The purpose of this essay was to investigate how the James Bond films portray the beauty ideals for women during a 40-year period by looking at each woman from four different categories. The study used three Bond films, which were: The Man with the Golden gun from 1974, Goldeneye from 1995 and lastly Skyfall from 2012. By using the semiotic theory with film analysis and Yvonne Hirdmans genus theories the main research question was: How has the contemporary beauty ideals for women reflected on the women’s characters in the James Bond films?The analysis showed that the women in the first movie mostly were portrayed with thin waists with a bigger bust area and with natural faces that had little makeup. The ideal around that time was that the focus on a woman’s body should be the breasts and that came across in the movie. In the other two movies the women’s body types hadn’t changed from the first movie, and the ideals around that time were those of a small body in general. The clothes followed the ideals of the second and third feminist waves that wanted that women should be able to wear whatever she wants which the two later movies showed. The second feminist wave were what started the thesis that women could do and work with the same things as men did. This was seen in the movies as the women worked as secretaries and agents and most of them could handle a weapon which is historically seen as a man’s job.

Syftet med studien är att genom en semiotiskt bildanalys och genusvetenskaplig ansats undersöka hur det kroppspositivistiska bikiniföretaget Elsa and Rose Swimwear framställer kvinnan i sin marknadsföring på Instagram. Då tidigare forskning kring kvinnlig framställning i reklam till stor del fokuserat på endast kroppsstorlek och attraktivitet har vi valt att inkludera analysverktyg som pose, gaze, samt etnicitet och hud. Detta för att bidra med ny kunskap om kvinnlig framställning inom reklam och sociala medier. Genom att studera sju bilder, som alla publicerades under 2018, på Elsa and Rose Swimwears Instagram-konto har vi undersökt hur kvinnan framställs, samt om och hur denna framställning av kvinnan skiljer sig från den normativa kvinnan som vanligtvis syns i media. Studiens resultat visar att ingen av de sju bilder som ingick i analysen demonstrerar “den perfekta kvinnan”, som vanligtvis syns i medier och reklamsammanhang. Ingen av kvinnorna i bilderna innehar alltså alla normativa attribut, som till exempel både en extremt smal kropp och perfekt hud. Bildernas huvudsakliga syfte är således inte att marknadsföra sina produkter med hjälp av normativa kvinnokroppar, utan att genom sin marknadsföring även sprida budskap om att alla kroppar är värda att synas i media, oavsett storlek, hudton och utseendemässiga attribut. Slutligen sänder kvinnorna huvudsakligen signaler av självsäkerhet och kontroll genom sina blickar och poseringar, vilket demonstrerar deras medvetenhet om åskådaren. Resultatet i den här studien visar således att det kroppspositivistiska bikiniföretaget Elsa and Rose Swimwears huvudsakliga framställning av kvinnan skiljer sig från den traditionella och normativa kvinnan som vanligtvis syns i media. / The purpose of the study is to, through semiotic analysis and gender theory, investigate in which way the body-positive bikini company Elsa and Rose Swimwear is representing women in their Instagram marketing. Since earlier research on female representation in advertising is largely focused on body size and attractiveness, we have in this study chosen to include analysis tools such as pose, gaze, as well as ethnicity and skin. This will contribute to new knowledge on female representation in commercials and on social media. By studying seven images, all posted in 2018, on Elsa and Rose Swimwear's Instagram account, we have investigated how women are represented as well as whether and how this representation differs from the normative female image usually seen in media. The result of the study shows that none of the seven images included in the analysis display "the perfect woman" that is usually seen in media and advertising. None of the women in the pictures possess all the normative attributes, such as both an extremely thin body and perfect skin. We find that the main purpose of the images is not to for the company to market their products with normative women's bodies, but rather market their products while spreading a message saying that all bodies are worth being seen in media, regardless of size, skin tone and appearance. Finally, the women in the pictures communicate self-confidence and control through their gazes and poses, and therefore demonstrating their consciousness of the observer. The result of the study shows that the body-positive bikini company Elsa and Rose Swimwear's main representation of women differs from the traditional and normative female image.