com 367 research paper

7/30/2019 COM 367 Research Paper

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An examination of gender stereotypes in print advertising

Jenny Muscat

COM 367

Nonverbal Observation Paper


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Introduction

Images in advertising reach millions of people every day. This imagery provided by the

media can be described as nonverbal symbols that shape attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors while

creating meanings and associations (Kang, 1997). For many years, advertisements have been

criticized for their portrayal of gender stereotypes to sell and promote products. Many studies

have been done on this issue to proving the existence of these stereotypes in advertisements. The

purpose of this study is to examine how power is projected in both males and females in print

advertisements in popular magazines. The following section will review previous literature on

this subject,

Literature Review

Social construction of gender The concept of gender is constructed through continuous

social interactions which can result in formed ideas on masculinity and femininity. Males and

females are socialized early on to exhibit different behaviors in life which continues into

adulthood. Boys are typically socialized in how to gain attention, status, and power. Girls, in

contrast, are taught how to be nurturing, tender, and cooperative (Morris, 2006). Rosaldo argued

that masculinity is assigned a high value in society than femininity. His distinction is based on

the traditional model of women staying home to care for the children while men are given

freedom to have a significant presence in the public and hold valuable positions (as cited in

Morris, 2006, p. 5).

Another theorist, Chodorow, stressed the concept of private and public spaces in

differentiating genders. From a developmental point of view, mothers create feminine roles in


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the home (a private setting) for girls. Fathers socialize young boys to break away from domestic

life and begin creating an identity and status in the public (as cited in Morris, 2006, p. 5). Brown

and Levinson theorized that boys illustrate behaviors such as dominance and physical force and

girls demonstrate politeness and collaboration (as cited in Morris, 2006, p. 6).

Gender stereotypes Ashmore and Del Boca define gender stereotyping as beliefs that certain

attributes differentiate women and men (as cited in Eisend, 2009, p. 419). According to Deaux

and Lewis these stereotypes have four different and independent components: trait descriptors,

physical characteristics, role behaviors, and occupational status. Each of these components has a

masculine and feminine version (as cited in Eisend, 2009, p. 419). While not all stereotypes are

negative, stereotyping can have negative consequences. Each component of gender stereotyping

can lead to expectations and judgments that restrict life opportunities (Eisend, 2009). It has been

argued by Ceci et al. that it is the social environment that shapes gender roles which causes these

negative outcomes, and not biological factors. Significant changes in gender roles through the

years prove that it is the social environment that can influence these outcomes and not biology,

which stays the same (as cited in Eisend, 2009, p. 419).

Gender stereotypes in advertising Images portrayed in advertising have been under scrutiny for

many years for displaying stereotypical images of gender roles; especially those of females.

Despite the significant advances made by women in equality rights and career opportunities,

many studies have shown that advertising still depicts men and women in traditional roles. A

study done by Courtney and Lockeretz examined images of women in magazine advertisements

and found: women are rarely shown in out of the home roles; few were shown in professional or

high level business roles, women were portrayed as needing a mans protection, men were shown

as seeing women as sex objects, and women were primarily shown in ads for cleaning, food,


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beauty, drug, clothing, and home products while men were shown in ads for cars, travel,

alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, banks, industrial products, entertainment media, and industrial

companies (as cited in Kang, 1997, p. 982).

Other research done by ODonnell & ODonnell (1978) has shown that men are

commonly featured more predominately in advertisements compared to women. After examining

television commercials, mens voices were found to be heard more than womens. These results

can mean that the male voice is more authoritative and valued while women are portrayed more

as product users than authorities (as cited in Morris, 2006, p. 7).

One famous researcher in this topic of study is Erving Goffman. Goffman conducted a

study in 1979 of 400 print advertisements and concluded that women are essentially weakened in

advertisements in the following categories: relative size (women are shown shorter or lower than

men), feminine touch (women frequently touch themselves in advertisements), function ranking

(occupational status), ritualization of subordination (lying down at inappropriate times), and

licensed withdrawal (women are often shown as part of the scene or with far off gazes) (Kang,

1997). A study conducted by Kang analyzed advertisements from 1991 and compare them with

Goffmans results from 1979. Findings showed that there has not been a significant change in

advertisements throughout the years. This can mean that advertisements portray women not how

they actually are but how society thinks they should behave (Kang, 1997).

The common stereotype in advertisements that women do unimportant things and belong

in the home appears to be a cultural norm and a function of socialization (Kang, 1997). Sullivan

and OConnor(1988) found a 60% increase in advertisements that show women in purely

decorative roles thus claiming that a womans role in advertising is to be sexy and alluring (as


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cited in Kang, 1997, p. 982). A study by Killbourne (1986) found that exposure to

advertisements depicting women in stereotypical sex roles resulted in lower perceptions of

womens managerial abilities compared to exposure to advertisements portraying women in

professional roles (as cited in Kang, 1997, p. 982).

Gender stereotypes are found in television advertisements as well as print advertising. An

meta-analysis of 64 different studies on television and radio advertisements was done to

investigate the degree of stereotyping in advertising, and whether gender stereotypes mirror

gender-related values in society. Three different categories of stereotyping were used:

occupational status, physical characteristics, and role behaviors. Results showed that the odds of

females being presented in a specific category were 1.5 to four times higher than men. The

category of occupational status was the one that showed the greatest degree of gender

stereotypes. It seems that advertisers use already existing gender-related values in a society in

advertisements to promote and sell products (Eisend, 2009).

A study was done to find if gender stereotypes in print advertisements vary in culture.

Morris conducted a content analysis of advertisements from 108 countries and examined the

levels of gender stereotyping. Results showed that gender stereotypes are universal. The women

in these advertisements were shown in domestic roles and as modeling in decorative or

indistinctive roles while the men shown in occupations, spokespersons, or at leisure. While in

some cultures males and females are seen more equally than others, images in advertising do not

depict these concepts and still show gender stereotyping. These findings support the notion that

men are assigned higher value in society (Morris, 2006).


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Another cross-cultural study was done on magazine advertisements from three different

countries: Sweeden, the Netherlands, and the United States. Results showed that in all three

countries men are more likely to be shown in working roles than women despite the

advancements women have made in politics and the workplace (Wiles, Wiles, Tjernlund, 1995).

These results support the concept that advertising reflects the values and ideals of a given culture

including its stereotypes and biases.

There has been a substantial amount of research done on this topic in the past forty

decades. This research has concluded that gender stereotyping exists in print advertisements in

terms of how males and females are portrayed. This study is aimed at replicating these earlier

findings through examining modern day advertisements in terms of power displays and

nonverbal symbols.

H1: Men are seen as displaying greater power roles in advertisements compared to

women.

R1: Does the type of magazine have an effect on the degree of gender stereotyping?


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Method

For this study, advertisements were analyzed in terms of power projected in males and

females. Advertisements for this study were only used if they displayed still images of people,

specifically adults that are designed to sell a product. Ads that contained just words, objects, or

images without people were not used. Each ad was analyzed with seven different nonverbal

gender displays: relative size, psychological withdrawal, ritualized subordination, function

ranking, setting, touch/manipulation, and movement. Relative size refers to the male being taller

than the female in an advertisement. Psychological withdrawal refers to women being removed

from the situation leaving them disoriented and dependent on others for protection. Ritualized

subordination refers to lowering or raising oneself physically. Function ranking refers to

occupational status. Setting refers to where the scene of the advertisement is taking place. Touch

and manipulation refer to women are seen touching themselves more often than men are in

advertisements or to use their fingers to trace the outline of an object. Movement refers to the

level of physical motion displayed by the people in the advertisement.

Sampling The unit of measurement for this study was the magazine advertisements. A total

of nine magazines were used in this study. The magazines used were split into three different

categories: womens, mens, and general audience. In each category three popular magazines

were chosen. For the magazines targeted towards women Vogue, Elle, andWomens Health

were

used. For the magazines targeted towards menMens Fitness, Mens Journal, and GQ were used.

For the magazines targeted towards a general audience Time, AARP- The Magazine, and People


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were chosen. Within each magazine two advertisements were randomly selected. In each

magazine the twelfth and the twentieth full page ad depicting people were analyzed.

Results

Mens magazines In the magazines targeted towards males the most common gender

stereotypes were ritual subordination (men were frequently shown standing or sitting erect with a

high head), function ranking (men were frequently shown in professional clothing),

psychological withdrawal (women in the advertisements were shown as being withdrawn from

the scene), and setting (men were commonly shown either outdoors or in a athletic setting).

Womens magazines In magazines that are targeted towards women the most common

stereotype found was touch/manipulation (women were very frequently seen touching

themselves or using their fingers to just barely outline or caress an object). Another common

stereotype in these advertisements is relative size (men were frequently seen as being larger than

the women in advertisements). Another common stereotype found in these advertisements was

ritual subordination (women were seen in a lower posture and seen lying down in inappropriate

times).

General audience magazines In magazines targeted towards a general audience there

were fewer stereotypes shown than in the previous two categories. The two most common were

relative size and touch. In advertisements with both men and women the women was shown as

shorter than the man was. Women were seen as self touching and using their fingers to outline

objects. One category that was present that was not found in the other magazines was movement.

Men were shown moving more than women were in these magazines.


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Discussion

These results support the hypothesis that men are shown with greater power displays in

advertisements than women. The results can be integrated into research already don on this

subject supporting the idea that despite the advances made by women over the years, society

still upholds stereotypical ideals towards gender. This study shows that men are portrayed in

more powerful situations from the standpoint of relative size, touch, function ranking, ritual

subordination, psychological withdrawal, movement, and setting. From this study it can be

gathered that men are more valued in society and these ideals can be found in advertisements.

This study also proposed a research question that asked whether or not the type of

magazine that the advertisement appeared in would change the outcome of the degree of gender

stereotypes found. The magazines targeted towards men were found to display images of men

more than women or men with women. This has an impact on results of the study. The male

advertisements displayed a great deal of power displays through posture, setting, and

occupational status. In the magazines targeted towards women, women were the central focus of

most, if not all, of the advertisements. This impacted the degree of stereotyping in terms of

touch/manipulation, relative size, and psychological withdrawal. While the men and womens

magazines clearly depicted the ideal man or woman in terms of societys views, the magazines

targeted towards a general audience did not have one gender displayed more than the other.

Results from this category were evenly spread out. It can be concluded that specialized

magazines have a higher degree of gender stereotyping than those geared towards a general

audience.


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Conclusion

This study replicated the results that men are shown displaying higher power roles in

print advertising than women. This study also found that the degree of gender stereotyping can

be dependent on how specialized the magazine is towards a specific audience. There are

limitations to this study which include the lack of advertisements from each magazine and the

lack of magazine issues from each type of magazine. This research can justify a more in-depth

and sophisticated form of research in the future to investigate the dependency of the type of

magazine on gender stereotypes.


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References

Eisent, M. (2009). A meta-analysis of gender roles in advertising.Academy of Marketing

Science, 38, 418-440.

Kang, M. (1997). The portrayal of women's images in magazine advertisements: Goffman's

gender analysis revisited. Sex Roles,37, 979-996.

Wiles, J. A., Wiles, C. R., & Tjernlund, A. (1995). A comparison of gender role portrayals in

magazine advertising.European Journal of Marketing, 28(11), 35-49.

Morris, P. (2006). Gender in print advertisements:A snapshot of representations from around the

world. Papers presented at the annual convention of the International Communications

Association in Dresden, Germany.

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