Feminist Movements - 11 Modern History - Analysing and evaluating visual sources (advertisements)

A lesson which begins focusing on some of the key skills students need when engaging with sources in Modern History. It focuses on advertisements from the past which reinforced traditional gender role stereotypes and those which referenced the feminist movement in an attempt to sell more products.

It begins by unpacking the A standard criteria for analysing and evaluating so that the students are aware of what they are expected to produce if they are aiming for top marks. It includes a list of the features of evidence that students should look for when examining sources. It introduces the C.O.M.A acronym which can be useful for engaging with visual sources in particular. Then the concept of gendered marketing is introduced with a range of advertisements provided which can be used for discussion or for practicing written analysis. The lesson includes a contrasting advertisement campaign to the many sexist adverts (Virginia Slims cigarettes). The ads for Virginia Slims cigarettes used the slogan “You’ve come a long way baby.”The purely female targeted tobacco brand used a feminist theme for they advertising campaign for over 20 years. This is followed by an example paragraph that showcases how this advertisement could be featured in an essay. There are prompting questions to guide students to unpack this example and determine its strengths and weaknesses.

Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). Designed as part of a unit entitled Women’s movements since 1893 which has the scope to span from when Women’s suffrage in New Zealand became law to the present. Our school decided to focus on the Second Wave of Feminism for our assessment (while briefly touching on the other waves of feminism).The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay under exam conditions.