Through the looking-glass : exploring the wonderland of 'other' female portrayals in advertising

Abstract

Research on gender portrayals in advertising are prolific and mostly focus on stereotypical roles. However, there is no previous research report analysing portrayals that fall into the “other” category of female roles. This paper aims to provide an outline of female role portrayals in advertising and, importantly, to examine the “other” role category for new portrayals. A quantitative content analysis was conducted on samples of South African magazine and television advertisements. The findings indicate that the stereotypical decorative role was prevalent in magazine advertisements. In television advertisements the product user was the person most often featured. A detailed analysis of the “other” category in both media revealed four new role portrayals. These new roles represent a different view of the modern woman and may be used to differentiate effectively those brands in media that are cluttered with advertising messages. The research provides direction for future content analytic studies on the topic of female portrayals in advertising.