Gender discourse and femadvertising in India: A multi-modal discourse analysis

Growing awareness of gender equality and the shifting definitions of gender roles in society have made gender-sensitive portrayals in mass media increasingly important. Advertising, as a key form of social communication, now places greater focus on gender equality, reflected in the rising presence of campaigns that foreground women's empowerment. Such advertisements that actively contest stereotypical portrayals are collectively referred to as femvertising . Feminist scholars, however, remain critical of the underlying intentions of these campaigns, questioning whether they genuinely align with feminist causes or merely exploit them for commercial gain. The expansion of femvertising in India underscores the need to examine its true role in shaping gender roles and identities. Utilizing the framework developed by Kress and Van Leeuwen, the study investigates how semiotic elements contribute to the construction and communication of gender-sensitive narratives. Focusing on the Hero Pleasure femvertisements from 2014 and 2023, it traces the visible changes in gender discourse over time. Further, it evaluates the strategies used in framing the central narratives and analyzes how the interplay of visual, textual, and auditory modes in these campaigns engages with feminist concerns, thereby contributing to the larger discourse on gender in the Indian context.