A Semiotics Analysis of Gender Bias in YouTube Advertisements (The Case of Shopback, Pomona, and Fave)

Abstract

This study examines gender bias by identifying semiotic indicators in YouTube advertisements. This study employs a qualitative descriptive methodology. The data consists of three YouTube advertisements for cashback applications, namely ShopBack (2018), Pomona (2018), and Fave (2019). This advertisement's semiotic signs are analyzed through the lens of Charles Sanders Peirces' Triadic Semiosis theory. In the meantime, Widyatama's categorization of Gender Bias in Television Commercials (2007) is utilized to examine gender bias in the three advertisements based on physical and psychological characteristics, regions of roles, and relationships between men and women. The data analysis found that this advertisement contained multiple examples of gender bias. Physically, female characters are shown for their beauty, and psychologically, they are portrayed for their emotions. This bias is also frequently manifested in the subordination and domestication of women. Women are typically portrayed doing domestic chores, even though they are seen outside the home. Women are considered subservient, perpetually subordinate, weak, and vulnerable compared to men.