Ana Widia Ningsih, Albert Tallapessy, Ghanesya Hari Murti

Undoing Gender in Indonesian Beauty Brand Dear Me Beauty Instagram Post

Introduction

Undoing gender in indonesian beauty brand dear me beauty instagram post. Investigate how Indonesian beauty brand Dear Me Beauty uses male models in Instagram ads to challenge gender stereotypes. Analyze 'undoing gender' and diverse expressions.

Abstract

This article deals with the investigation of undoing gender in Dear Me Beauty advertised in Instagram post. The promotions of makeup products using male models are identified as an action to break the stereotypes of beauty products by “undoing” dominant notions of personhood commonly done by woman. The data were collected from Instagram which were posted in 2022. This research constitutes a reconsideration of Dear Me Beauty advertisement that employs gender performativity for celebrating persistence and existence of diverse gender expression. Multimodal Discourse Analysis combining Systemic Functional Linguistics by Halliday (1994), Visual Grammar by Kress & van Leeuwen (2006), and a concept of Gender by Butler (2004) were used to show how the interplay between semiotic modes to construe meaning. There are four images and 26 clauses selected from the post. The result of the study shows the visual and linguistics analysis of Dear Me Beauty celebrates gender diversity but remains to focus on target market as the target consumers.

Review

This article proposes to investigate the concept of "undoing gender" as manifested in Instagram advertisements by the Indonesian beauty brand Dear Me Beauty. The study's central premise is that the brand's use of male models for makeup product promotions actively challenges conventional beauty stereotypes and prevailing notions of personhood traditionally associated with women. Utilizing a robust Multimodal Discourse Analysis framework, the research integrates Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics, Kress & van Leeuwen's Visual Grammar, and Butler's conceptualization of Gender to analyze the interplay between semiotic modes. Based on a selection of four images and 26 clauses from 2022 posts, the initial findings suggest that while the advertisements do celebrate gender diversity, their ultimate focus remains on their established target consumer market. The research presents a timely and highly relevant exploration of how commercial branding in a non-Western context engages with evolving gender performativity. The methodological choice of Multimodal Discourse Analysis, thoughtfully combining SFL, Visual Grammar, and Butler's theoretical lens, is particularly apt for dissecting the nuanced ways in which gender is constructed and potentially deconstructed in digital advertising. This interdisciplinary approach offers a strong foundation for a detailed semiotic analysis, providing valuable insights into the visual and linguistic strategies employed by brands attempting to navigate and potentially expand their understanding of diverse gender expressions within the beauty industry. The specific focus on an Indonesian brand also adds an important contextual layer to the broader discourse on gender and marketing. While the abstract outlines a compelling research question and methodology, the full paper would benefit from a more critical elaboration on certain aspects. The claim that the brand "celebrates gender diversity but remains to focus on target market as the target consumers" is particularly intriguing and requires deeper analysis. The paper should delve into *how* this dual outcome is achieved, exploring whether it represents a strategic compromise, a limitation in the brand's efforts to truly "undo" gender, or an inherent tension in commercializing diverse identities. Given the relatively small dataset (four images and 26 clauses), the discussion on the generalizability of findings and their broader implications for the Indonesian beauty landscape, or even global trends in gender-inclusive marketing, would be crucial. Further contextualizing the socio-cultural specificities of "undoing gender" within the Indonesian context would also significantly enrich the study's contribution.

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