“What does the mirror reveal about your age?” A historical analysis of Tokalon cosmetic advertisements in 1930s Sweden

Purpose The aim of this paper is to examine the construction of female beauty ideals in Tokalon advertisements in 1930s Sweden. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the theoretical perspective of social semiotics and the methodology of multimodal critical discourse analysis to analyze a corpus of 91 Tokalon advertisements collected from the Swedish Historical Newspaper Archive. Findings The analysis indicates that women were encouraged to engage in beauty work practices to preserve the idealized white, youthful face. Working on and “perfecting” the female face was framed as a way for women to exercise their autonomy and emancipation. However, a closer analysis of the advertisements reveals that women’s empowerment was often measured in terms of securing male attention or finding a husband. Women who failed to enhance their appearance were positioned as at risk of being unloved and/or unmarried, while those who engaged in beauty work practices were rewarded with romantic success. Interestingly, however, the promotion of beauty practices was not rooted with traditional notions of the “male gaze”, but rather reflected an “autoerotic gaze” that emphasizes self-governance by modern women. Originality/value This paper demonstrates the significance of analyzing Swedish cosmetic advertisements from this period to understand their role in shaping constructions of femininity. It also highlights the important influence of American advertising styles and culture in Swedish advertising practices and how they helped shape beauty norms in Sweden.