Gender in advertising

Last updated

Gender in advertising refers to the images and concepts in advertising that depict and reinforce stereotypical gender roles. Advertisements containing subliminal or direct messages about physical attractiveness and beauty have been of particular interest regarding their impact on men, women, and youth. Gendered advertisements have and continue to shape what is expected of a distinct gender, regarding physique and attitude.

Contents

Creation and maintenance of gender normality

Advertising is a significant agent of socialization in modern industrialized societies, and is used as a tool to maintain certain social constructions, such as gender. Men and women are depicted as differing in attitudes, behavior, and social statuses. [1] These images are crafted to mimic real life, leading to confusion when separating the concepts of fantasy and reality in regards to advertising. In his book Gender Advertising, [2] author Erving Goffman uses the term "commercial realism" for advertisers' attempts to present the advertising world in ways which it could be real. While often exaggerated, the gender stereotypes presented in the media are very much real. This is at least in some part due to the fact that when biases are present in an advertisement, they are more easily integrated into the viewer's beliefs, or if the beliefs are already present, then they are strengthened. [3] When viewers saw an advertisement in which men were behaving non-stereotypically, the viewer was less likely to stereotype others on the basis of their gender. [3] Men have historically been portrayed as dominant, financial providers, career-focused, assertive and independent, whereas women have been shown as subordinate, low-position workers, or loving wives and mothers whose responsibilities focus on raising children and doing housework. Those who do not mimic the stereotypical gender portrayals seen in advertisements and other forms of media may feel that they are inferior because of their differences, which can deter a person from choosing to pursue the life they desire, posing a threat to their mental health. [4] Goffman compares the dominant and subordinate positions of men and women as similar to that of a parent and child.

There are three prominent ideologies regarding the relationship between advertisements and societal beliefs. The mirror ideology looks at advertisements as a reflection of the culture from which the advertisements are produced, whereas the mold ideology thinks of advertising as the cast that molds the culture. [3] The last suggested relationship between advertisements and societal beliefs is a mixture of the first two and takes from both sides. Advertising professionals tend to follow the mirror ideology, and while many of them are just as capable as the consumer of identifying sexism in advertisements, these professionals tend to have a higher tolerance for sexist themes. [3] Chinese advertising professionals, when asked in a study, view their adverts as a replication of reality rather than as a pseudo-reality that is replicated by the real world. [3] There is much debate in the advertising world as to whether or not self-regulation is all that is needed to make discriminatory themes less common, with those in favor of this way forward advocating for awards and positive reinforcement to encourage changes while those in opposition argue that this has failed to bring about the necessary changes so far. [3]

Presentation of gender roles

Displays in youth advertising

Advertisements can be found in wide range aspects of life, such as on TV, billboards, and on social media. Children are now viewing this material at a younger age, in turn creating these perceptions whilst they are still very impressionable. Young children learn by observing and imitating what is presented to them. [5]

Advertisements that market to young girls include a variety of stimuli that inform and shape children's inner constructs of gender. In advertisements marketed towards young girls, the color pink is frequently used, and the subjects are typically shown in clean and calm environments playing with toys that mimic real life expectations of women, such as toys that mimic household actions such as cooking and cleaning, [6] as well as dress-up dolls. The most famous example of the dress-up doll is Barbie, which has played a role in the internalized body ideals of women across generations, resulting in a high level of body dissatisfaction. [7]

High beauty standards are also placed on young girls through means such as teen magazines and social media, resulting in an increasing pressure on young girls to appear sexualized and conventionally attractive. [8] Recent studies have shown that young girls that spend more time on social media show increased pressure and efforts in emulating the images that they see. [9]

Young boys are commonly seen in advertisements displaying aggressive, and occasionally violent behavior when playing with their toys. [6] Boys can be seen playing with a variety of toys with themes of violence, such as action figures wielding weapons, or toy weapons, with research suggesting that this type of play can desensitize young boys to violence. [10]

Boys have historically been subject to a wider variety of toys or games to play with. Some examples of these traditionally include hardware tools, cars, and action figures. Boys are also shown playing with toys that mimic a wider variety of skills and abilities that could be used in workplaces, influencing them to desire a wider variety of jobs from a young age. [11]

Displays of feminine gender roles

Goffman states that women are weakened by advertising portrayals in five categories: relative size, feminine touch, function ranking ritualization of subordination, and licensed withdrawal. Advertisements that are targeted at women, or that use female actors, often draw from themes of family-life, the natural environment, and fashion. [12] Women are also less often in humorous advertisements, and when advertisements are less comical, the stereotypes they portray tend to be taken more seriously. [3]

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, products, such as; moisturizers, soaps, deodorants, and shampoos were marketed to women through newly developed tactics of fear, sex, and emulation, [13] three key strategies that continues to influence advertising into the modern era. Fear tactics in advertisements from this time period often depict women that fail to meet the social expectation that they always appear presentable facing social rejection, painting them as outcasts and undesirable to men, with many examples from advertisements of this period shaming women that fail to maintain an assumed level of personal hygiene. Advertisements held the promise that through buying their product, women would become more desirable. [13]

Expectations that women were to maintain clean environments, care for their children, and serve their husbands were enforced through advertisements of this period as well. Many advertisers held the promise that a potential buyer will be able to perform these tasks more simply and more efficiently. [13] Female subjects are commonly portrayed as helpless in any areas besides what is expected of them, relying on men to perform more mentally or physically laborious tasks for them. [2]

Displays of masculine gender roles

Men have historically been portrayed in advertisements as independent, breadwinners, tough, invulnerable, athletic, and generally more capable than their female counterparts. Men in advertisements are usually pictured as leaders in and out of the household, being able to accomplish extreme tasks with little effort or assistance. When shown in advertisements with women, men are typically seen in a dominant position both socially and physically. [2] This can be seen in advertisements that show a man finding entertainment in watching a woman perform daily tasks, or critiquing a woman's lack of ability to perform these tasks to his standard. [13]

Research found more than 100 advertisements during sports coverage targeted towards men portrayed men as a part of a family, but only 7 of those portrayed said men with emotional aspects and connections with the children in their family. [14] In 225 advertisements directed towards children, 7 of them portrayed the role of a father, with 20 of them portraying the role of a mother. [15] In 200 commercials during programming directed towards women, only 2 of the advertisements depicted fathers in a supportive role with children. Men that fail to meet these standards, or that show feminine traits such as compassion, emotionality can be seen in advertisements as weak, and often as a source of comedy. According to the concept of hegemonic masculinity, that suggests a social value is placed on the masculine performance of gender roles, displaying feminine traits such as these results in less favorable treatment than those who display traditional characteristics of masculinity. [16] Advertisements that defy male stereotypes were also found to be mainly targeted towards women. [3]

Presentation of bodies

Many advertisements depict people with idealized bodies, many of which are photo-shopped or edited in some way. [17] Studies have shown that consuming advertisements that contain ideal body image leads to an increase in body dissatisfaction, especially in young girls. [18] Regardless of gender, self-objectification when viewing ideal body images in media may lead to negative feelings towards one's body. Thinking of one's body from an outside viewer's perspective may also lead to body shame, appearance anxiety, and may contribute to certain eating disorders or disordered eating. [18]

Displays of female bodies

Gladys Arista, a former model, posing in a swimsuit for an Inca Kola advertisement in 1972. Gladys Arista in Inca Kola photography, 1970s.jpg
Gladys Arista, a former model, posing in a swimsuit for an Inca Kola advertisement in 1972.

Advertisements use female bodies as a key form of marketing to consumers, with women often appearing as an object of desire, something to be controlled, something to be won by men, as well as delicate and fragile in nature. Many aspects of how female bodies are portrayed in advertising stem from the male gaze.

Female bodies in advertisements can be portrayed in a hyper-feminine, pornographic way in order to market to a heterosexual male audience. [19] Women are usually placed in positions of submission, and are urged to pursue beauty and sex appeal through acts and behaviors of submission. [20] In many advertisements, phallic objects are shown aiming at the female subjects face, breasts genitalia, or anal region in order to induce images of sexual intercourse. Sexual objectification of women may lead to anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. [21] Women often compare their bodies to idols like models and celebrities, which lead to dissatisfaction with their body. [14]

Women are displayed as fragile, with this being commonly pictured through the feminine touch. The feminine touch [2] refers to the idea that women are gentle by nature, and often use the image of women's hands to frame the focus of the ad in a delicate way. The feminine touch can also refer to a woman lightly grazing her own body with her hands in a similarly delicate manner. and often seen with vacant expressions, and in dynamic poses that convey them as something to be beheld. [19]

Magazine advertisements highlighting a thin, attractive female model yield greater self-objectification and the process of inspecting this type of advertisement can encourage women to think about their physical appearance as if looking on as a critical observer. [22]

Aging women are told through media that the way in which to maintain their femininity is to preserve their bodies. Advertisements profit off of sexually exploiting young women, but steer away from acknowledging the sexuality of aging women. [23]

Displays of male bodies

Male bodies are displayed in advertising with dominance, aligning with the belief that men are physically stronger and overall more dominant than women. When pictured with women, this is often illustrated through a man holding physical control over a woman, with images of a man's hands with a firm hold on a part of a woman's body, or through men gazing at the female subject of the photo while her expression is placed elsewhere. [19]

Men in advertisements are depicted with an ideal body type, resulting in them usually being objectified and depersonalized. [24] Muscular body types have become the desired norm for men, regardless of their sexuality. [25] Aging men also face the social pressure to defy aging in an attempt to maintain their masculinity, and thus, their power.

The representation of ectomorphs (thin and lightly muscled) in advertising is limited predominantly to the advertisement of clothing that may look more appealing on slimmer, taller men. Endomorphs (soft and round) are depicted less frequently, occasionally appearing as a target of ridicule when portrayed. Representations of male bodies are often used irrespective of their relevance to the product being promoted. [26]

Gender in advocacy advertising

[27]

Purity

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, many activist groups campaigned in advocacy of purity. Young people of the time, particularly young girls and women, were asked to pledge to not have sex until marriage, often pledging their virginity to their fathers. In her book, The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women, [28] author Jessica Valenti documents the cultural impact of this campaign. Purity was promoted in advertisements through print and television, as well as sermons, conferences, magazines, and political campaigns to promote abstinence in young people. [28]

Images of purity in advertising were often portrayed through young, thin white women wearing pure white dresses in order to conform to a traditional, evangelical Christian form of purity. [29] The evangelical origins of this campaign imply that there is an inherit complementary function to the bodies and traditional roles of men and women that is to be upheld. [29]

People who pledged to save their virginity often wore forms of clothing, such as graphic t-shirts containing imagery of cherries, a traditional symbol of purity, and phrases often including the word ‘chaste’ to inform viewers of their sexual status as well as purity rings. [28]

Fear tactics were used to promote these ideals. These fear tactics included telling young people that they are far more likely to receive sexually transmitted infections, with an emphasis on the fear of HIV/AIDS, if they had sex before marriage. American school systems taught students that abstinence was a morally correct option without teaching proper sex education. Additionally, young women were warned that if they were to take birth control, they were increasing their chances of contracting STIs, and that the performance of abortions may kill them. Additionally, pressure was put on young female celebrities to maintain a pure image, with a failure to do so resulting in public ridicule and shunning. [28]

Depictions across cultures

United States

A study analyzed the gender representation differences of 394 Spanish and English TV advertisements in the United States in 2013. The results show that gender stereotypes are common in both samples. For example, more women are depicted as young people, usually at home. Males usually dress formally, while females often wear suggestive clothes. Men obviously dominate the narrator role, and product category is closely related to gender. From the perspective of social cognitive theory, advertisements rarely depict women in the workplace, which may decrease interest in jobs traditionally related to the opposite sex. [14]

In Spanish and English advertising samples, women wear more suggestive and sexy clothing than men, and men are more fully dressed. In addition, narrators were more often male in English (male: 65.1%; female: 34.9%) and Spanish TV advertisements (male: 73.7%; female: 26.3%). The age of the protagonist has obvious gender division. More women are younger than men. Society is more tolerant of men's aging.

Britain

Among British advertisements, there were no significant differences in the roles occupied by male and female lead characters. Females appear in business or professional settings and men take on family responsibilities. In British advertisements from 2000 to 2001, the distribution of advertising clues of men (52%) and women (48%) was similar. There were 61% of male leads playing professional roles, compared to 39% of women. [30]

It is now illegal to use gender stereotypes to sell goods in Britain. Britain's Advertising Standards Authority announced the ban in December 2019. The new regulation stipulates that "advertisements must not include gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence", and cannot show people "failing to achieve a task specifically because of their gender". For example, the advertisers cannot show women having poor driving skills or men struggling with housework in advertisements. Still, there are those who have a deep understanding of the changes made to the ASA, such as Dr. Alexandros Antoniou and Dr. Dimitris Akrivos, who see them as more of a step in the right direction rather than the solution that is truly needed. The line between what is deemed acceptable or harmful was left unclear when advertisements focus on a person’s physical appearance. [4] The guidelines showed a disregard for limiting nudity and sexualization of people in advertisements that are potentially demeaning. [4] The complex interactions between gender and other aspects of a person’s identity were not mentioned at all, and no push was made to make advertisements more inclusionary of people who do not conform to the gender binary. [4] Advertisements viewed as humorous are, at times, allowed by the ASA, even if the advertisements are potentially harmful, so whether or not humor makes an advertisement less harmful may need to be addressed by future ASA guideline changes. [4]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, which has one of the fastest growing markets for advertising, operates strictly according to Islamic law. Men and women enjoy different rights; women may appear on TV only in limited roles. Women are emphasized in decorative features in traditional family roles. Most narrators tend to be male, and women are less likely to appear in professional situations or the workplace than men. [30]

The environments and occasions in which men and women appear differ as well. Women are more often shown around their families and indoors, whereas men are depicted outdoors, in the workplace or as leaders. The age range is very important in Saudi Arabia's advertisements because Islamic dress codes for women are more strict from adolescence. Of advertisements containing professional roles, 78% were filled by males, compared to 22% by females. [30]

YouTube Advertisements in Israel and Germany

In 2022, there were two billion people who used YouTube once a month, and a majority of users were men, although this majority has been diminishing over time. [31] An analysis of online advertisements is becoming increasingly important as YouTube’s users are predominantly young people who are actively forming their beliefs. Many differences were found between YouTube advertisements and advertisements from traditional media forms, as well as the types of gender stereotypes displayed in its advertisements. What kinds of differences those entail depends on where the viewer lives as well as the user viewing history on the site, which was accounted for in any statistics mentioned in this section. [31]

While it is more common for media adverts to focus on stereotypes regarding employment, most gender stereotypes depicted in YouTube adverts are based on physical appearance. [31] Women in adverts in Germany were twice as likely to have a body shape preferred by society, while in Israel, they were five times as likely. [31] Women in Israeli advertising were overwhelmingly the consumers of a product and were rarely if ever, depicted as authority figures. [31] In German advertisements, women were seven times more likely to be young, and in Israel, it was not much better as women were five times as likely to be young. [31] So much of the time, women in these advertisements were young consumers who had appearances viewed as the ideal in society, which alienates the majority of women who do not fall into this demographic and can set sexist and unrealistic expectations. Women were half as likely to be in comedic advertisements. [31] Like in many other cultures, the narration was dominated by male voices in both Israel and Germany. [31] Men in both cultures were three times more likely than women to make fact-based arguments for a product; this rate was twice as high as that observed in traditional advertisements. [31] To sum up, men are more often made to be funny and intellectual, while women tend to be objectified often without having a voice in the same way men do.

Television advertisements in Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea

Often, countries and territories in general regions tend to be grouped together, but gender advertisements in any media form will always vary to some degree depending on the culture that produces the media. Still, general trends in advertising tend to be relatively consistent across cultures, as sexist media depictions exist just about everywhere media exists. [32]

In South Korea, men were over 56 times more likely to be fully clothed than women. [32] Women were also four times as likely to be seen in a home setting, and less than .05% of the time, women were seen in the workplace. [32] Of all three places studied, only South Korea had more female advertisers than males. [32] Narration in South Korean advertisements was roughly evenly distributed between men and women, but when beauty and hygiene advertisements were ignored, men were more likely to be narrators. [32]

In Japan, more than 45% of women in advertisements were dressed in a suggestive manner. [32] Japan had arguably the most even overall representation of people in the workplace and people at home, albeit it was still very uneven. Men were 1.7 times as likely to be in a work environment, and women were 1.82 more likely to be in a domestic environment. [32] In both Japan and South Korea, men tended to be more middle-aged. [32]

Of the three countries and territories, Hong Kong was the most egalitarian in regard to gender. Women were only very slightly more likely than men to appear in advertisements in a home setting, but they were nearly seven times less likely to be in advertisements in a work setting. [32] This was the only place out of the three where men in advertisements were also predominately young. [32] Still, women in the advertisements were often young and suggestively dressed nearly 33% of the time. [32]

In all countries and territories, women depicted in advertisements were young at least 70% of the time. [32] Men were also across all three cultures never suggestively dressed more than 4% of the time. [32] Women were always more likely to be provocatively dressed and were always less likely to be in a work environment. [32] Aside from hygiene and beauty products, which women appeared in at twice the rate of men, women were less often the narrator. [32]

Viewers' perception of traditionally gendered advertisements

There exists a common misconception that gender stereotypes in advertising help boost sales, but this is largely the opposite of the truth. When advertisements’ depictions of gender were non-stereotypical, people generally viewed the brand and product in a more positive light while experiencing a feeling of social connectedness. [33] Reactions are dependent on how one views gender, but generally, when men were the focus of these non-stereotypical advertisements, it resulted in more interest in the product, increased sales, and more attentive viewing of the advertisement. [3] A study conducted in South Africa, the UK, and Poland found that regardless of political affiliation when men played roles where they displayed more warmth at the expense of competence, the advertisements were viewed more positively. [34] The study found that the contents of the stereotype were more important than the fact that there simply existed a stereotype in the advertisement, and this could be an explanation for why studies looking at the effects of female stereotypes on consumer opinion often yielded conflicting results. [34] Often, it seems that positive evaluations lie in likability and warmth rather than gender stereotypes. [34]

Gender stereotypes in advertisements generally have a negative impact on the product and company, but the evaluation of these stereotypes and advertisements by an individual is much more nuanced than any generalization can be. In a South Korean study, it was found that a person’s desire to be unique and whether they tend to be independent or interdependent affected their perceptions of an advertisement that contained gender stereotypes. Those who felt a greater need for uniqueness and viewed themselves as relatively independent had a lower tolerance for gender stereotypes, whereas the opposite was true for those who think of themselves as generally interdependent and do not desire high levels of uniqueness. [35]

A large factor in the evaluation of advertisements depicting gender stereotypes or non-cis gendered people was political ideology. Conservatives in the aforementioned multinational study were found to view advertisements containing traditional gender roles slightly more positively than liberals. [34] Despite conservatives in all countries liking the non-stereotypical advertisement more, in South Africa, conservatives were still more likely to purchase a product with advertising that showed traditional gender norms. [34] The opposite was seen in Poland, but this may have been the result of Polish conservatives fearing being viewed as sexist. [34] Tolerance for LGBTQ imagery depends to some degree on political affiliation. [36] Conservatives often felt a greater level of disgust and did so more frequently than liberals when viewing LGBTQ imagery, aside from lesbian imagery, which was rated similarly to heterosexual imagery. [36] Male homosexuality can be viewed as an affront to masculinity, which might explain why female homosexuality was rated as more favorable. The portrayal of gender in advertisements can elicit emotional responses from people, and generally, heterosexual individuals prefer less overt LGBTQ imagery. [36]

See also

Related Research Articles

A gender role, or sex role, is a set of socially accepted behaviors and attitudes deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity, although there are exceptions and variations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex in advertising</span> Use of sex appeal in advertising

Sex appeal in advertising is a common tactic employed to promote products and services. Research indicates that sexually appealing content, including imagery, is often used to shape or alter the consumer's perception of a brand, even if it is not directly related to the product or service being advertised. This approach, known as "sex sells," has become more prevalent among companies, leading to controversies surrounding the use of sexual campaigns in advertising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual objectification</span> Treating a person primarily as a sexual object

Sexual objectification is the act of treating a person solely as an object of sexual desire. Objectification more broadly means treating a person as a commodity or an object without regard to their personality or dignity. Objectification is most commonly examined at the level of a society, but can also refer to the behavior of individuals and is a type of dehumanization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masculinity</span> Attributes associated with men

Masculinity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors considered masculine are influenced by both cultural factors and biological factors. To what extent masculinity is biologically or socially influenced is subject to debate. It is distinct from the definition of the biological male sex, as anyone can exhibit masculine traits. Standards of masculinity vary across different cultures and historical periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Body image</span> Aesthetic perception of ones own body

Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body. The concept of body image is used in several disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, philosophy, cultural and feminist studies; the media also often uses the term. Across these disciplines, there is no single consensus definition, but broadly speaking, body image consists of the ways people view themselves; their memories, experiences, assumptions, and comparisons about their appearances; and their overall attitudes towards their respective heights, shapes, and weights—all of which are shaped by prevalent social and cultural ideals.

Hypermasculinity is a psychological and sociological term for the exaggeration of male stereotypical behavior, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, and human male sexuality. In the field of clinical psychology, this term has been used ever since the publication of research by Donald L. Mosher and Mark Sirkin in 1984. Mosher and Sirkin operationally define hypermasculinity or the "macho personality" as consisting of three variables:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stereotypes of African Americans</span> Generalizations and stereotypes linked to racism against African Americans

Stereotypes of African Americans are misleading beliefs about the culture of people with partial or total ancestry from any black racial groups of Africa whose ancestors resided in the United States since before 1865, largely connected to the racism and the discrimination to which African Americans are subjected. These beliefs date back to the slavery of black people during the colonial era and they have evolved within American society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual script theory</span> Theory in sociology

Sexual script theory states that all social behavior, including sexual behavior, is socially scripted. The theory was introduced by sociologists John H. Gagnon and William Simon in their 1973 book Sexual Conduct. Its basic principle states that all social behavior, including sexual behavior, is socially scripted. Furthermore, it is the approved norms abouthow individuals in a relationship may embrace one another, embody, and react to each other via the process of socialization. The idea is that sexual scripts are guidelines for appropriate sexual behavior and sexual encounters. Sexual behavior and encounters become behavior that is learned as well as instinctive. Each partner in consensual encounters acts as if they are an actor in a play or film following a script, rather than acting on impulse alone. Therefore people in a relationship may draw upon this idea when thinking about their own sexual experiences or when participating in sexual acts themselves. Research on sexual scripts and sexual script theory has concluded that sexual scripts are gendered. In most western cultures, the way a society is set up and its rules help shape how people act. For example, marriage laws and vows, as well as laws against certain sexual behaviors or relationships, all play a part in guiding people's behavior. It's customary for the male to indicate, or at least present, a greater initial enthusiasm in sexual relations in a typical male-female romantic relationship. It may raise doubts about his masculinity, sexual prowess, and fertility if he doesn't show off a great deal of passion early in the relationship. On the other hand, the woman can start to question her own sexual appeal. This is due to the misconception that males are usually eager to get sexually excited, thus it could be detrimental to her self-esteem if he shows no sign of interest. She should be cautious not to come across as overly eager to engage in sexual activity, even if it is believed that she will be open to a sexual connection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexuality in music videos</span>

Sexuality in music videos has been evident since the 1980s.

Queen bee syndrome is a phenomenon first defined by Carol Tavris and two collaborators in 1973. "Queen bee" is a derogatory term applied to women who have achieved success in traditionally male-dominated fields. These women often take on "masculine" traits and distance themselves from other women in the workplace in order to succeed. They may also view or treat subordinates more critically if they are female, and refuse to help other women rise up the ranks as a form of self-preservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family in advertising</span> Advertising trope

Since the Industrial Revolution, use of the family in advertising has become a prominent practice in marketing campaigns to increase profits. Some sociologists say that these advertisements can influence behavior and attitudes; advertisers tend to portray family members in an era's traditional, socially-acceptable roles.

The effects of advertising on body image have been studied by researchers, ranging from psychologists to marketing professionals. While many factors, such as "parenting, education, [and] intimate relationships" also affect body image, "the media and body image are closely related." This is because thousands of advertisements contain messages about physical attractiveness and beauty, examples of which include commercials for clothes, cosmetics, weight reduction, and physical fitness. Researchers have conducted studies in an attempt to see if such advertisements have effects on teenage body image, and what those effects might be.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media depictions of body shape</span>

Body shape refers to the many physical attributes of the human body that make up its appearance, including size and countenance. Body shape has come to imply not only sexual/reproductive ability, but wellness and fitness. In the West, slenderness is associated with happiness, success, youth, and social acceptability. Being overweight is associated with laziness. The media promote a weight-conscious standard for women more often than for men. Deviance from these norms result in social consequences. The media perpetuate this ideal in various ways, particularly glorifying and focusing on thin actors and actresses, models, and other public figures while avoiding the use or image of overweight individuals. This thin ideal represents less than 15% of the American population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender representation in video games</span> Portrayal of men, women and LGBT people in video games

The portrayal of gender in video games, as in other media, is a subject of research in gender studies and is discussed in the context of sexism in video gaming. Although women make up about half of video game players, they are significantly underrepresented as characters in mainstream games, despite the prominence of iconic heroines such as Samus Aran or Lara Croft. Women in games often reflect traditional gender roles, sexual objectification, or stereotypes such as the "damsel in distress". Male characters are frequently depicted as big and muscular, and LGBT characters have been slow to appear due to the cis-heteronormativity of the medium.

The exploitation of women in mass media is the use or portrayal of women in mass media such as television, film, music, and advertising as objects or sexual beings, in order to increase the appeal of media or a product to the detriment of the women being portrayed, and women in society. This process includes the presentation of women as sexual objects and the setting of feminine beauty ideals that women are expected to reflect. Sexual exploitation of women in the media dates back to 19th century Paris, in which ballerinas were exposed to harassment and objectification. The most often criticized aspect of the use of women in mass media is sexual objectification, but dismemberment can be a part of the objectification as well. The exploitation of women in mass media has been criticized by feminists and other advocates of women's rights, and is a topic of discussion in feminist studies and other fields of scholarship.

Gender plays a role in mass media and is represented within media platforms. These platforms are not limited to film, radio, television, advertisement, social media, and video games. Initiatives and resources exist to promote gender equality and reinforce women's empowerment in the media industry and representations. For example, UNESCO, in cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists, elaborated the Gender-sensitive Indicators for Media contributing to gender equality and women's empowerment in all forms of media.

Racial stereotyping in advertising refers to using assumptions about people based on characteristics thought to be typical of their identifying racial group in marketing.

The portrayal of parents in media sometimes depicts gender stereotypes in society, often highlighting the "traditional nuclear family" as opposed to nonconventional configurations. Social Scientists have found that home, family, and romance are three of the most important components of the way characters are presented. Moreover, these qualities are often presented in a stereotypical and traditional fashion. In the 1950s the meaning of the word parent coincided with the nuclear family structure—husband, wife, and children. Parents had a responsibility to uphold traditional gender roles in society. Gender roles in society were as follows: fathers work outside of the home and bring in the bread, while mothers tend to housework, make sure they are emotionally available, and look after the children. In today's time, the definition and responsibility of a parent has become more flexible/adjustable since the 1950s, although some parents tend to stick to their traditional gender roles. For example, two-married-parent families were the most common type of family unit a generation ago; however, in the year 2000 that particular family structure could only be found in one out of four households. Because of the shift in parenting, media outlets took it upon themselves to provide representation for certain family structures outside of the nuclear family, leaving them flexible as well. Mass media has presented a multitude of family structures and has promoted the acceptance of alternate family structures in many ways including television, newspapers, movies, commercials, books, comics, etc. Media is linked to the structure of families, given that parents and their children confide in it when questioning their own family and parenting practices. Its influence impacts parents positively and negatively, either by underrepresentation or drawing the perfect picture.

Gender Advertisements is a 1979 book by Erving Goffman.

Films have portrayed professional women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in various ways throughout film history.

References

  1. Belknap, Penny; Leonard, Wilbert M. (August 1, 1991). "A conceptual replication and extension of erving goffman's study of gender advertisements". Sex Roles. 25 (3): 103–118. doi:10.1007/BF00289848. ISSN   1573-2762.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Goffman, Erving (1979). Gender advertisements. Harper colophon books (1st Harper colophon ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN   0060906332.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Grau, Stacy Landreth; Zotos, Yorgos C. (December 14, 2018), "Gender stereotypes in advertising: a review of current research", Current Research on Gender Issues in Advertising, Routledge, pp. 3–12, ISBN   978-1-351-21374-5 , retrieved April 1, 2024
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Antoniou, Alexandros; Akrivos, Dimitris (January 2, 2020). "Gender portrayals in advertising: stereotypes, inclusive marketing and regulation". Journal of Media Law. 12 (1): 78–115. doi:10.1080/17577632.2020.1783125. ISSN   1757-7632.
  5. Bakir, Aysen; Palan, Kay M. (April 2010). "How are Children's Attitudes Toward Ads and Brands Affected by Gender-Related Content in Advertising?". Journal of Advertising. 39 (1): 35–48. doi:10.2753/JOA0091-3367390103. ISSN   0091-3367.
  6. 1 2 Frith, Katherine Toland; Mueller, Barbara (2010). Advertising and societies: global issues (2nd ed.). New York: Peter Lang. ISBN   978-1-4331-0385-8. OCLC   435967591.
  7. Nesbitt, Amy; Sabiston, Catherine M.; deJonge, Melissa; Solomon-Krakus, Shauna; Welsh, Timothy N. (June 25, 2019). Urgesi, Cosimo (ed.). "Barbie's new look: Exploring cognitive body representation among female children and adolescents". PLOS ONE. 14 (6): e0218315. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1418315N. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218315 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   6592527 . PMID   31237885.
  8. Papageorgiou, Alana; Fisher, Colleen; Cross, Donna (June 27, 2022). ""Why don't I look like her?" How adolescent girls view social media and its connection to body image". BMC Women's Health. 22 (1): 261. doi: 10.1186/s12905-022-01845-4 . ISSN   1472-6874. PMC   9238066 . PMID   35761231.
  9. Papageorgiou, Alana; Fisher, Colleen; Cross, Donna (December 2022). ""Why don't I look like her?" How adolescent girls view social media and its connection to body image". BMC Women's Health. 22 (1). doi: 10.1186/s12905-022-01845-4 . ISSN   1472-6874. PMC   9238066 . PMID   35761231.
  10. Basch, Corey; Guerra, Laura; Reeves, Rachel; Basch, Charles (October 25, 2015). "Advertising Violent Toys in Weekly Circulars of Popular Retailers in the United States". Health Promotion Perspectives. 5 (3): 191–197. doi:10.15171/hpp.2015.023. ISSN   2228-6497. PMID   26634197.
  11. Endendijk, Joyce J.; Portengen, Christel M. (January 19, 2022). "Children's Views About Their Future Career and Family Involvement: Associations With Children's Gender Schemas and Parents' Involvement in Work and Family Roles". Frontiers in Psychology. 12. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.789764 . ISSN   1664-1078. PMC   8809201 . PMID   35126242.
  12. Törrönen, Jukka; Rolando, Sara (November 2017). "Women's changing responsibilities and pleasures as consumers: An analysis of alcohol-related advertisements in Finnish, Italian, and Swedish women's magazines from the 1960s to the 2000s". Journal of Consumer Culture. 17 (3): 794–822. doi:10.1177/1469540516631151. ISSN   1469-5405.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Sivulka, Juliann (2012). Soap, sex, and cigarettes: a cultural history of american advertising (2 ed.). Boston: Wadsworth. ISBN   978-1-133-31113-3.
  14. 1 2 3 Prieler, Michael (May 3, 2016). "Gender Stereotypes in Spanish- and English-Language Television Advertisements in the United States". Mass Communication and Society. 19 (3): 275–300. doi:10.1080/15205436.2015.1111386. ISSN   1520-5436.
  15. Gentry, James; Harrison, Robert (March 2010). "Is advertising a barrier to male movement toward gender change?". Marketing Theory. 10 (1): 74–96. doi:10.1177/1470593109355246. ISSN   1470-5931.
  16. Messerschmidt, James W. (2016). Masculinities in the making: from the local to the global. Lanham Boulder New York London: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-4422-3292-1.
  17. Taylor, Charles R.; Cho, Yoon-Na; Anthony, Carissa M.; Smith, Danielle B. (October 2, 2018). "Photoshopping of models in advertising: A review of the literature and future research agenda". Journal of Global Fashion Marketing. 9 (4): 379–398. doi:10.1080/20932685.2018.1511380. ISSN   2093-2685.
  18. 1 2 Pelletier, Luc G.; Dion, Stéphanie C. (March 2007). "An Examination of General and Specific Motivational Mechanisms for the Relations Between Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Behaviors". Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 26 (3): 303–333. doi:10.1521/jscp.2007.26.3.303. ISSN   0736-7236.
  19. 1 2 3 Cortese, Anthony J. (2015). Provocateur: Images of Women & Minorities in Advertising (4th ed.). 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 15–16, 26–34. ISBN   9781442217225.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  20. "How do Media Images of Men Affect Our Lives?". www.medialit.org. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  21. Ward, L. Monique; Daniels, Elizabeth A.; Zurbriggen, Eileen L.; Rosenscruggs, Danielle (August 2023). "The sources and consequences of sexual objectification". Nature Reviews Psychology. 2 (8): 496–513. doi:10.1038/s44159-023-00192-x. ISSN   2731-0574.
  22. Harper, Brit; Tiggemann, Marika (May 1, 2008). "The Effect of Thin Ideal Media Images on Women's Self-Objectification, Mood, and Body Image". Sex Roles. 58 (9): 649–657. doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9379-x. ISSN   1573-2762.
  23. Calasanti, Toni (September 2007). "Bodacious Berry, Potency Wood and the Aging Monster: Gender and Age Relations in Anti-Aging Ads". Social Forces. 86 (1): 335–355. doi:10.1353/sof.2007.0091 . Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  24. Kolbe, Richard H.; Albanese, Paul J. (December 1996). "Man to Man: A Content Analysis of Sole-Male Images in Male-Audience Magazines". Journal of Advertising. 25 (4): 1–20. doi:10.1080/00913367.1996.10673509. ISSN   0091-3367.
  25. Connell, Raewyn (2021). Masculinities (Second, reprinted ed.). Cambridge: Polity Press. ISBN   978-0-7456-3427-2.
  26. Taylor, Benjamin (2013). The cultural evolution of masculine body image: An interdisciplinary analysis of male body image regulation within men's lifestyle magazines (Thesis). University of Northern British Columbia. doi:10.24124/2013/bpgub964.
  27. Cortese, Anthony J. (2015). Provocateur: Images of Women & Minorities in Advertising (4th ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 15–16, 26–34. ISBN   9781442217225.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Valenti, Jessica (2010). The purity myth: how America's obsession with virginity is hurting young women. Berkeley, Calif: Seal Press. ISBN   978-1-58005-314-3.
  29. 1 2 Natarajan, Madison; Wilkins-Yel, Kerrie G.; Sista, Anushka; Anantharaman, Aashika; Seils, Natalie (September 2022). "Decolonizing Purity Culture: Gendered Racism and White Idealization in Evangelical Christianity". Psychology of Women Quarterly. 46 (3): 316–336. doi:10.1177/03616843221091116. ISSN   0361-6843.
  30. 1 2 3 Nassif, Atif; Gunter, Barrie (June 1, 2008). "Gender Representation in Television Advertisements in Britain and Saudi Arabia". Sex Roles. 58 (11): 752–760. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9394-6. ISSN   1573-2762.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Roth-Cohen, Osnat; Kanevska, Halyna Sofiia; Eisend, Martin (February 17, 2023). "Gender roles in online advertising". Journal of Gender Studies. 32 (2): 186–200. doi:10.1080/09589236.2022.2102970. ISSN   0958-9236.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Prieler, Michael; Ivanov, Alex; Hagiwara, Shigeru (January 1, 1970). "Gender representations in East Asian advertising: Hong Kong, Japan, and Shouth Korea". Communication & Society. 28 (1): 27–42. doi:10.15581/003.28.35966. hdl: 10171/37952 . ISSN   2386-7876.
  33. Liljedal, Karina T.; Berg, Hanna; Dahlen, Micael (April 24, 2020). "Effects of Nonstereotyped Occupational Gender Role Portrayal in Advertising". Journal of Advertising Research. 60 (2): 179–196. doi:10.2501/jar-2020-008. ISSN   0021-8499.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Zawisza, Magdalena; Luyt, Russell; Zawadzka, Anna Maria; Buczny, Jacek (May 19, 2018). "Does it pay to break male gender stereotypes in advertising? A comparison of advertisement effectiveness between the United Kingdom, Poland and South Africa". Journal of Gender Studies. 27 (4): 464–480. doi:10.1080/09589236.2016.1234369. ISSN   0958-9236.
  35. Chu, Kyounghee; Lee, Doo-Hee; Kim, Ji Yoon (November 27, 2015). "The effect of non-stereotypical gender role advertising on consumer evaluation". International Journal of Advertising. 35 (1): 106–134. doi:10.1080/02650487.2015.1110942. ISSN   0265-0487.
  36. 1 2 3 Northey, Gavin; Dolan, Rebecca; Etheridge, Jane; Septianto, Felix; van Esch, Patrick (April 24, 2020). "LGBTQ Imagery in Advertising". Journal of Advertising Research. 60 (2): 222–236. doi:10.2501/jar-2020-009. ISSN   0021-8499.