STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISING

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

STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISING

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

STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISING

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

STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISING

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). 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

STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISING

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?

STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISING

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, and Womens Health were used. For the magazines targeted towards men Mens Fitness, Mens Journal, and GQ were used. For the magazines targeted towards a general audience Time, AARP- The Magazine, and People 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.

STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISING

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.

STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISING

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. Conclusion

STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISING

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.

STEREOTYPES IN ADVERTISING

10

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.