The portrayal of men and women in U.S. television commercials: A recent content analysis and trends over 15 years

This article summarizes the content analyses of male and female portrayals in U.S. television commercials that have been published since 1971. The paper also includes the results of a content analysis of television commercials conducted on a 1985 sample. Where possible, the data from the present study are compared to the findings of previous research to illustrate trends over time. The results reveal several differences between the portrayal of men and women, but many of the gaps seem to be narrowing. Men and women now appear equally often as central characters in prime-time commercials. Although a prior study indicated a difference between male and female primary characters' use of arguments, the present data revealed no differences in this regard. A lower percentage of female than of male central characters are depicted as employed, but males are being presented in increasing numbers as spouses and parents, with no other apparent occupation. Women are still more likely than men to be seen in domestic settings, advertising products used in the home. Although the difference seems to have become smaller, women are more likely than men to be shown as users of the products they advertise. The most striking gap persists with regard to narrators. Consistent with other content analyses conducted over the past 15 years, approximately 90% of all narrators are male. The findings are discussed in terms of the potential effect of exposure to stereotyped depictions on viewers' sex role attitudes.     

The Perpetuation of Subtle Prejudice: Race and Gender Imagery in 1990s Television Advertising

Scholars have long argued that popular consumer culture is both producer and product of social inequality, but few detailed empirical studies have explored the ways that advertising imagery simultaneously constructs stereotypes of race and gender. This article reports on a content analysis of television commercials (n = 1699) aired on programs with high ratings for specific target audiences from 1992 to 1994. Characters in the television commercials enjoy more prominence and exercise more authority if they are White or men. Logistic regression analyses indicate that images of romantic and domestic fulfillment also differ by race and gender, with women and Whites disproportionately shown in family settings and in cross-sex interactions. In general, 1990s television commercials tend to portray White men as powerful, white women as sex objects, African American men as aggressive, and African American women as inconsequential. The authors suggest that these commercial images contribute to the perpetuation of subtle prejudice against African Americans by exaggerating cultural differences and denying positive emotions. Results are discussed in relation to the segmentation of media markets and possibilities for social change.     

A Content Analysis of Prime Time Commercials: A Contextual Framework of Gender Representation

For this content analysis we recorded a sample of 1,337 prime time commercials from the 3 major networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) in 1998. There were 5,473 primary and secondary characters identified. Each character was coded for gender, age, acting role, and product being advertised. The findings were then compared to Bretl and Cantor (1988), the U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 population statistics, and Mediamark Research and Simmons syndicated marketing services. The commercials' producers cast their female and male characters much the same way as was done in the 1980s. Although women make most purchases of goods and services, they are still underrepresented as primary characters during most prime time commercials except for health and beauty products. Women are still cast as younger, supportive counterparts to men, and older women are still the most underrepresented group. Television commercials perpetuate traditional stereotypes of women and men.     

A Cross-Cultural Content Analysis of Children's Television Advertisements

Two sets of television advertisements were video-recorded from weekend children's television in London and New York and were coded by two white women in terms of their gender-role portrayals. The advertised products covered by this analysis included snack and fast food, toys and breakfast cereal. Each advertisement was coded according to nine criteria including the ethnicity and gender of the people appearing, gender of central figure and of any voice over in the commercial, presence or absence of music, and other sales-related content. In general, males were more numerous than females in both American and British advertisements. There were more similarities than differences between the two national markets in terms of the nature of gender-role portrayals, with males generally occupying more central and authoritative positions. Only two analyses yielded significant differences. Girls outnumbered boys in American commercials, but the opposite was true of British commercials. Hispanic males were present in American commercials but not in British commercials.     

Gender and Race Portrayals on Spanish-Language Television

318 randomly selected television ads from India (from 2004) in three different languages (English, Hindi, and Tamil) were content analyzed to examine both the frequency of appearance and prevalence of gender stereotypes. Results indicate that there are more male than female central characters and voiceovers in Indian ads; stereotypical differences were also found in the type of credibility used by men and women, and the nature of the products they advertised and settings that males and females appeared in. Female central characters tended to be younger than their male counterparts and were more likely to be portrayed in relationship roles. Similarities and differences in gender role portrayals found in Indian television ads and those from other nations are also discussed.     

Sex role stereotyping in Australian television advertisements

Television has attracted considerable attention in recent years because of alleged bias in its sex-role content. Studies of television in Great Britain and the United States have generally fuelled concerns that the medium presents male and female characters in traditionally stereotyped ways. Comparatively little research has focused on the way men and women are depicted in other nations' television. Such analyses contribute towards a more comprehensive account of sex role stereotyping and to cross cultural investigation. The present study examined the portrayal of male and female characters in a sample of contemporary Australian television advertisements. A sample of evening commercials was analyzed using measures developed in North American and British work. Strong evidence of differences in the presentation of male and female characters was obtained, and the differences were consistent with those reported in studies of television content in the northern hemisphere. There is little reason to suppose that this area of Australian media is changing substantially in response to public debate. The implications of possible differences between nations in terms of sex role stereotyping in commercials are discussed.     

Exposure to slim images in mass media: television commercials as reminders of restriction in restrained eaters

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of exposure to slim images and diet-related products in commercials on actual food intake in relation to dietary restraint. DESIGN: An experimental design was used, in which food intake was measured in 124 female students who watched either a sad or a neutral movie on television, which was interrupted by either commercials featuring slim models and diet products, or neutral commercials. Subsequently, participants filled out questionnaires on dietary restraint and any tendency toward overeating. MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLE: Intake of snack food while watching television. RESULTS: It was found that highly restrained students exposed to commercials with slim models and diet-related products ate less food, whereas less restrained eaters ate slightly more after seeing these commercials. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that restrained eaters confronted with diet products and slim images when watching television will be reminded of their restricted eating behavior and eat less. The present study provides support for the reinhibition theory of slim media images.     

The Effects of Nonsexist Television Commercials and Perceptions of Reality on Children's Attitudes About Women

To test the hypothesis that television content can teach sex-typed attitudes, this study presented third and eighth graders with television commercials showing either traditional or nontraditional women. Crossing this manipulation, the children's perceptions of the reality of the commercials were altered with instructions that the characters in the commercials were all real people (reality set), that they were all acting (acting set), or that the commercials were just like ones seen at home (no instructions). Results showed that the children's perceptions of reality were successfully manipulated, and that younger children thought all content was more real. The two sets of commercials were found to have a significant differential impact on the children's attitudes about women only for groups that had been in-structed about reality. For these groups, there was an interaction with sex of subject so that eighth grade boys had more traditional attitudes about women after viewing the nontraditional women, while all other groups showed the reverse pattern of means. Finally, rather than the predicted interaction, perceived reality had a main effect such that children who believed the characters to be acting were less traditional in their attitudes about women. This result is supported by a matching correlation between the two variables for the noninstructed groups.     

Preliminary comparison of continuous versus noncontinuous programming and attitude toward and recall of advertisements

Need for continuity of a television program was assessed with attitude toward and recall of advertisements. The program continuity was manipulated experimentally by presenting one music video program as Top 10 (continuous) or as Regular (discontinuous) format. General attitude toward commercials and the belief in advertisement-product realism were investigated through the commercials with continuous and discontinuous formats of the same program. Data were gathered from undergraduates (23 men and 68 women) whose mean age was 20.2 yr. (SD=2.5). Analyses indicated continuity was not related to their attitude towards embedded commercials but was associated with their recall. Implications were discussed.     

The effect of television day part on gender portrayals in television commercials: A content analysis

Gender portrayals in 2,209 network television commercials were content analyzed. To compare differences between three day parts, the sample was chosen from three time periods: daytime, when the audience is mostly women; evening prime time, when the sex of the audience is more evenly distributed; and weekend afternoon sportscasts, when men are a large percentage of the audience. The results indicate large and consistent differences in the way men and women are portrayed in these three day parts, with almost all comparisons reaching significance at the .05 level. Although ads in all day parts tended to portray men in stereotypical roles of authority and dominance, those on weekends tended to emphasize escape from home and family. The findings of earlier studies which did not consider day part differences may now have to be reevaluated.     

The stereotyped portrayal of men and women in British television advertisements

This study examined the portrayal of men and women in a sample of British television commercials, attempting to replicate and extend past investigations done in America, Britain, Canada, and Italy. The aim was to update British research and to compare findings across cultures. One hundred and eighty daytime and evening commercials were content analyzed by two white raters, one male and the other female, to check reliability. The attributes of each of their central figures, who were over 90% white, were classified into 11 categories: Gender, mode of presentation, credibility, role, location, age, argument, reward type, product type, background, and end comment. The findings were that sex role television stereotyping in Britain was more or less constant across time, compared to studies done 5 and 10 years ago, but were weaker than in Italy and comparable to North America. The implications of such findings for the maintenance of sex roles are discussed.     

Idealized media images and adolescent body image: "comparing" boys and girls

Sociocultural theories of body image suggest that body dissatisfaction results from unrealistic societal beauty ideals, and one way of transmitting these ideals is through the mass media. The present research aimed to examine the effect of exposure to images of idealized beauty in the media on adolescent girls’ and boys’ body image. The participants (595 adolescents) viewed television commercials containing either images of the thin ideal for women, images of the muscular ideal for men, or non-appearance television commercials. Body dissatisfaction was measured before and after commercial viewing. It was found that exposure to idealized commercials led to increased body dissatisfaction for girls but not for boys. Idealized commercials led to increased negative mood and appearance comparison for girls and boys, although the effect on appearance comparison was stronger for girls. Further, participants high on appearance investment reported greater appearance comparison after viewing idealized commercials than those less strongly invested in their appearance. The results suggest the immediate impact of the media on body image is both stronger and more normative for girls than for boys, but that some boys may also be affected.     

Highlighting media modifications: can a television commercial mitigate the effects of music videos on female appearance satisfaction?

Exposure to idealized media portrayals of women induces appearance dissatisfaction in females, in the short term. Interventions that highlight the artificial nature of media portrayals can mitigate this effect. The present research investigated whether a 75 second television commercial, that demonstrates behind-the-scenes techniques used to artificially enhance media models, could be similarly effective. Eighty-seven Caucasian female undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. The first group viewed music videos and ordinary television commercials. A second group viewed the same music videos and the "intervention" commercial. A final, control, group viewed television and commercials featuring no people. Viewing music videos resulted in significantly lower levels of self-reported appearance satisfaction compared to viewing control television, p<.05, d=-.67. However, exposure to the intervention commercial counter-acted this effect. Demonstrating the extent to which media portrayals of women are artificially enhanced can mitigate detrimental effects on female appearance satisfaction.     

The effects of television on children's stereotyping of women's work roles

Sixty-seven elementary school students, ages 5 through 10 years, from three ethnic groups were systematically exposed, over a 1-month period, to specially produced television commercials. One treatment group viewed prevideotaped cartoons interspersed with commercials of women in “traditional” roles, while a second group viewed the same cartoons but with commercials which portrayed women in traditionally male or “reversed” roles. Children were measured on pre-and post-tests on (1) their occupational knowledge, (2) the extent to which they stereotyped occupations, and (3) their own preferences for traditionally male and female jobs. Results indicate that children do learn about occupations from television content, that they also learn to stereotype or nonstereotype various occupations based on the sex of the TV model, and, finally, that girls will change their preferences for various occupations based on the particular roles they view women portrayed in.     

The effects of TV commercials using less thin models on young women's mood, body image and actual food intake

This study experimentally tested the effects of exposure to television commercials using less thin models on mood, body focused anxiety and food intake, as compared to the effects of commercials using thin models. In a naturalistic setting, 110 young women were exposed to a neutral movie, interrupted by two commercial breaks. The commercial breaks contained real commercials using either less thin (n = 32) or thin models (n = 39), or neutral commercials (n = 39). During watching television, participants could freely eat snack food. Further, their mood and body focused anxiety was assessed. ANOVAs revealed no effects on body focused anxiety, but women reported a more negative mood and ate less after exposure to commercials using less thin models than after exposure to commercials using thin models. These results imply that using less thin models in commercials explicitly referring to the thin ideal does not make women feel better.     

Sex vs. status in sex-associated stereotypes

The trait content of sex stereotypes can be created by social role status alone, without reference to sex. In contemporary culture sex and role status are confounded: Authority roles are played by men; women occupy subordinate positions. TV commercials encode the unequal status as tacit assumptions in brief scenarios. Videotaped reenactments of three such commercials served as stimuli. One reenactment of each duplicated the original network versions. In a second reenactment of the same commercials, the male and female actors switched roles. Subjects (n=128 men and women) viewed the commercials and made personality attributions to each character on five sex-stereotypic dimensions, e.g., “dominant—submissive.” Stereotypic trait patterns commonly attributed to sex were determined more by the actor's implicit role status in the portrayed relationship than by the actor's sex. Showing women in high-status roles with the social support of coparticipants may be a means of breaking the stereotypes.     

Women and “body-isms” in television beer commercials

Research on women in print advertisements has shown that pictures of women's bodies and body parts (body-isms) appear more often than pictures of men's bodies. Men's faces (face-isms) are photographed more often than their bodies. This present study is the first to confirm this finding for television commercials. Results showed that men appear twice as often as women in beer commercials. The body-isms of women significantly outnumbered the body-isms of men. Women also appeared in swimwear more often than men, thus increasing the photo opportunities for body-isms. This study raises concerns about the dehumanizing influence of these images in beer commercials, and their association with alcohol use and the violence in the televised sporting events during which beer commercials are frequently aired.     

An Asian Perspective on the Portrayal of Men and Women in Television Advertisements: Studies From Hong Kong and Indonesian Television

This paper reports on 2 studies with almost identical methodologies. Both were content analysis studies of the way that men and women are portrayed on television (TV) in South East Asia. One study was conducted in Hong Kong, where 175 TV advertisements were content analyzed. The other was conducted in Indonesia, where 119 TV advertisements were content analyzed. In Hong Kong, 9 of the 10 content categories yielded a significant gender-role effect, particularly mode of presentation, credibility, and role. In Indonesia, 9 of the 11 gender-role effects were significant, particularly reward type and product type. The fact that Asian TV commercials seem to have greater gender-role stereotypes than do Western commercials is discussed. Difficulties associated with cross-cultural comparisons of this type of data are discussed.     

Adaptation of Marketing Activities to Cultural and Social Context: Gender Role Portrayals and Sexism in Spanish Commercials

This study was designed to examine the portrayal of men and women in a sample of 370 Spanish television commercials. The general objective was to compare and contrast the plurality and similarities between men and women as regards both gender role portrayals and sexism levels and also product stereotyping as the association of certain kinds of products with gender. In addition, we examined the type of social relationship held by the main actor/actress in the commercial. Applying content analysis methodology, the results highlight a feminine culture and a social reality moving steadily toward gender equality and complementariness between genders, albeit still within the framework of the traditional family model, which characterizes women as homemakers and mothers. Impact of Cultural and Social Reality on Marketing Activities: Gender Role Portrayals and Sexism in Spanish Commercials.     

Gender displaying television commercials: A comparative study of television commercials in the 1950s and 1980s

Recent researchers have argued both that there has been change in the way gender is portrayed in television commercials and that gender images have remained stereotypical. Comparing television commercials from the 1950s/early 1960s to commercials from the 1980s, this study explores the issue of how much, if any, change has occurred in gender images. Additionally, the study focuses on the gender display of main characters and the circumstances under which it varies. Results indicate that there has been change in the images of women but not men. The activity that women are pictured in significantly changed from the 1950s to the 1980s, and a change in activity has the strongest effect on the display of gender.Partial funding for this research was provided by the Academic Senate of the University of California, Riverside. Statistical assistance was provided by Masako Ishii-Kuntz. Research assistance was provided by Kathryn Bigelow, Saralyn Caloff, and Eloy Zarate. We gratefully acknowledge the use of films housed at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Our thanks to the anonymous reviewers atSex Roles for their helpful comments.