Female Role Portrayals Research Articles

Paradigm shift in female role portrayals in Advertising: A theoretical framework

Women have been portrayed with erotic images and are being used as sexual elements by the advertisers at present, consequently having bad effects on the youth. As far as women empowerment in advertisements is concerned, they are portrayed as obverse to the same, completely degrading their image. On the contrary much of the advertisements highlight men with multiple powers and depict a very rosy picture of them. Explicit media is much to blame instead fasting a firm’s belief of women’s perception of themselves in eyes of men as also for themselves. Advertisement- being a mirror of society goes on to overemphasized on negative aspects of beauty and sexuality as being profit yielding basis. People in general adopt whatever is being shown and hence leaves a marked impression of disrespect to women hood. In this growing age of media communication, it is very painful thing to see women being portrayed as an epitome of sacrifice and exhibiting stereotype role in their lives. Despite the growth in professional roles by women, their picture is depicted as being a subordinate and submissive in much of the advertisements. In the present study, theoretical framework is being worked on and contents of few advertisements have been critically analysed to see the better picture of advertisements in today’s world. Keywords: Advertising management.

Female role portrayals in Brazilian advertising: are outdated cultural stereotypes preventing change?

The use of female stereotypes in advertising is damaging to women and society. In this study we examine how creative practitioners construct stereotypes within creative decision-making. In an era of brand social responsibility, it is important that advertising supports gender equality by using positive portrayals rather than harmful stereotypes. The study considers the influence of local cultural norms on stereotypes and finds that in Brazil, traditional conceptions of the role of women dominate creative decision-making. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews with advertising creative practitioners, the research reveals their mental models of female stereotypes. Six distinct stereotypes are elucidated: Housewife, Trophy, Sexual Object, Sexually Powerful, Professional and Object of Beauty. These stereotypes shape how females are depicted in Brazilian advertising. The identification of Trophy and Sexually Powerful stereotypes are novel within extant literature. We recommend Brazilian creative practitioners connect better with their female audiences in future by representing them more equitably.

Consumer Psychographic and Demographic Characteristics Towards Female Endorsement in Advertising

Nowadays advertising has become a lifeline for business and endorsement of a females in advertising has become an unavoidable fact. Over a few decades, a wide range of researches have been carried out on female role portrayal in advertisements however, the role of demographic factors to moderate the relationship between consumer attitudes and responses towards female endorsement in print advertisement is yet to examine. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the role of demographic factors as a moderator to influence the response towards female endorsement in print advertisements. A survey was administered on 296 respondents from urban cities of Pakistan through questionnaires. The major findings of this study are that gender, income, education and geographic location do not moderate the relationship between attitude and response towards female endorsement in print advertisement. It was also found that male consumers as compared to females perceive that the presence of a female endorser in a billboard grabs their attention, increases their interest and desire, makes the commercial more memorable and keeps them aware of the brand name of the product. But female consumer’s perception is that the female endorser in a billboard increases their possibility of buying the endorsed product more as compared to male consumers.

Gender Portrayals In Pakistani Television Commercials

This study is aimed to investigate the gender portrayals in Pakistani television commercials that run on Pakistani television channels. The research is mainly a content analysis, intends to examine the gender representation of male and female in Pakistani television commercials. For this purpose the commercials have been closely investigated considering the male and female role portrayals, demographic focus and main voice over/ narrators. Twenty-five commercials were randomly selected from four broad categories of household products, beauty products, telecommunications and edibles. These four product categories represent those television advertisements that have been given greater exposure (in terms of space allocated / air time) on Pakistani television channels and also enlist in top ten product category in the year 2008. The aforementioned top ten product category list was prepared by Gallup Pakistan and accessed from the Aurora purple book (Pakistani advertising magazine) published by Dawn group of newspapers in 2008. (Gallup Pakistan) The research framework attempts to familiarize the readers with the gender representation in Pakistani television commercials, their similarities and differences in comparison with the existing literature from various countries.

How Chinese young consumers respond to gendered advertisements

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of advertisements with different female role portrayals in a second-tier city with “first-class opportunities.” Chinese girls and women represent a huge market for personal as well as household goods. Design/methodology/approach – An experimental study was conducted using a convenience sample of 216 male and female participants aged 17-21 years in Changchun, China. Participants were asked to respond to print advertisements using traditional and modern female images including housewife, cute female, female with classical beauty, sporty, career-minded and neutral (tomboy). Findings – Results revealed that female participants responded more favorably toward advertisements using female images than male participants. There was no difference in the responses to the six different female images among both male and female participants. Research limitations/implications – Young consumers in China are not sensitive to the different female images used in the print advertisements. Advertisers can, therefore, enjoy flexibility in the selection of female gender roles for advertisements. Originality/value – Little is known about how marketers and advertisements can best communicate with young consumers in China using advertisements with different female images. This study fills this literature gap.

Through the looking-glass: Exploring the wonderland of ‘other’ female portrayals in advertising

Research on gender portrayals in advertising are prolific and mostly focus on stereotypical roles. However, there is no previous research report analysing portrayals that fall into the ‘other’ category of female roles. This article aims to provide an outline of female role portrayals in advertising and, importantly, to examine the ‘other’ role category for new portrayals. A quantitative content analysis was conducted on samples of South African magazine and television advertisements. The findings indicate that the stereotypical decorative role was prevalent in magazine advertisements, while in television advertisements the product user was the person most often featured. A detailed analysis of the ‘other’ category in both media revealed four new role portrayals. These roles represent a different view of the modern woman and may be used to differentiate effectively those brands in the media that are cluttered with advertising messages. The research provides directions for future content-analytic studies on the topic of female portrayals in advertising.

Female role portrayal in South African magazine advertisements

Even though women actually fulfil many roles in real life, advertisements targeting femaleconsumers are often accused of depicting women in traditionally stereotypical roles. The purposeof this article is to analyse the visual elements of the roles portrayed by female models in SouthAfrican magazine advertisements. The study on which this article is based has made a uniquecontribution by investigating not only the relationship between the roles portrayed and the ethnicityof the female models, but also the relationship between the product categories advertised andthe ethnicity of the female models. A total of 258 full-page and double-page advertisements weresampled from two issues of nine consumer magazines published in South Africa. The research,using content analysis, found that female models were predominantly portrayed as consumersand as the decorative focal points in advertisements advertising apparel, accessories andpersonal care products. A significant relationship was moreover identified between the productcategories advertised and the ethnicity of the female models

A Coming-Out Party for Women: Empowerment Through Bridal Photography

A wedding is a part of a series of ceremonies and image construction events designed to create the ideal. Bridal photographs no longer show newlyweds and their families in rigid poses. Diverse wedding costumes, modeling, and visual consumption aesthetics can overwhelm the newlyweds as they become the critical focal point in a strategy of product differentiation. Instead, personalized and entertaining visual consumption has become very popular. In this study the consumers of bridal photography and bridal salons are the target population; we probe the aesthetic values on which are based the evolution of traditional female stereotypes and male-female power structures. Results indicate that female role portrayal is based not only on standard social and cultural perspectives, but also on self-image. Women take the leading role in bridal photographs, signalling their independence in playing the bride role, but also showing the value of self-reward as a marketing tool. Consumption in modern bridal photography is based on self-image realization and the collectively shared culture of the new bride.

Modeling religious involvement: a qualitative integration based on female role visualization consumption

The application of religious symbolism is important in the evolution of medical consumption. Chinese religious belief integrates concepts of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. People personify god and goddess’ characters in religious stories which influence our ideal personality in reality. According to the Match-up Hypothesis in medical product advertising, female role portrayal in patriarchal society involves the blending of beautification ritual, utilizing the marketed product, with idealized female beauty into a package intended to provide the best possible match with the prevailing ideal. Due to the influence of traditional sex stereotypes in eastern or western societies, such female portrayals provide culturally reasonable advertisements of the value of products being displayed for visualization consumption. This ideology is part of the moral fabric of society and reveals a possible social collective consciousness. The authors adopt five dimensions of religious involvement (DRI—Ideology, Ritualistic, Experiential, Consequential, and Intellectual) to explain a process of portrayals visualization and discuss the template image orientation for presenting product information in the marketplace. This study proposes the female role visualization consumption (FRVC) model to identify different elements of female role evolution stemming from religious ideology.

Beauty and Healing: Examining Sociocultural Expectations of the Embodied Goddess

Studies indicate mental health improvement can occur via religious communities offering social support and other resources. Many people from many cultures regard medicine as a supernatural or magical treatment that can somehow lead to a better state of living. In medical advertising, female role portrayal involves the blending of beauty, ritual and attractiveness in combination with the best product image. A Chinese saying suggests that, "A girl will doll herself up for him who loves her." Female role attraction is a very important ethical subject in gender issues. Moving forward in time, female role visualization and consumption in medical advertising reveal depictions that encouraged women to do some self-searching and find, or develop, inner strength. This study is designed to examine female role portrayals in a restricted patriarchal society. The results indicate that the ideology of motherhood is an accepted social orientation that the public readily identifies with. Results further indicate that beautification through medical products incorporates an emotional element of religious healing and that the objectification of beauty in the media reveals a possible neglect of women's internal beauty.

Female role stereotypes in print advertising

PurposeThe purpose of this study is three‐fold: to provide recent evidence in the UK on the frequency of appearance of female role portrayals in print advertisements; to compare female role stereotypes across magazine types; and to explore the interface between female role stereotypes and product categories.Design/methodology/approachAn integrative approach to content analysis was used in order to analyze advertising communication in print media. The sample consisted of n=3,830 advertisements published in ten high circulation UK magazines.FindingsThe study indicates that women in UK magazine advertisements are mainly portrayed in decorative roles; and that female role stereotypes vary significantly across magazine types. The findings also suggest that there is an association between product categories and female role stereotypes.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the need for the advertising industry in the UK to adjust its communication practices to the changing role of women in society.Originality/valueThe study extends research in the area of female role stereotypes in print advertising by considering the frequency of female role portrayals across different magazine types; and investigating the association between product categories and female role stereotypes.

Audience Response to Gender Role Portrayals in Indian Advertisements

The study examines audiences’ reactions to Indian print advertisements portraying male and female models in traditional, neutral and non-traditional roles on dimensions of attractiveness, meaningfulness and vitality. The audience comprised of 100 male and 100 female students. They evaluated five categories of role portrayals—traditional male, traditional female, neutral, non-traditional male and non-traditional female portrayals—with each category represented by 10 advertisements. Results reveal that irrespective of gender of respondents neutral portrayals are perceived as most attractive, meaningful and vital. While male respondents rate traditional portrayals as most attractive, meaningful and vital, female respondents favour neutral portrayals on the above dimensions. Non-traditional male role portrayals are perceived as least attractive, meaningful and vital by both men and women. Findings support that the transition from traditional gender role attitudes has been more prominent in case of female than in case of male respondents. Differential responses to male and female role portrayals are also observed.

Comparing Society’s Awareness of Women: Media-Portrayed Idealized Images and Physical Attractiveness

An advertiser develops visual associations of signs and symbols to create a product image that motivates consumers. Today is characterized by a solid consumer culture based on visual identity consumption that articulates and interacts with each consumer’s daily actions, words, and visual perceptions. The frequent use of female role portrayals and physical attractiveness in advertising contributes to an increase in society’s awareness of women. Some scholars have developed an ethical discussion out of the phenomenon of female role portrayals not matching the public expectations because the portrayals are too narrowly defined and women are unfavorably depicted. But another group has studied the product-type match-up hypothesis, which emphasizes effectively employing attractive female endorsers that closely match the product type. The shift in female social status in Taiwan contributes to the importation of foreign ideas such as feminine values, rituals, and esthetics. Women in Taiwan have been introduced to a new feminism, a modified perception of appropriate personal appearance and behavior. This current research utilizes content analysis and in-depth interviews to explore contemporary female role portrayals in advertising. In addition, this article examines the relationship between the formation of contemporary physical attractiveness and visual consumption in advertising. The results reveal that most endorsers were celebrities, with fit bodies and pleasant␣expressions, portrayed as product users who offer personal experiences to deliver product knowledge. Conservation classical beauty was the most common depiction, while sexual expression was the least common. Finally, this article recommends that different types of beauty, posture, and appeal should be carefully selected to match domestic and foreign magazines’ readers.

Images of Women in Online Advertisements of Global Products: Does Sexism Exist?

Research on female stereotypes in online advertisements is particularly scant, and thus, we lack evidence on whether women are depicted in derogatory (stereotypical) terms on the Internet or not. This theme has significant ethical implications. Hence, the objectives of this study are: (1) to provide evidence on female role portrayals in online advertisements of global products, and (2) to explore female role portrayals across web pages for different audience types. The results indicate that women are generally portrayed in a stereotypical way, supporting the notion that sexism is prevalent in online advertise- ments worldwide. Portrayal of women across web pages varies considerably, with female-audience web pages embracing ''decorative'' female images; male-audience web pages promoting polarizing depictions of women in ''dependent'' or ''non-traditional'' roles; and general- audience web pages using portrayals of women as house- wives or equal to men. Overall, the findings suggest that ''traditional'' or ''decorative'' stereotypes are largely evi- dent in all three audience types, although some ''non- traditional'' roles may occur. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Sexual Issues: The Analysis of Female Role Portrayal Preferences in Taiwanese Print Ads

For a long time, female endorsers in advertising have been doing product information promotion in the market. However, with more and more highly educated women participating in the labor force, the conception of feminist depictions in advertising have become a perplexing issue. The traditional female role portrayals or stereotypes of the past are not able to totally reflect the expectations, behavior, attitudes, and beliefs of contemporary women. The author collected print ads as data from three types of the highest circulation magazines: foreign women’s magazines (Chinese edition), domestic women’s magazines, and domestic management magazines subscribed to in Taiwan to investigate what were the favorite feminine patterns and feminist depictions in a traditionally masculine society. The results showed classical beauty and girl-next-door images were “acceptable” gender-role behavior exposed highly in domestic magazines, which might contribute to conservative Confucian beliefs. On the other hand, being trendy was a significantly high preference for contemporary feminist depictions in foreign women's magazines; it might be considered as being due to the increased educational level of women and female labor participation rate in the work place as well as upgrading of social status.

Gender Typed Advertisements and Impression Formation: The Role of Chronic and Temporary Accessibility

In this research, we tested the effects of chronic and temporary sources of accessibility on impression formation. Although some research suggests that chronicity amplifies temporary effects because of greater susceptibility to external primes, other research suggests that chronicity masks temporary effects because of redundance. We demonstrate in a thought listing study that in the domain of gender stereotypes, trait stereotypes may be routinely applied by those with a medium or high tendency to stereotype women, making external primes redundant. Based on this redundancy, we proposed that gender stereotypical primes will have little influence on subsequent judgments of those with a medium or high tendency to gender stereotype. In contrast, gender stereotypical primes will result in the classic assimilation effect for those with a low tendency to gender stereotype. We tested these propositions in the domain of female role portrayals in advertising and examined the effect of advertisements that feature women as homemakers (vs. do not feature women) on trait judgments of a target woman whose behaviors are ambiguously described. Results from 2 experiments show that, as predicted by the redundancy hypothesis, judgments of medium and high tendency to stereotype participants are not affected by advertisements portraying homemakers. Also as expected, judgments of low tendency to stereotype participants are assimilated to the homemaker prime. These results hold across tendency to trait stereotype (Experiment 1) and tendency to role stereotype (Experiment 2) and for trait judgments as well as gift choice. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Measuring Female Role Portrayals in Asian Advertising

Researchers have concentrated on issues of female role portrayals in advertising (FRPA) for over 30 years. However, their diversified purposes and methodologies resulted in variations between the definitions and manipulations found in the FRPA–related literature, thus hindering the integration, generalization and extension of the findings. In addition, relatively few articles discussed FRPA issues in Asia. Thus, while focusing on Asian women, this study seeks to construct a useful taxonomy of FRPA and a scale to measure FRPA in a broader and more effective way. Three conceptual constructs–Power Roles, Career Roles, and Sensual Roles–were extracted as the framework for constructing the FRPA taxonomy in an exploratory study based upon Lundstrom and Sciglimpaglia' (1977) Sex Roles Scale. The taxonomy is constructed through a four–phase hierarchical content analysis. Consequently, 11 measure constructs of FRPA, resulting an 11–item bipolar scale, were generated to survey Taiwanese and Japanese audiences' cognition toward FRPA. The empirical results show that the model has good internal consistency, eliability, and validity. Differences on FRPA are observed between the Taiwanese and Japanese

Targeting women in German and Japanese magazine advertising: A difference‐in‐differences approach

The goal of this paper is to present the difference‐in‐differences approach as statistical methodology specifically to address the importance of identifying culture‐specific advertising strategies when targeting global market segments. In applying this methodology to advertising research, the study analyses German and Japanese magazine advertising targeting women in four dimensions: advertisement format, usage of models, male and female role portrayal and value appeals. Despite some apparent transnational similarities in advertising aimed at women, the difference‐in‐differences analysis reveals marked cross‐cultural differences in the way that marketers adapt their strategies in the women’s market. The results indicate that non‐traditional approaches in targeting women seem to be far more culturally specific than the traditional ones, and that the male role portrayal, which has not yet gained much attention in research, is the crucial element of non‐traditional approaches in the Japanese women’s magazine.

Women' Studies and Advertising Role Portrayal Sensitivity: How Easy is it to Raise “Feminist Consciousness”?

Given the stream of response studies concerning women's perceptions of female role portrayals and the apparent phenomenon of feminist consciousness raising in our society, the current experimental study evaluates whether brief exposure to “consciousness raising stimuli” can have a significant effect after carefully checking for demand artifacts as well as framing and priming effects. The results have profound implications for advertising strategists trying to “hit a moving target” with their female role depictions in ads.

Attitudes of Contemporary European Women Toward Sex Role Portrayal, Company Image and Purchase Intention: The French versus U.S. Experience

The portrayal of women in advertising has received much attention over the past three decades. However, most of the research is focused on U.S. women and lacks a global perspective. Little is known about the attitudes of non-U.S. women toward female role portrayal in advertising. This study, building on previous research conducted by Ford, LaTour and Lundstrom, reports the findings regarding the attitudes of European women, specifically French, towards their sex role portrayal in advertising and its affect on purchase intention. Furthermore, it compares these results to a recent baseline study conducted in the U.S. for the express purpose of illustrating what differences, if any, exist between the cultures of women who live in two different, post-industrial societies.