An Analysis of Nudity in Chinese Magazine Advertising: Examining Gender, Racial and Brand Differences

This study gives a most recent view of nudity in Chinese magazine advertising. Focusing on gender, racial and brand differences, the authors content analyzed 2,058 models in 19 Chinese consumer magazines from a stratified random sample of four?months in 2009. Results showed that female models were more likely to be shown in different levels of nudity than male models, and Western models were more likely to be shown in different levels of nudity than Chinese models, as predicted. However, regarding brand origin, although Western advertisers portrayed models in higher levels of nudity, Western and Chinese advertisers did not differ in their portrayals when models were examined separately by brand origin. Our study suggests that sexism in advertising is a cross-cultural phenomenon, and Western advertising models are the trend setters of sexual images in Chinese magazine advertising. Chinese advertising is not only a “melting pot” of cultural values, but also a “melting pot” of advertising practices.