THE IMAGE OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISING PHOTOGRAPHY DURING THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

This research is an original contribution that analyses the image of women in advertising photographs that were published in diverse journals during the Spanish Civil War. After having carried out a documentary analysis that contextualizes the use of this technique in the advertising industry, we have applied a content analysis to a census of 139 characters from seven different newspapers. Among the main results that have been obtained, it should be pointed out the beauty, youth and happiness of the figures, as well as the profession of actress as main work profile. The last result is due to the importance of movie theaters as clients of the agencies. In this way, there is an advertising discourse that, although it share the same technique of representation, is opposed to the images of photojournalism that were used to fill the same newspapers. Therefore, this paper adds a new perspective to the studies related to the use of photography during the Spanish Civil War. However, we also try to provide a better comprehension of the reality of the period an of its gender stereotypes.