One of reasons Charlene Retzlaff was drawn to the retail merchandising and management major at UW-Stout is her love for fashion. Her view of the fashion industry, however, is more complicated.
Retzlaff recently undertook a research project that examined the treatment of women in fashion advertisements. The result, “Women Portrayals In Printed Fashion Advertisements: A 19 Year Thematic and Media Analysis,” has been accepted at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
She will present her research at NCUR from Thursday through Saturday, April 11-13, at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga., about 25 miles northwest of Atlanta. The annual conference is expected to draw about 4,500 students and officials from around the U.S.
Along with Retzlaff, a junior from Milwaukee, 17 other UW-Stout students had a total of 20 projects accepted by NCUR.
Retzlaff, whose concentrations within her major are fashion marketing and store operations, analyzed ads from European and American fashion brands between 2000 and 2019, compiling 261 ads from 74 brands found in magazines and online.
She found the ads tended to stereotype women through one of four themes: sexualization, objectification, submission/sexism and sexual violence.
“All of these themes are used to degrade and inhibit women’s advancement in their social roles and careers,” Retzlaff said. “Not only did I find these themes incredibly prominent in a majority of fashion advertisements with women but that they occur in a domino effect, meaning one leads to another.”
Retzlaff cited imagery that includes female nudity, overemphasis on intimate areas, dominant male poses along with submissive female poses and physical abuse.
The result of such imagery over an extended period of time can have negative impacts on men and women, she said.
“While these images break down women’s self-esteem, they build up men’s egos and their unrealistic standards for beauty, making them treat women unfairly and unequally. These images have been known to have a direct relation in increased violence in males against women, increasing domestic abuse, rape, sexual harassment and sexist treatment,” she said.
Retzlaff has been nominated for the university’s Undergraduate Researcher of the Year award.
The other UW-Stout students presenting at NCUR and their research projects are:
- Katlin Eyre, of Lodi, junior, applied science, “Impact of Life Skills Curriculum on Students’ Well Being”
- Michaela Guerrini, of Menasha, junior, technology education, “Impacts and Factors of Women in STEM Education at UW-Stout”
- Jordyn Horvath, of Zimmerman, Minn., senior, applied social science, “Social Media Influence on Voter Turnout Among College Students”
- Aarica Humke, of Greenwood, senior, human development and family studies, “Assessing California’s Paid Family Leave Through a Family Impact Lens”
- Noel Jacobson, of Lakeville, Minn., senior, applied social science, “ADA Compliance Accommodation and Success: Harvey Hall Renovation”
- Frank Janovec, of River Falls, senior, applied social science, “Public Lands, Public Identity”
- Matthew Johnson, of Cottage Grove, Minn., senior, applied social science, “Does the Tie-Bout Sorting Model Hold True for Property Tax Values?”
- Jamie Kuhns, of Menasha, senior, applied science, “A Review of Magnetic Nanoparticle Synthesis and Characterization methods for Medical Applications”
- Ryan Leckel, of Menomonie, junior, applied social science, “Assisting Wisconsin Municipalities and Citizens on the Replacement of Lead Service Lines using Wisconsin Act 137”; and “Silence in a Small Town: Conceptualizing Sexual Violence in a Community Context”
- Maddi McConville, of Augusta, junior, applied social science, “School-to-Prison Pipeline: Its Creation, Effects and How it Can Be Diminished”
- Anne McShane, of Menomonie, senior, applied social science, “Research on Cadets’ Motivations, Expectations and Goals Regarding Joining the Military”
- Emmi Nielson-Gunning, of Minneapolis, junior, applied social science, “Sex Trafficking in Minnesota”
- Johanna Peterson, of Rochester, Minn., senior, applied social science, “American Fascism: We Beat the Nazis, Now it’s Time to Tackle Ourselves”
- Marcus Ramirez, of Hancock, senior, applied social science, “The Meiji Secret: The Emergence of the Zaibatsu and Their Dominance of Japan”; and “The Persuasion War”
- Rachel Smith, of Menomonie, senior, applied social science, “What Drug Court Treatments and Services Matter the Most”
- Megan VanEgdom, of Dodgeville, senior, applied social science, “The Effectiveness of Gun Control Laws”
- Alayna Wier, of Fall Creek, senior, applied social science, “At a Breaking Point”
The research by Guerrini, Peterson and one each by Leckel and Ramirez are oral, while the others are presenting posters.
NCUR is the first of several special research-focused events in April. Others include Research in the Rotunda Wednesday, April 17, at the state Capitol; the UW System Symposium for Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity, Friday, April 26, at UW-Green Bay; and UW-Stout Research Day Monday, April 29.
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Charlene Retzlaff
