Strike a pose! : a female gender representation in print advertising

Abstract

This research study focuses on gender stereotypes in print advertisements. The aim is to establish whether advertisements in this medium, adhere to gender oriented biases or whether they have moved towards new trends. Three Maltese monthly magazines were selected for analysis, Tune-in, The Circle and Modern Elegance using all issues from January till December 2004. Through content analysis, the advertisements were distributed within 16 categories that are, feminine touch, relative size, submissive positions, head cants/smiles, sexual advances, full facial images, facial images with something blocking, eyes cast down/closed/away, dismemberment, objectification, business roles, housework/maternal roles, partial/full nudity (related to the product), partial/full nudity (not related to the product), licensed withdrawal and taunted positions. The publishers do not have any control of what is featured in the advertisements; however, the content itself is a reflection of what society is exposed to through the advertising industry. The results revealed patterns corresponding to past studies, as regards to gender stereotypes. Some of the categories used in the past definitely corresponded to my results showing that women are still unrepresentative when compared to society. However a few surprising trends indicate that a positive shift is emerging, such as the categories of taunted position and full facial images whereby the women is portrayed in a dominant stance.