Appraising gender role portrayals in TV commercials

Abstract

The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) was used to appraise the gender role orientations of characters appearing in prime-time television advertisements. Four hundred twenty-six college students (primarily Caucasian) rated major ad characters on the BSRI and provided perceptual judgments about the character and ad presentation. The confirmatory analysis of the psychometric properties of the BSRI indicated the appropriateness of the scale for self- and person-perception ratings. BSRI Femininity and Masculinity subscale scores for the ad characters were analyzed as continuous variables. Counterstereotypic female characters had significantly higher Masculinity scores than stereotypic female characters and counterstereotypic male characters had significantly higher Femininity scores than stereotypic male characters. The BSRI was also a significant predictor of character and ad perceptions. A new direction for gender role research is presented.