Gender Stereotypes Research Articles

Toxic Personal Care: Selling Gendered Marketing and Chemical Toxicity Through Personal Care Products

ABSTRACT This mixed-methods study examines the marketing of, and toxic ingredients found in, common personal care products (PCPs) such as shampoos or deodorants that are sold in the United States. Through qualitative analyses of the messaging presented by PCP packaging and quantitative analyses of the prevalence of toxic ingredients by product and target consumer, we reveal what we term “toxic personal care”: the usage of products sold to consumers as minimally necessary, and perhaps even beneficial, to their personal well-being through gendered messaging, yet introduce consumers to chemical toxicity. Supporting research on postfeminist sensibilities, we find that products marketed to women are no more likely to contain toxic ingredients than those marketed to men, nor do lower-priced products contain more toxic ingredients. Instead, product descriptions perpetuate a “cult(ure) of confidence” that not only encourages the usage of PCPs equally across women and men through drawing from traditional gendered stereotypes, but also masks the similarities in ingredients and toxins. These findings have implications for understanding consumption, well-being practices, gendered marketing, and constructions of confidence in the United States, including monetary and possible health costs to consumers.

Exploring the Discursive Representation of Pakistani Female Politicians in Print and Electronic Media: A Qualitative Study of Narrative and Framing

This study uses a qualitative discourse analysis approach to investigate Pakistani female politicians' discursive representation in print and electronic media. Specifically, the research focuses on the narratives and framing strategies employed by the media to construct and portray the public image of these political figures. By employing Corpus-Assisted Diachronic Discourse Analysis (CADDA), the study traces the changes in media discourse over time, uncovering how gender biases, societal norms, and power dynamics shape the representation of women in Pakistani politics. The findings reveal significant trends in gendered framing, highlighting how media portrayal fluctuates between marginalization and recognition of female politicians' contributions, though gender stereotypes remain deeply embedded in these narratives. The findings of this study have important implications for future media reform initiatives, advocating for a more equitable and balanced representation of women in politics. The insights gained can also inform gender advocacy strategies and policy efforts to enhance women's visibility and leadership roles in traditional and digital media.

Gender and Family Stereotypes in a Photograph: Research Using the Eye-Tracking Method

Abstract The article presents the results of a 2022 study involving students training to be civic studies teachers. Three research goals were set: to determine which gender and family stereotypes burden the interpretation of a photograph; to identify qualitative differences in the perception, analysis, and interpretation of the photograph depending on the form of the questions asked; and to gain respondents’ feedback on the test. The test used a computer and was based on a family photograph and a series of questions. Three methods of data collection and analysis were used (audio recording analysis, eye-tracking, interview). The study found that future teachers are substantially influenced by gender stereotypes in Czech society. It also confirmed the importance of didactic structuring when analysing iconographic material. The findings show the importance of gender-sensitive education and the development of didactic skills for interpreting visual texts as part of undergraduate training for future civic studies teachers.

‘And All Is Semblative a Woman’s Part’: Japan’s All-Male As You Like It

ABSTRACT The practice of cross-gender casting, which has been a long-standing convention in Japanese theatre, has shaped the audience’s expectations of actors performing the opposite gender. Consequently, the audience’s lived experience in Japan is distinct from that of Western audiences. It is challenging to assess the kinaesthetic experience of viewers from different cultural backgrounds, given that the reception of a performance is influenced by culturally determined frames of reference. Traditional cross-gender casting relies on contrast, which may inadvertently reinforce gender stereotypes. This may be how the Japanese approach to cross-gender theatre is perceived, but the current cross-gender theatre is not constrained by the traditional forms of stylisation in male or female impersonation. Surprisingly, gender stereotyping and gender ambiguity/fluidity appear to be able to coexist in Japanese culture, which is reflected in cross-gender theatre. Following a discussion concerning the impact of gender representation in subculture and culture on contemporary Japan, I examine Studio Life’s latest Shakespeare production of As You Like It. It is noteworthy that this production does not reinforce traditional gender norms but instead challenges them, presenting a reimagined portrayal of female characters through the male body.

Profess-sirs and Profess-hers: gender and ethnicity stereotypes that students associate with scientists

ABSTRACT A common narrative emerges from previous studies suggesting that scientists are most frequently thought of as being old, white men. This stereotype has been assessed in the past using drawing analysis methods but here, an updated approach – a drawing activity followed by a survey was chosen, to remove the need for inference. The purpose of the survey was to understand if the aspects of the scientist-stereotype are still present and impacting school students today and if students’ career prospects are influenced by learning about a diverse range of scientists. Our findings suggest gender and ethnicity aspects of the scientist stereotype are still present but a shift has occurred, away from the old-age associated with a scientist, towards a younger individual. This adaptation suggests that it is possible to influence this stereotype and we propose that further understanding of what caused this change could influence the stereotypical gender and ethnicity too. It was found that learning about a diverse range of scientists is not associated with a school student feeling like they can have a career in STEM, which we hypothesise may be due to the passive nature of this intervention and that a more active intervention method may be needed.

Gender dynamics in nursing profession: impact on professional practice and development in Tanzania

BackgroundGender disparity has long been noted in nursing, a predominantly female-dominated profession. However, recently the increase in the number of male nurses disproves the existing belief that nursing is exclusively a female profession. Even though the studies have reported changing gender trends in nursing, the information is not sufficient and the effects of the changing trend on professional practice and professional development have not been explored. Therefore this study aims to assess the influence of gender in nursing on professional practice and development in Tanzania.MethodsThis was an analytical Hospital-Based Cross-sectional Study Design, conducted at four hospitals in Dar es Salaam, with 580 nurses between 20th May and 20th June 2024. Proportionate sampling was used to determine the required number of participants from each of the four facilities. Moreover, systematic random sampling was used to recruit participants from each facility. The validated questionnaire was used to obtain data, which were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics.ResultsAmong seventy items that measured professional practices, sixty three items indicated good professional practices among female nurses compared with their male counterparts male. On the association of gender in nursing to professional practice and development, the findings revealed no significant association between gender in nursing and professional practice (χ2 = 1.384; P = 0.239). Moreover, the item analysis revealed that male nurses have professional development in three items similar to female nurse who had shown professional development on other three items. Through binary logistic regression, male nurses were 0.528 (OR) times less likely to have good professional development than their female counterpart (P < 0.001; 95% CI: 0.379, 0.737). Several social demographic factors were found to be associated with professional practice and development.ConclusionIt was found that professional practice does not depend on gender in nursing, because the practice was optimal across both genders. Nurse’s self-image of nursing, facility factors, and professional development influence their professional practice. Moreover, gender in nursing is associated with professional development, indicating the existence of gender stereotypes in the distribution of opportunities between male and female nurses. The study recommends extending this cross-sectional study to nonclinical settings such as training institutions.

Gender Stereotyping and Social Norms: Exploring Theoretical Perspectives and Educational Implications

This review is a theoretical paper which examined gender stereotyping and social norms. The review was supported by feminist theory, critical theory and social psychology theory. The review utilizes a comprehensive strategy to investigate the theoretical lenses and consequences of gender stereotyping and social norms. The approach comprised of a few key stages. A survey incorporating gender stereotyping, social norms, feminist theory, critical theory and social psychology to assemble an all encompassing comprehension of the review was done. The review of gender stereotyping and social norms through critical assessment of key idea and viewpoints from feminist theory, critical theory and social psychology. The structure for revealing perplexing social peculiarities is given by the integration of feminist theory, critical theory and social psychology theory. This enlightened the basic component of inequality and injustice by considering the joint impact of gender, power and social setting. The review revealed the pervasive nature of gender stereotyping and social norms, their effect on causing inequality and injustice and the significance of promoting gender equality and social equity. In this way, the significance of interdisciplinary collaborative effort and combined actions in addressing the issue of gender stereotyping and social norms within educational setting and more extensive cultural setting. It emphasized the need for holistic approaches that will consider the broad intersection of power, ideology, and social issue in order to create gender equality and social justice both in the social and educational domain.

Adaptation and Validation of the Nursing Attitude Questionnaire in a Spanish Population.

Nursing, as an essential component of contemporary healthcare systems, has undergone significant changes in recent decades, resulting in an increase in research across various fields, such as mental health, well-being, and the development of the discipline itself. Currently, gender stereotypes persist, impacting the social image of the profession and influencing the professional identity of nurses and consequently, their work performance and the quality of care provided. Both public and internal perceptions of the profession are critical factors in these dynamics. to adapt and validate the Nursing Attitude Questionnaire in a Spanish sample, as it has only been validated in two languages to date. This study presents descriptive and validity analyses of several measures utilized, such as Nursing Image (NIS), Medical Empathy (JSE-HP), Professional Values (NPVS) and Communication Skills (HP-CSS). Confirmatory factor model analyses indicated that a 21-item hierarchical model provided a superior fit (χ2(df = 1.65, NFI = 0.954, SRMR = 0.065), suggesting the presence of a general factor accounting for five first-order factors. Internal consistency was deemed adequate for the total measures (α = 0.789), though variable for the subscales. Correlations among measures provided evidence of convergent and discriminant validity, highlighting consistent correlation patterns between Attitude toward Nursing and other variables. In addition, significant differences were observed in the Professionalism subscale according to sex, albeit with a medium-low effect size. Scales are presented to facilitate future interpretation of the results in similar samples. The scale validated in this study exhibited overall good psychometric performance, although certain limitations were identified within the subscales. The established scales represent a novel contribution, providing a valuable tool for the comparison of similar samples.

Political self-praise in Clinton–Trump presidential debates

The speech act of political self-praise has received scant attention in East Asian contexts, unlike other speech acts. This study aims to explore the strategies of self-praise used by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The 2016 US presidential debates were analysed quantitatively to examine if there are any differences in using self-praise strategies. This was followed by a qualitative analysis to explore how these strategies are linguistically realised. Three main self-praise strategies were used: unmodified explicit self-praise, modified explicit self-praise and indirect self-praise. Within the third category, the data revealed a new self-praise strategy, which we called “criticism-based self-praise”. Moreover, the findings highlighted differences in using self-praise strategies in American political discourse. While Trump employed unmodified explicit self-praise more than his opponent, Clinton used modified explicit self-praise strategies far more than Trump. Trump, however, adopted implicit self-praise strategies more than Clinton. Differences could be attributed to gender stereotypes as well as the candidates’ experience and personality. The study may help East Asian people better understand American political discourse, presidential debates in particular.

Unveiling digital mirrors: Decoding gendered body poses in instagram imagery

Social media platforms have had a significant impact on people's everyday lives worldwide and imagery on social media has become a vital means of practicing views of the self and communicating them to others. Albeit a significant proportion of people frequently upload self-representations on social media, this source of information on individuals, groups, and societies remains under-examined within the social sciences and neighboring disciplines. In our study, we focus on gender-stereotypical body-posing in self-portraits on social media. While sociology has examined gender stereotypes for decades, research lacks empirical evidence on representations in digital contexts as well as novel forms of stereotyping. We present a scalable and transferable methodology for analyzing body poses in images by combining neural network pose detection with an unsupervised learning approach and applying this methodology to data from the social media platform Instagram. Based on a clustering algorithm applied to gender-annotated imagery, we identify 150 body posing clusters. Our results reveal significant gender differences in 20 percent of clusters, many of which represent gender-stereotypical body poses addressed in sociological literature. Moreover, we can identify new stereotypical poses related to smartphone technology and social media trends. This study represents a novel approach to utilizing large-scale image data for social science research and contributes to a better understanding of the consolidation and reproduction of gender stereotypes in digital realms.

Countering Gender Stereotypes: The Power of the Main Female Character in Thor: Ragnarok Movie (2017)

Gender stereotypes constructed by society are detrimental for women. Women were seen as weak and underestimated by society (the PEW Research Center’s survey in 2017). This study aims to discover how a film entitled Thor: Ragnarok (2017) countered gender stereotypes through the portrayal of the main female character, Hela, and to reveal the reason behind such portrayal of Hela. This study is a qualitative study because the data are qualitative data. The data of this study are clauses collected from the movie subtitles, containing Hela’s power to counter gender stereotypes. This study applied Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (three-dimensional framework), supported by Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), which focused on the transitivity system for the first-dimension analysis. After doing the three-dimensional analysis, it is found that Hela’s character in the movie is portrayed as opposing gender stereotypes. Hela is represented as strong, brave, and feared. These traits are against the stereotype of women described as weak, fearful, and underestimated. The reason behind the portrayal of Hela as a strong woman is to promote the feminism spirit to the people in that women should be empowered, in line with the goal of the United Nations (UN) Women and the UN Foundation that protect women's rights and supports women in achieving gender equality.

THE WORLDVIEW SENSE OF GENDER INEQUALITY: PHILOSOPHICAL–LEGAL DIMENSION

The worldview aspects of gender inequality are analyzed. The content of gender myths, gender stereotypes, and gender identification as the foundation of gender inequality is determined. Legal mechanisms for overcoming gender inequality are elucidated. Using foundational legislative acts of the EU as examples, the orientation of the Western community towards overcoming gender inequality in political, economic, and social life is demonstrated.

An eye tracking study of gender biased information acquisition in candidate evaluation

AbstractGender stereotypes may impact voters' candidate choices. But do gender stereotypes impact voters' attention when learning about candidates? This paper explores whether citizens take part in gender biased information acquisition when learning about women and men candidates. In an experiment, I use eye tracking to measure respondents' attention to gender stereotype‐consistent and inconsistent information. The results indicate that citizens do not differ in their attention to different candidate information according to candidate gender. Additionally, respondents' own sex does not make a difference in their attention to masculine‐ and feminine‐stereotyped information for women or men candidates. These findings provide an important specification of the mechanism behind gender bias in candidate choices: the bias appears to be different standards of judgment for candidates of different genders, not different compositions of information being judged for candidates of different genders.

Advertising and gender stereotypes

Advertising and gender stereotypes constitute a complex theme that explores how the advertising industry perpetuates or undermines traditional gender roles in society. Each year, a variety of advertising techniques are employed to construct and reinforce gender stereotypes, shaping the perceptions and expectations of consumers. From portraying women in stereotypical roles to excessively promoting masculine traits, advertising influences public opinion and contributes to the perpetuation of gender inequalities. The impact of gender stereotypes in advertising is significant in society, affecting how gender identity is portrayed in the advertising space and impairing the creation of a fair and authentic image.Advertising and gender stereotypes constitute a complex theme that explores how the advertising industry perpetuates or undermines traditional gender roles in society. Each year, a variety of advertising techniques are employed to construct and reinforce gender stereotypes, shaping the perceptions and expectations of consumers. From portraying women in stereotypical roles to excessively promoting masculine traits, advertising influences public opinion and contributes to the perpetuation of gender inequalities. The impact of gender stereotypes in advertising is significant in society, affecting how gender identity is portrayed in the advertising space and impairing the creation of a fair and authentic image.

Exploring gender stereotypes in financial reporting: An aspect-level sentiment analysis using big data and deep learning

This study delves into the intricate interplay between gender stereotypes and financial reporting through an aspect-level sentiment analysis approach. Leveraging Big Data comprising 129,251 human face images extracted from 2085 financial reports in Chile, and employing Deep Learning techniques, we uncover the underlying factors influencing the representation of women in financial reports. Our findings reveal that gender stereotypes, combined with external economic factors, significantly shape the portrayal of women in financial reports, overshadowing intentional efforts by companies to influence stakeholder perceptions of financial performance. Notably, economic expansion periods correlate with a decline in women's representation, while economic instability amplifies their portrayal. Furthermore, the financial inclusion of women positively correlates with their presence in financial report images. Our results underscore a bias in image selection within financial reports, diverging from the neutrality principles advocated by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). This pioneering study, combining Big Data and Deep Learning, contributes to gender stereotype literature, financial report soft information research, and business impression management research.

How do gender stereotypes about leadership positions change in the face of a crisis?

How do gender stereotypes about leadership positions change in the face of a crisis?

Assessing students' perception of gender as a barrier in Orthopedic residency matching: A pilot survey study

BackgroundGender disparity in orthopedic residency programs is evident. Limited research investigates if gender attitudes deter women from applying to orthopedic surgery residency programs. MethodsA questionnaire was distributed to a single medical school which explored medical students' perceptions regarding their gender's influence on matching into orthopedic surgery residency, alongside motivators and barriers for applying. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests analyzed potential association and trends using SPSS computation with alpha set at 0.05. Results202 medical students completed the questionnaire. Women respondents were found to be 10.6 times more likely to report their own gender as a barrier to matching to orthopedic surgery residency compared to men. ConclusionA significant proportion of women perceive their gender as a barrier to matching. Dismantling gender stereotypes may increase consideration of women medical students of orthopedic surgery as a career option.

Distinguishing Transcreation From Translation: Exploring Strategies to Render Gender Stereotypes

Academics have long debated the similarities and differences between translation and transcreation. Despite extensive discussion, few studies have examined these distinctions through the lens of the strategies adopted. In response, this study explores how strategies of translation and transcreation are utilized to render gender stereotypes within a specific text type. The theoretical framework is grounded in Karoubi’s categorization of translating gender and Ketola’s types of transcreation strategies, which focus on how gender is interpreted and represented across languages and cultures. Utilizing a qualitative approach, this research analyzes English fragrance product descriptions and their Chinese versions across 12 brands, comprising 224 pairs of descriptions. The findings reveal significant differences in the use of target culture-oriented strategies, with transcreation employing these strategies in approximately 90% of cases, compared to only about 50% in translation. The results suggest that the primary distinction between translation and transcreation lies in the extent to which practitioners alter the source text when creating new content. Moreover, identifying strategies of translation and transcreation based on the established framework could also help distinguish transcreation from translation. These findings contribute new empirical insights to the ongoing debates about the distinctions between translation and transcreation.

Gendered Authorship of the Female Identity: A Gynocritical Comparative Study between Norwegian Wood and the God of Small Things

The paper seeks to elucidate the differences in the representation of women in male- and female-authored texts, specifically analyzing Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things. Numerous critics over the years have noted that male and female authors often portray femininity in markedly different ways. While male authors tend to perpetuate prejudiced or stereotypical views of women, female authors, drawing from their direct experiences of womanhood, provide more authentic depictions that foster female empowerment. Theoretically identifying this marked difference is thus the primary aim of this paper and hence this study employs a qualitative textual analysis, utilizing theoretical frameworks such as Michel Foucault’s discourses of sexuality, Elaine Showalter’s gynocriticism, Hélène Cixous’s écriture féminine, Judith Butler’s gender performativity, and Simone de Beauvoir’s concept of gender stereotypes. The findings reveal a significant divergence in the way that male- and female-authored texts characterize female figures. Murakami, in his portrayal of Naoko and Midori, has often associated reductive and stereotypical attributes that in essence undermine their agencies and voices; their attributes and mannerisms were shown to be limited to emotional and/or sexual contexts that conflate the female experience and undermine gender fluidity. In contrast, Roy depicted Ammu and Rahel in accordance to feminist sensibilities as they can be seen to portray androgyny as well as employ their sexualities to challenge and subvert social norms and stereotypes. The study therefore concludes that women-authored narratives provide more nuanced and authentic representations of female experiences, whereas male-authored texts frequently reinforce patriarchal frameworks and stereotypical assumptions of one-dimensional gender linearity.

Further semantic change of the derogatory sociomorpheme tái in Chinese gender-related Internet neologisms

Internet neologisms provide discursive spaces for grassroots netizens. This study examines a pair of gendered labels gaining popularity in Taiwanese online forums: táinán ‘Tai-man’ and táinǚ ‘Tai-woman’. The quantitative keyword analysis based on a corpus of online data suggests that táinán and táinǚ are pejorative labels. The qualitative discourse analysis of the keywords in context presents gender stereotypes associated with táinán and táinǚ, respectively. Converging evidence for the negative attitudes toward táinán and táinǚ is obtained in a questionnaire survey. The shared morpheme tái inherits localness-related ideologies and interacts with gender ideologies concerning ideal manhood and womanhood, and it has come to index an ideological contrast between favorable foreignness and unfavorable localness. This study contributes to the current literature on Chinese morphological patterns studied in social contexts. Moreover, this study presents evidence that changes in social meanings also follow the dominant trajectories of other semantic changes.