Part 1. Gender Stereotypes in Television Ads
Introduction
Activity Objective:
In this activity, you will apply the critical process to evaluate visible gender stereotyping in advertising.
Let’s get started! Click the forward and backward arrows to navigate through the slides. You may also click the above outline button to skip to certain slides.
Reviewing the Critical Process
Developing a media-literate critical perspective involves mastering five overlapping stages that build on one another. Let’s review the critical process you’ll be using below:
Description: paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the subject under study
Analysis: discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the description stage
Interpretation: asking and answering “What does that mean?” and “So what?” questions about one’s findings
Evaluation: arriving at a judgment about whether something is good, bad, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one’s personal taste to the critical “bigger picture” resulting from the first three stages
Engagement: taking some action that connects our critical perspective with our role as citizens to question our media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the cultural environment
Description
To get started, record all the commercials during one night of prime-time television on a chosen channel.
Use the space below to answer the following question.
Describe all the heterosexual (male and female), gay (male and female), and transgender people depicted in the commercials. How many are there during prime-time? What do they look like? What were they doing in the ad?
Analysis
Building upon your observations, use the following questions to find patterns in visible gender stereotyping in advertising.
Use the space below to answer the following question.
1. Are gay, straight, or transgender characters in ads given a stereotypical appearance?
2. What is that stereotypical appearance? Is there a certain kind of male, female, gay, straight, or transgender character that is prevalent in these ads? If so, what is that character? Is stereotypical appearance related to body-type, race, ethnicity, social class, age, marital status, occupation?
3. Are there particular images, design, or language that advertisers attach to particular gender roles?
Interpretation
Now, let’s explore the meaning of the patterns you found.
Use the space below to answer the following question.
1. Why do advertisers use these gender roles in their commercials?
2. What do the advertisers’ goals seem to be? Whom are the ads targeting? How are these portrayals helpful to their achieving their goals?
3. What types of appeals and persuasive strategies are being used here? Do we see the actual product, or is the company concentrating on selling a brand or an idea?
Evaluation
Next, we’ll examine what your view is as you assess gender portrayals in advertising.
Use the space below to answer the following question.
1. How do you think these commercials affect different types of people? Do these possible effects have the potential to be beneficial or harmful?
2. What is your opinion about the portrayal of gender roles in television advertising?
3. What sorts of changes would you want advertising to make to the portrayals of different characters in television commercials?
Engagement
Let’s take action! Think about ways that you could register your own opinion to corporations that peddle gender stereotypes and the viewers who see these stereotypes while watching TV. Here are some suggestions:
- Check out the Gender Ads Project, a growing collection of more than 3,800 advertisements (mostly from magazines) categorized into various topical areas in advertising (e.g., The Gaze, Social Class, Dolls, Males as Hero). Visit the site (https://www.genderads.com), and offer your own commentary on issues related to gender and advertising.
- Make a point of being aware of gender stereotypes when you watch television, and point them out to people with whom you watch.
Use the space below to answer the following question.
What do you want to do to help spread awareness of gender stereotypes?