| Pub. Date | : May, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of Marketing Management |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJMM040522 |
| Author Name | :Ajeet Sharma |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Marketing |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 23 |
Two content analysis studies on gender role portrayals are reported in this paper. In the first, 987 television ads broadcast on top-ten all-India channels from 2016 to 2019 were analyzed. In the second, 397 most watched YouTube video ads in the same period were analyzed. Chi-square test results of these studies indicated that eight out of nine variables, i.e., all except credibility, showed either stereotyping or partial stereotyping in case of television ads; and six out of nine variables, i.e., all except age, arguments, and credibility, showed either stereotyping or partial stereotyping in case of YouTube video ads. The fact that television ads have greater gender role stereotyping than YouTube video ads is discussed, and implications are drawn for the benefit of advertisers in India.
Several global research studies, including in India, have proven that portrayals of men
and women in advertising are stereotyped and not in congruence with the changing
gender roles (Das, 2011). Repeated exposure to stereotyped advertisements may cause
enduring adverse effects on an individual's beliefs and psychological and behavioral
traits (Ganahl et al., 2003). Thus, the onus is on the advertisers to engender a balanced
portrayal of men and women in their ads to make them more effective. One-dimensional
advertising and media images such as those of a slender woman or a brawny man may
lead to social comparisons (Bessenoff, 2006), causing an adverse effect on people's mood
and body perceptions (Dates and Barlow, 1990). Similarly, sexual objectification of
women or their portrayal merely for a decorative purpose demeans their status in society
(Kilbourne, 1999). Such portrayals may reinforce beliefs (Allan and Coltrane, 1996)
harmful to the society eventually (Gauntlett, 2009).
In India, a greater number of women have begun to work outside home and more
men have accepted domestic or home-bound roles (Bhan, 2019). Gender equality for
Indian women has a different meaning though-career-oriented women performing their
familial duties (Wolf, 2009). Therefore, advertisers in India portray women as traditional,
yet liberated (Munshi, 1998). By and large, gender role stereotyping exists in Indian
advertising (Gupta and Jain, 1998; Munshi, 1998; Jha and Vohra, 2005; and Das,