Emily, Frances, Cyril

1. Gender Stereotypes in Television Commercials Boys Will Be Boys

2. Common Stereotypes in American Commercials What gender stereotypes do you regularly see in television commercials?

5. Women are materialistic

6. “Average man” has poor hygiene

7. Women have unrealistic expectations

8. Material goods strengthen relationships

9. Audience:

10. For men? For women?

11. Goal:

14. Women will take the initiative

15. Women are attracted to scent/Axe

16. There is one kind of attractive woman

17. Consumers of Axe are straight men

18. Audience:

19. Men

20. Goal:

23. Women are enthusiastic about housework

24. Even powerful women have to do housework

25. Successful people have clean homes

26. Successful women entertain

27. Audience:

28. Middle-class Married Women

29. Goal:

32. Women enjoy cleaning

33. Men do not know how to perform basic household tasks

34. Audience:

35. Married women with children

36. Goal:

38. Roles of Men and Women Common roles reflected in commercials: Women: Married, mother, compulsive cleaner, sex addict. Often unemployed or has ambiguous employment. Women in commercials range from above average attractiveness to beautiful and are rarely overweight. Men: Macho, stupid, inability to complete normal household duties, the funny guy. Men are more often portrayed as average looking. Setting Women: Mostly in domestic settings. Men: In the home or out with friends. Occasionally at work.

39. Roles of Men and Women (con’t) Humor: Women: Subtle humor or no humor. Often revolves around relationships and gender miscommunication. Men: Humor used often and obviously. Generally more crude or sexual. Attractiveness: Women: “One out of five male characters was the object of another character’s admiring gaze. In contrast, six out of ten female characters were the object of another’s gaze” (Signorielli). Unrealistically beautiful, in both genders’ commercials. Men: Generally average looking. Sometimes slightly overweight.

40. Reality Primary Characters in Commercials: 53.6% Male, 46.4% Female Ratio of Men to Women in U.S.: 48.8% Male, 51.2% Female 70% Portrayed primary/secondary characters in car commercials are Male, while >50% new/used car buyers are Female. 57% of young girls and 59% of young boys say female characters on television are more attractive than the women they know in real life; 61% of young girls agree females on TV are thinner as well.

41. Media Theories Uses and Gratifications: “Individuals young and old look to the television screen to help determine which gender-related roles are likely to be met with social approval, and which may incur social penalties” (Scharrer). Critical Cultural: Image schemas have been largely unchanged to reflect modern gender roles. (Velasco-Sacristan) Relative Universality View: The mind is equally the product of culture and an embodiment of it. - Mind is an embodiment of culture, to some extent, created through mutual interaction Therefore, gender roles in commercials reflect cultural tropes.

43. Can appeal to the largest audience with least controversy

44. Perpetuating idealisms helps sell products/Proven effective