Journal of Discourse Review
Open Access Humanitarian scholarship
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Open Access Humanitarian scholarship
Time to first decision
Volume: 1 Issue: 1
1 Department of Linguistics and Phonetics, The English and Foreign Languages University, Lucknow, India.
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5419-0994
Year: 2025, Page: 1-11,
Received: Feb. 10, 2025 Accepted: March 21, 2025 Published: April 22, 2025
This paper examines the portrayal of women in media using the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Drawing on sociolinguistic approaches and discourse strategies, it investigates how advertisements contribute to the construction of female identity and the reinforcement of dominant social ideologies. The study focuses on four advertisements promoting weight-loss and skincare products and applies Fairclough’s three-dimensional model to analyze both linguistic and visual elements. Through this model, the paper uncovers how media texts normalize specific body standards, particularly the idealization of thinness among women. It also highlights how discourse not only reflects but actively shapes societal expectations related to gender and appearance. The paper further traces the evolution of media studies within linguistics, illustrating how discourse analysis offers valuable insights into the mechanisms through which ideologies are embedded in seemingly neutral promotional content. The findings call attention to the need for a more critical awareness of how language and visuals are employed in media to sustain narrow and often harmful representations of women. This approach highlights the importance of questioning everyday media narratives and the social assumptions they propagate.
Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Advertisements, Gender Ideology, Media Discourse, Weight Loss, Skincare.
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Chenglaunganbi, S. (2025). The Illusion of Perfection: A Discourse Analysis of Weight Loss and Skincare Advertisements and Their Impact on Consumer Perception. Journal of Discourse Review, 1(1), 1-11.