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‘Holding on’: postfeminist articulations of menopause in advertising

Aodheen McCartan

Journal of Marketing Management2025https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257x.2025.2475237article
AJG 2ABDC A
Weight
0.54

Abstract

Through quantitative and qualitative content analysis of magazine advertisements over a four-year period, this paper assesses how menopause is being articulated in advertising, as a means of furthering understanding of female ageing representation. Drawing on postfeminist media criticism together with criticisms by feminist gerontologists around the concept of successful ageing, the paper questioned if increased menopause advertising might disrupt gendered ageism. The study found this not to be the case. It concluded that postfeminist discourses prevailed, with the discourse of individualisation being particularly dominant. An overarching message of ‘holding on’ emerged and the analysis showed that advertising generally presents a picture of ‘successful menopause’ – a project to be worked through and embraced – which perpetuates the narrative of successful ageing.

9 citations

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257x.2025.2475237

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@article{aodheen2025,
  title        = {{‘Holding on’: postfeminist articulations of menopause in advertising}},
  author       = {Aodheen McCartan},
  journal      = {Journal of Marketing Management},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257x.2025.2475237},
}

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‘Holding on’: postfeminist articulations of menopause in advertising

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Evidence weight

0.54

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.52 × 0.4 = 0.21
M · momentum0.72 × 0.15 = 0.11
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.