GED109/OL69

Javier, Dominic
Martinez, Kristhina
Orda, Marco
Sanchez, Anthony
Villapando, Kianna

IMRD Activity
The research article that we have chosen for the activity is entitled as
“Examination of Gender-role Portrayals in Television Advertising across Seven
Countries” which deals on the portrayal of different gender-roles in the broadcast
media of Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, South Korea, Thailand, and United States
since television advertising has the capability to perpetuate gender stereotypes and
behavioral norms that can influence the common audience. The study was authored
by Hye-Jin Paek, Michelle R. Nelson, and Alexandra M. Vilela. Keywords such as
gender-role portrayals, advertising, masculinity cultural value dimension, gender-
related development Index, and cross-cultural research were also established.

Abstract
In this study, the cultural (gender of nations), country-level (gender-related
development index), and execution-level (product type or the user’s gender) factors
were examined in order to understand the portrayals of gender-roles in television
advertising. A total of 2,608 commercials from the seven countries were scrutinized
using content analysis wherein the gender and occupation of the character and the
gender of the voice-over were compared. The regression analyses results showed
that the product type (execution factor) consistently matched with the gender of the
main character of the commercial while the cultural and country factors were able to
predict the gender of the character. As concluded, mostly males participated in visual
and auditory roles while females were still portrayed in stereotypical ways.

Introduction
The study basically talks about the influence of gender-role portrayals in
advertising particularly on gender stereotypes and behavioral norms between male
and female. In this paper, it was established that the problem regarding most
advertisements was that they portray gender roles in a narrower way compared to
what is really happening in reality.
 For instance, men were often portrayed as authorities and independent people;
they were often set working in an occupational setting. On the other hand, women
were usually portrayed only as product users, decorations, and dependent people;
they were mostly depicted inside our homes.
As stated in the article, research regarding advertisements and gender role
portrayals were already common. However, most of these studies have limited
analysis since they had only considered data from few countries. The purpose of this
particular study was then to examine the roles of multiple factors in understanding
gender-role portrayals in advertising from many countries. The researchers also aim
to see the relationship of these factors to the gender-role portrayals in advertising.
Lastly, the paper had examined the role of determinants of advertising content,
specifically the product type, to gender roles.

Material/Methods
The methods used in conducting this study are based on samples of
observation in media televisions advertisements in seven countries: Brazil, Canada,
China, Germany, South Korea, Thailand, and the United States. Examining and
comparing multiple countries in cross-cultural advertising was considered beneficial
since these represent different cultures, language, geography, advertising spending,
and gender equality index. Primetime TV ads were collected during two to six
typical weekdays from major TV network channels. Overall, a total of 2,608
commercials from the seven countries were collected. For the coding procedure, they
had recruited fourteen bilingual coders in order to code prominent character genders,
prominent character occupation, and gender of the voice-over.
Various statistical analysis such as ANOVA were applied in the study. In
order to examine the roles and relationships of multiple factors in gender-role
portrayals, ANOVA, chi-square test, and regression analysis were performed to
determine the strongest predictor among them. The researchers then further analyzed
the role of determinants, such as the product type, in the portrayals.

Results
Based on the statistical analyses conducted in this study, the results proved
that the Hypothesis 1 which predicted that those countries with a higher Masculinity
(MAS) cultural value dimension scores portray the greater gender-role differences
in terms of prominent character gender, prominent character occupations and voice-
over gender. Moreover, the Hypothesis 2 which says that countries with higher
Gender-related Development Index (GDI) scores portray fewer gender-role
differences than other countries with a higher GDI scores was also proven. Lastly, it
was also proven that there would be consistency between the product type and with
the gender-role descriptions but it is stated that female portrays frequently than males
to be more likely chosen as characters and voice overs as stated in Hypothesis 3.
After examining the descriptive statistics regarding the gender-role portrayals
using the MAS score, the GDI score, and lastly, the product type, the main findings
of this study indicate that the type of product that was being advertised in the
commercials was the most consistent predictor of the gender of the main character.
Having male characters is significant on advertising products such as shaving
creams, deodorants, body sprays, and other products usually used by men. Likewise,
female models are prominently used as main elements in advertising female
products.

Discussion
This study tackled the portrayals of gender roles via television
advertisements covering seven countries such as Brazil, Canada, China, Germany,
South Korea and United States. It aimed to show the differences of countries on how
they portray masculinity and femininity. This research examined the descriptive and
predictive roles of country-level and execution level content beyond Hofstede’s
MAS cultural. The said analysis had worked except when Thailand and South Korea
were compared to each other. To address this, gender-related development index is
introduced.
This research had also stated that product type seems to be the most consistent
predictor of character and voice over genders. This is because advertisers tend to
choose models which could greatly match their respective products. This then
promoted stereotypes thus limiting their target audiences. It was also indicated that
men are still featured more in advertisements. However, in South Korea, females
tend to be seen more, while in China, woman do not often appear as homemakers.

Conclusion
The numerous occurrence of women being portrayed in stereotypical ways
such as playing more decorative roles and men having the spotlight on the visual and
auditory roles like being frequently depicted in occupational settings in the findings
of most television commercials from the countries examined suggest that gender
stereotypes and behavioral norms are still prevalent in different societies.
For future research, the study recommends that this topic must include other
factors that are closely linked to the population lifestyle and political views on
gender-role portrayals in advertising across cultures. It is also recommended to find
evidences for the intended target audience. A better sampling procedure must be
done in order to gather better data and evidences that could eventually help address
research gaps.

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Appendices

Overview of the seven countries