Gender Stereotypes in Advertising
Gender Stereotypes in Advertising
Advertising has become an essential part of our life. It can offer lots of information and bring convenience to the consumers. At the same time, it can benefit the businessmen.
Advertising came into being with the advent of the production and exchange of commodities. It has been developing as the economy develops. Whenever we switch on the TV set, leaf through the newspaper or walk down a street, we will be bombarded by advertising. Wherever there are people, there is advertising, no matter in the real life or on the internet.
Advertising is a powerful form of social communication in modern society and gender stereotypes are a powerful tool for advertising. Companies and advertiser apply certain kind of stereotypes into their advertisements to appeal target audience.
Through analyzing the ads on four different magazines, M. E. Thomas and L. A. Treiber found that men were rough, “real”, average and natural (everyday), whereas women were fashionable, charming, young, and sexually attractive (trendy). Beauty–glamour messages were aimed relentlessly at women. (M. E. Thomas and L. A. Treiber, 2000) Women were exaggerated or beautified.
Jean Umiker-Sebeok showed several gender differences in his article:
• relative size (males take up more space than females in terms of body size and/or posture);
• psychological withdrawal from the social context (males stay attuned and ready for potential threats to their control of the situation while females ' attention drifts away)
• ritualized subordination (females adopt postures which indicate submission to control by others; females adopt softer [i.e., curvilinear] postures than males, who exhibit more dominant [i.e., angular] postures);
• function ranking (males control and lead the actions of others, while females are controlled and submitted );
• locations (females are found primarily in domestic settings or containers, males in a wide variety of other locations);
•
Advertising has become an essential part of our life. It can offer lots of information and bring convenience to the consumers. At the same time, it can benefit the businessmen.
Advertising came into being with the advent of the production and exchange of commodities. It has been developing as the economy develops. Whenever we switch on the TV set, leaf through the newspaper or walk down a street, we will be bombarded by advertising. Wherever there are people, there is advertising, no matter in the real life or on the internet.
Advertising is a powerful form of social communication in modern society and gender stereotypes are a powerful tool for advertising. Companies and advertiser apply certain kind of stereotypes into their advertisements to appeal target audience.
Through analyzing the ads on four different magazines, M. E. Thomas and L. A. Treiber found that men were rough, “real”, average and natural (everyday), whereas women were fashionable, charming, young, and sexually attractive (trendy). Beauty–glamour messages were aimed relentlessly at women. (M. E. Thomas and L. A. Treiber, 2000) Women were exaggerated or beautified.
Jean Umiker-Sebeok showed several gender differences in his article:
• relative size (males take up more space than females in terms of body size and/or posture);
• psychological withdrawal from the social context (males stay attuned and ready for potential threats to their control of the situation while females ' attention drifts away)
• ritualized subordination (females adopt postures which indicate submission to control by others; females adopt softer [i.e., curvilinear] postures than males, who exhibit more dominant [i.e., angular] postures);
• function ranking (males control and lead the actions of others, while females are controlled and submitted );
• locations (females are found primarily in domestic settings or containers, males in a wide variety of other locations);
•
References: M. E. Thomas and L. A. Treiber, “Race, Gender, and Status: A Content Analysis of Print Advertisements in Four Popular Magazines” [J], Sociological Spectrum, 2000, 20 : 357–371. Jean Umiker-Sebeok, “Power and the Construction of Gendered Spaces” [J], International Review of Sociology/ Revue Internationale de Sociologie Vol. 6, No. 3: 389-403. Susan Lynn, Marie Hardin, Kristie Walsdorf, “Selling (out) the Sporting Woman: Advertising Images in Four Athletic Magazines” [J], Journal of Sport Management, 2004, 18: 335-349. Harold W F. “Sex Stereotypes in Advertisements” [J]. Business and Society, 1976, 17: 24-30. Furnham A, Virginia V. “Gender Stereotypes in Italian Television Advertisements” [J]. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 1989, 33: 175-185. Nachiket M. Bhawe, “the Effect of Gender Stereotype Activation on Entrepreneurial Intentions” [J], Journal of Applied Psychology, 2008, Vol. 93, No. 5, 1053–1061