A Comparison of American and Japanese Consumer Perceptions of Sex Role Portrayals in Advertising

Abstract

Consumer perceptions of their sex role portrayals in advertising have been heavily researched since the 1970s, but few studies have extended this research into cross-cultural settings. This study compares the perceptions of American and Japanese business students. The findings indicate that: 1) Japanese students are less critical than American students, 2) Japanese females students are less critical than American females, 3) Japanese male students are less critical than American males, 4) Japanese female students are more critical than Japanese males, and 5) American female students are more critical than American males regarding their role portrayals in advertisements.