAAFs capacity to shape consumer culture towards ADF.
chains. She does not gaze at the aircraft admiringly, nor does she lightly graze or
embrace the tools.
o Mechanic Works on aircraft frames, working on a 40million dollar flight every
day.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/defence-courts-ethnic-groups-20090612c64p.html#ixzz30o5RAmL5
This is compounded by the fact that Australia largely defines its identity so closely
with its military history and ethos (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-29/armychief-wants-more-diverse-military/3859502)
David Morrison stated "This will prove unsustainable with the demographic changes that
are occurring in this country over the forthcoming decade."
o http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-29/army-chief-wants-more-diversemilitary/3859502
In a speech to the Sydney Institute last night, he said the military must adapt or risk
missing out on the necessary talent needed to fill its ranks.
"At the core of our identity is a strong combat culture. We must preserve this because it's
vital to our success," he said.
"But we also need to concede that this culture has tended to exclude women and some
ethnic groups who are under-represented in our ranks.
"This will prove unsustainable with the demographic changes that are occurring in this
country over the forthcoming decade."
o http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-29/army-chief-wants-more-diversemilitary/3859502
If successful, it will pose a direct challenge to the flame-keepers of the Anzac legend,
who have traditionally portrayed the Aussie Digger almost exclusively as a white, male
Anglo-Saxon.
Only 5 per cent of Australia's soldiers, sailors and air force personnel are from nonEnglish-speaking backgrounds, compared with 21 per cent for the population as a whole.
A Defence budget brief released last month by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
found there was a significant "over-representation of Anglo-Celtic born individuals" in
the regular ADF, as well as in the reserves and even in the civilian workforce in the
Defence Department.
"There is something unsettling about a defence force that is unrepresentative of the
society it seeks to protect, especially for a country like Australia that defines its identity
so closely with its military history and ethos," Mr Thomson said.
o http://www.news.com.au/news/defence-to-target-ethnic-groups-for-newrecruits/story-fna7dq6e-1225734756045
About 1 per cent of troops were born in Asia and 87 per cent were born in Australia, compared with the
general workforce where 7 per cent were born in Asia and 73 per cent born in Australia.
The lack of ethnic diversity has drawn heavy criticism from defence analysts, who say the military is
unrepresentative and may be missing out on access to cultural and linguistic skills.
"There is something unsettling about a defence force that is unrepresentative of the society it exists to
protect," said a report last month by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute."By relying on a limited part
of the population, the defence force misses the opportunity to recruit some of the best and brightest in
the community."
http://www.smh.com.au/national/defence-courts-ethnic-groups-20090612c64p.html#ixzz30o5RAmL5
Too independent RAAF is all about team, may contradict core values.
Recommendations
There are various recommendations that the RAAF can adopt to better its current
advertisement.
Such an approach would enhance the overall message
Alternatively, multiple women of different appearances + just a white woman in all
advertisments
IN COMMAND OF MALE COLLEAGUES Role Reversal
A woman with mud on her face sends a different message. It is one of women
willing to do the dirty work necessary to get the job done.
o US Army spokeswoman stated that average-looking woman should be used to
advertise to female recruits as images of attractive soldiers confuse the reality of
roles in combat.
o Instead, a woman whose only makeup consists of messy hair and mud slung all
over her face sends a different message that of a woman willing to do the dirty
hard yards necessary to get the job donenot very convincing PR if you ask me.
In reality, a career in the RAAF is demanding and tough, both physically and mentally.
Attractive Lucy
o US Army spokeswoman stated that average-looking woman should be used to
advertise to female recruits as images of attractive soldiers confuse the reality of
roles in combat.
o Ugly women are perceived as competent while pretty woman are perceived as
having used their looks to get ahead. By using pretty female soldier, the rest of
the message is lost. A woman with mud on her face sends a different message.
It is one of women willing to do the dirty work necessary to get the job done.
The image of the ideal beautiful woman is encompassed in what Cortese dubs the
perfect provocateur (an ideal image that arouses a feeling or reaction). The exemplary
female prototype in advertising, regardless of product or service, displays youth, good
looks and sexual seductiveness (Cortese, p. 52). Accepted attractiveness is her only
attribute. She is slender, typically tall and long-legged. Women are constantly held to this
unrealistic standard of beauty. If they fail to attain it, they are led to feel guilty and
ashamed.
o Although Lucy is not a Victorias Angels model, she is still a woman who is
aesthetically appealing. This could undermine the campaign.
Perhaps put her in with male colleagues?
Put other less attractive women beside her?
https://shine.yahoo.com/shine-beauty/army-wants-unattractive-women-ads-heres-why192200161.html
, has urged her public relations department to only use ugly or average looking women in
its promotional photos. She argues that by using a pretty female soldier, the rest of the
message is lost. Instead, a woman whose only makeup consists of messy hair and mud slung
all over her face sends a different message that of a woman willing to do the dirty hard
yards necessary to get the job donenot very convincing PR if you ask me.
While analyzing the perceptions of ugly versus pretty women and comments
about breaking a nail may seem offensive, Arnhart's assessment is as much
about the reality of a cultural phenomenon as it is about defining a strategy.
"There is a growing body of empirical research that indicates that focusing on
women's physical appearance has a negative impact in how women are
perceived," Nathan Heflick, PhD, a research associate at the University of Kent's
School of Psychology, tells Yahoo Shine. "This includes the reduced belief that
[pretty] women are intelligent, kind, moral, and, on a more basic level, have
thoughts, feelings, and intentions." He adds that when a woman is perceived as
being sexually attractive she is more likely to be blamed for being raped or
sexually harassed.