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Journal of Advertising
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Gender Stereotypes in Advertising on Children's

Television in the 1990s: A Cross-National Analysis
Beverly A. Browne
Published online: 31 May 2013.

To cite this article: Beverly A. Browne (1998) Gender Stereotypes in Advertising on Children's Television in the 1990s:
A Cross-National Analysis, Journal of Advertising, 27:1, 83-96, DOI: 10.1080/00913367.1998.10673544

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 Gender Stereotypes in Advertising on Children's
Television in the 1990s: A Cross-National Analysis
Beverly A. Browne

Using content analysis, the author examined sex role stereotyping in television commercials aimed at children
in the United States and Australia. The goals of the study were to: (1) provide current data on level and
content ofgender stereotyping, (2) compare levels ofstereotyping in two countries, and (3) assess stereotyping
olsell-presentational behaviors. Results are consistent with those ofpreuious research in that boys were
depicted as being more knowledgeable, active, aggressive, and instrumental than girls. Nonverbal behaviors
involving dominance and control were associated more with boys than girls. Country-related differences in
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ratios 01boys to girls in the commercials and demonstrations 01licensed withdrawal, function ranking, and
utilitarian contact were observed.

Beverly A. Browne (Ph.D., Gender stereotypes are general beliefs about sex-linked traits (collections
University of Oregon) is an Assistant
Professor of Marketing in the College of psychological characteristics and behaviors characterizing men and women)
of Business, Oregon State University. and gender roles (activities differentially appropriate for men or women).
The author would like to thank the Gender role depictions of women as dependent and emotional have been
editor and the anonymous reviewers
for the many helpful comments they criticized for perpetuating stereotypes and having adverse effects on a wide
provided during the construction of range of behaviors (Bretl and Cantor 1988; Lovdal 1989; Sternglanz and
this paper. Serbin 1974), Stereotypes in advertising on children's television programs
have been a special problem because of their potential impact on gender
socialization and, subsequently, children's views of themselves and other
people (Ban dura 1986; Bussey and Bandura 1984; Kolbe 1990; McNeal
1992). In the United States, where children may view more than 20,000
commercials a year, the opportunity for influence is substantial (Liebert and
Sprafkin 1988). The possibility that children might acquire negative stereo-
types through television viewing, therefore, has aroused concern among
parents, educators, and members of the advertising industry.
A large body of research has investigated advertising to children, but
important gaps are evident in the literature. In the last few decades, social
norms for behavior, actual roles occupied by men and women, and media
regulatory policies have changed. Have media portrayals of men and women
changed also? Much of the research on gender stereotyping is dated. Indeed,
Zinkhan (1994) cited gender stereotyping as one of the neglected areas of
advertising ethics research and suggested that further research would be
desirable. The issue of cross-cultural variation in gender stereotyping in
advertising to children has been particularly neglected and few studies have
examined such stereotyping in more than one country concurrently. Com-
parisons of stereotyping across nations could contribute to a better under-
standing of stereotyping and its relationship with cultural factors. Further,
most studies of advertising content have examined easily counted variables,
such as numbers of male and female actors appearing in commercials,
rather than more subtle nonverbal aspects of gender stereotyping. Such
focus excludes an important source of information about male and female
consumers and their relationship to each other. The research reported here
Journal ofAdvertisiTl/l, contributes to the literature by updating prior research, testing its
Volume XXVII, Number 1
Spring 1998
 84 The Journal ofAdvertising

generalizability with a cross-country comparison, and and more gender-equal ones (Klassen, Jasper, and
extending it by examining aspects of stereotyped self- Schwartz 1993).
presentation. Research on stereotyping in advertising to children
Television commercials were gathered from the provides a pattern of results broadly similar to that
United States and Australia, two countries that re- reported for commercials and programming intended
semble each other in industrial development, lan- for adults (Durkin 1985a; Kolbe 1990; Macklin and
guage, and child-rearing practices. A rationale for Kolbe 1984; Schwartz and Markham 1985). For in-
the choice was that similarities in those areas should stance, advertising directed toward children has been
lead to comparable psychological characteristics and shown to feature approximately twice as many boys
overt behaviors, and hence a single set of items could as girls, position boys in more dominant, active roles,
be used to examine commercials. Additional factors and use male more frequently than female voiceovers.
were the evidence of changing roles of women in both When characters have been shown in occupational
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countries (Mackay 1993), ability to collect data from roles, men generally work outside the home, and
children's programming simultaneously in the two women are in domestic roles such as parent, spouse,
countries, and the countries' comparable media codes or homemaker (McArthur and Eisen 1976). Commer-
pertaining to children and advertising (Media Coun- cial style and format have tended to promote stereo-
cil ofAustralia 1993). Finally, each country has unique types of women and girls as softer, weaker, and more
aspects of history and national character, including passive by means of a less active pace, more fades
variations in personal values and interest in feminist and resolves, and softer background music (Welch et
issues, that could differentially affect advertising con- at 1979). In addition, boys and girls typically mani-
tent. fest different personal and social characteristics, with
boys being more autonomous, aggressive, and inven-
Previous Research on Gender tive (Sternglanz and Serbin 1974).
Stereotyping
Children's Understanding and Use of
Past research has yielded a consistent picture of Gender Stereotypes
stereotyped advertising content that has varied little
over time (Macklin and Kolbe 1984). Portrayals of Do children who are exposed to stereotyped content
adult women in American television and print adver- understand it? Ifso, what effect does it have on them?
tising have emphasized passivity, deference, lack of The overwhelming evidence is that children use non-
intelligence and credibility, and punishment for high verbal cues when developing impressions of others
levels of effort. In contrast, men have been portrayed and even very young children are aware of the behav-
as constructive, powerful, autonomous, and achiev- iors and roles appropriate for each sex. The develop-
ing (Bretl and Cantor 1988; Butler and Paisley 1980; ment of such awareness is congruent with achieve-
Courtney and Whipple 1984; Kolbe and Albanese ment of gender constancy (generally achieved by the
1996). According to Goffman (1976), subtle aspects of age of seven) and increasing ability to understand
self-presentation, such as pose, body language, and cultural beliefs and norms (Emmerich et al, 1976;
facial expression, also show gender stereotyping. His Martin and Halverson 1981). Children may not be
analysis of print advertising indicated that women aware of more subtle personality characteristics as-
often were depicted as shy, dreamy, gentle, likely to sociated with gender until they are about 10 years of
be manipulated, and helpless. Whereas men's body age. However, Kuhn, Nash, and Brucken (1978) found
language denoted power, control, and dominance, that two-year-old children associated emotionality
women's body language indicated psychological with- (crying), helplessness (needing and asking for aid),
drawal, submissiveness, and supplication. Goffman passivity, and gentleness (giving kisses, not fighting)
proposed that such posed self-presentations are based with girls and associated aggressiveness (hitting,
on social conceptions of ideal behavior and represent fighting), strength, activity (building, playing actively)
"ritualized" or culturally prescribed portrayals of men with boys. More recently, Williams and Best (1990)
and women that inform the viewer about social rela- found that five-year-old children thought women were
tionships. Efforts to track changes in depictions of weaker and more softhearted and men were stronger.
men and women in the 1970s and 1980s using Durkin (1984) showed four- to nine-year-old children
Goffman's classification have indicated a general per- commercial-length television clips and found that even
sistence of the traditional poses over less traditional the youngest children could isolate and describe sex-
 Spring 1998 85

typed behaviors. Six-year-olds were reluctant to say degree to which children in different countries hold
that Superwoman could do the things Superman could stereotypical views of men and women is not. Will-
do (such as saving people) and believed other people iams and Best (1990), in a series of studies involving
would rate Superwoman's abilities lower than 24 countries, found the same sequence of gender-
Superman's. They also thought men could give women stereotype learning in all countries, but found coun-
pretty gifts, but not the other way around, and that try-related variations in the number and kind oftraits
women could be expected to engage in more passive ascribed to men and women. Australian and Ameri-
activities such as staying home and washing up. can gender stereotypes were relatively similar, but
Huston et at (1984) found that elementary school not identical, in terms of the characteristics associ-
children were able to understand the gender-typed ated with each gender and the favorability of those
connotations of format features and expected them to traits. Overall, stereotyping tended to be correlated
be consistent with the typing of the products adver- with the country's religious orientation, urbanization,
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tised. If a commercial featured a product designed for and the availability of education for women. In gen-
a boy, children expected more activity and louder eral,lower levels ofurbanization and education were
sound effects than they expected with a product de- associated with adherence to more traditional gender
signed for a girl. roles. Religious orientation was associated with rela-
Studies of the actual effects of stereotyping shown tive favor ability of male and female stereotypes and
on television demonstrate that, though parents can their differentiation with respect to adult and child
exert modifying influences (Ward, Wackman, and functions.
Wartella 1977), televised images influence children's The relatively few studies that have compared lev-
values, self-esteem, and product preferences. For in- els of stereotyping in the commercials of the coun-
stance, Tan (1979) found that teenage girls who viewed tries investigated here have yielded inconsistent re-
beauty commercials expressed stronger beliefs in the sults. Gilly (1988), in a cross-cultural content analy-
importance of beauty for women and were more wor- sis, examined commercials aimed at adults in the
ried about their attractiveness to men than a control United States, Mexico, and Australia. She found no
group who watched non stereotyped material. Subse- significant gender differences for several variables
quent research (Martin and Gentry 1997; Martin and including product advertised, employment status, use
Kennedy 1993) indicates that, when female adoles- as a spokesperson, credibility, and activity level in
cents and preadolescents compare themselves with Australian ads, but did find gender differences in
models in ads, the comparisons may result in altered American and Mexican ads. Edgar and McPhee (1974)
self-perceptions of physical attractiveness and some- examined American Airlines magazine ads in the
times lower self-esteem. Studies also suggest that United States and Australia and found more tradi-
children as young as four years of age are likely to tional roles portrayed in the Australian ads. Peck
choose gender-typed toys when they have seen them (1979) looked exclusively at commercials aimed at
modeled on television by same-sex children (Ruble, children in Australia and concluded that the level of
Balaban, and Cooper 1981). Hence, children tend to stereotyping was similar to that observed in the United
accept sex stereotypes, identify with the stereotypical States. His conclusion was based on the ratio of male
role of their gender, and punish other children, espe- to female characters (a ratio of seven to one), the
cially boys, that exhibit cross-gender behaviors and frequency with which male characters played major
traits (Durkin 1985b; Frueh and McGhee 1975.) Nev- roles in the commercial, and small incidence of fe-
ertheless, Kolbe and Muehling (1995) found that those male voiceovers (6% of the total). More recently,
tendencies may not always affect product preferences. Mazzella et at (1992) found systematic differences
In their study, cross-role portrayals broadened between portrayals of men and women on Australian
children's conceptions of the appropriate user of the television and concluded that the differences were
advertised product so that boys who saw girls playing similar to those found in studies in North America
with a stereotypically male toy redefined the toy as and Great Britain.
appropriate for both genders.
Hypotheses
Cultural Variations in Stereotyping
Because much ofthe stereotyping research is dated,
Research indicates that the process of acquiring an attempt was made to determine current levels of
stereotypes is universal across cultures, though the gender stereotyping in commercials targeting chil-
 86 The Journal ofAdvertising

dren. Previous content analyses (Klassen, Jasper, and H3a: Stereotyped body language in TV com-
Schwartz 1993; Macklin and Kolbe 1984) showed con- mercials does not differ between countries.
sistency in gender stereotyping in past decades, but H3b: In a total sample, girls exhibit more with-
realization of the possible negative consequences of drawal behaviors (such as shyness, eye or
stereotyping in advertising in recent years was ex- head aversion, snuggling, and hiding)
pected to be reflected in a reduction of stereotyped than boys.
content. Hence, gender ratios would be more equal, H3c: Boys exhibit more dominance behaviors
the roles of adult characters would be less traditional, and girls exhibit more deference behav-
and there would be less difference in instrumentality iors.
between boys and girls than previous research has H3d: Boys engage in more verbal and physical
shown. Similar changes were expected in voiceovers, directing than girls.
gender of spokespersons, and relative activity in com- H3e: Girls exhibit more gentle touching of
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mercials, especially ones for products that are not people and objects and boys exhibit more
sex-typed. direct manipulation of people and things.
HI: Gender portrayals in TV commercials H3f: Adults' self-presentations are more ritu-
have less stereotyped content than has alized than children's.
been indicated by previous research.
The relationship between the country where the Method
commercial appeared and the incidence of gender ste-
reotypes also was examined. Previous evidence indi- Commercials for the study were videotaped during
cates that the level of stereotyping differs between Saturday morning cartoon programming in continu-
countries despite the many cross-cultural similari- ous three-hour blocks between 8 and 11 o'clock. The
ties in the traits ascribed to men and women (Will- commercials appeared on three stations in Sydney
iams and Best 1990). Though evidence is inconsistent (n=254) and on three stations in the northwestern
(Gilly 1988; Mazzella et a1. 1992; Peck 1979), at least United States (n=317) in the same time slots. Be-
one comparative study of American and Australian cause different products tend to dominate commer-
commercials targeting adults (Gilly 1988) indicated cial time before and after Christmas, commercials
lower levels of stereotyping for the latter. In addition, were videotaped during both periods. Taping of the
the relatively recent attention to women's issues in pre-Christmas commercials began in late October.
Australia (Mackay 1993) may create greater sensitiv- Taping of the post-Christmas material began in late
ity to the issue of stereotyping in advertising. Hence, December and ended in February. Data collection
commercials on American television were expected to was completed in 1995.
contain higher levels of stereotyping than those ap- To obtain a sample of unique advertisements, rep-
pearing on Australian television. etitions and commercials in which the gender of the
H2: Ratios of male and female characters, figures or the voiceovers could not be determined were
voiceovers, product usage, credibility, ac- eliminated. One aim of eliminating repetitions was to
tivity, aggression, roles occupied and for- limit the effect of major American advertisers, who
mat characteristics in TV commercials are might employ global advertisements, in the Austra-
more consistent with traditional gender lian sample. Animated commercials were not elimi-
stereotypes in the United States than in nated because most cartoon characters have an obvi-
Australia. ous gender detectable by name, physical features,
Body language indicating differing levels of with- voice, or clothing. Commercials promoting television
drawal, dominance, subordination, and administra- programming were dropped from the sample if they
tive prerogative (Goffman 1976) were examined. Wil- contained segments of actual programming that would
liams and Best (1990) have demonstrated pancultural confuse program and advertising content. The final
similarities in the traits traditionally ascribed to men sample consisted of 298 ads, of which 150 were Aus-
(such as dominance, activity, and instrumentality) tralian (50.3%) and 148 were American (49.7%).
and women (such as, deference, nurturance, and Content analysis was used to examine the advertis-
abasement). Therefore, self-presentations were ex- ing (Kassarjian 1977; Kolbe and Burnett 1991;
pected to differ between boys and girls but not be- Krippendorf 1981; Webber 1990). Variables were
tween countries. drawn from previous research on gender stereotyp-
 Spring 1998 87

ing in commercials. Before being included on the cod- examples before them. In addition, a second pair of
ing form, they were pretested to ensure that they judges, working together and resolving disputes by
adequately reflected the content of the commercials. discussion, examined the commercials to ensure ac-
Definitions of the variables other than the self-pre- curacy (Krippendorf 1980). For example, if either of
sentational variables are listed in Table 1. Degree of the primary coders had claimed that the central char-
aggression, activity, loudness of sound effects and acter was male and no male characters appeared in
speech, and frequency of scene changes in each com- the advertisement, the coding was deemed inaccu-
mercial were rated on a Likert-type scale of 1 (low) to rate and adjusted. The interrater reliability of the
7 (high). Other variables were categorized and each coding for the major variables is reported in Table 3.
occurrence was counted.
Goffman's (1976) behavioral typology, involving Results
analysis of the pose and facial expression that consti-
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tute the "display" and inform the viewer about the Content of Commercials
social identity, mood, and intent of characters por-
trayed, was adapted for examining sex role behaviors Analysis of stereotyping in the total sample of com-
embedded in time. The original typology included five mercials showed little change from that found in pre-
types of subtle messages conveyed by advertisements: vious research. Commercials contained more male
licensed withdrawal, ritualization of subordination, figures than female figures; however, the male-to-
feminine touch, function ranking, and relative size. female ratio increased with age. Commercials con-
Descriptions of the adapted categories are given in taining elementary school children had 43% girls and
Table 2. Individual instances of the coded behaviors 56% boys (X2=5.88, d.f.=l, p<.05). Commercials con-
were tallied separately for male and female charac- taining teenagers had a much more disparate gender
ters as they appeared in the sequence of the commer- ratio with 29% girls and 70% boys (X2=43.62, d.f.e l,
cial. By the rationale that multiple indicators of a p<.OOOl). The proportions for adults were relatively
behavioral category (such as licensed withdrawal) con- similar to those for teenagers (38.1%women and 61.9%
tribute to intensity of display, each occurrence of an men). The difference is significant (X2=12.08, d.f.e l,
indicator (such as face covering or giggling) was pc.Oll'l), Commercials of both countries featured pre-
counted. dominantly male voiceovers, more than 64% (189 com-
The actual coding involved repeated viewing of the mercials). That was true for commercials primarily
advertisements by two persons, one male and one targeting boys and also for commercials featuring
female, who were hired for that purpose by the au- gender-neutral products (85% of commercials in that
thor. They were told that the purpose of the study category). Female voiceovers were used in less than
was to find out about the kinds of commercials chil- 16% of commercials (n=46), primarily where girls,
dren in different countries see and to describe how preschool children, or mothers were the target. Analy-
children are portrayed in those commercials. To en- sis of male and female voiceovers in relation to the
sure that they could interpret the verbal and nonver- gender of the characters shown using the product
bal information contained in the advertisements, in- produced significant differences (X 2= 128.78, d.f.=2,
struction was provided (Costanzo 1992). Instruction p<.OOOl), indicating that, regardless of gender of the
included familiarization with the definitions of the person demonstrating the product, voieeovers were
variables to be coded, the coding sheet, and the video more frequently male.
equipment. Written descriptions of all variables and In commercials containing both boys and girls, boys
pictorial examples of nonverbal behaviors were given were significantly more likely to demonstrate and/or
to the coders so they would have similar constructs in explain the product (61.4% of all commercials) even
mind as they worked. Coders were also given practice when the product itself was not sex-typed (X2=29.81,
sessions in which they coded a set of commercials d.f.=2, p<.OOOl). Girls were never shown using prod-
that was not part ofthe study. The author was present ucts designed for boys (e.g., guns or trucks) regard-
to discuss the definitions and answer questions about less of country, and were less frequently depicted
the coding procedures. To help ensure objectivity, the using products that were not sex-typed (appearing in
author was not present during the coding of the com- 15 commercials vs. 70 for boys). No commercials
mercials that served as the data for the study. showed boys using products targeted for girls.
The primary coders worked independently of one Adult roles presented to children were examined by
another with explanations of variables and visual combining the roles occupied by adults into tradition-
 88 The Journal ofAdvertising

Table 1
DescrIptIons of VarIables

Execution style Execution refers how the message is presented. Execution styles include
presenting the product by itself, using cartoons, using live people, and a
mixture of these presentations.

Argument type The argument is the reason given for purchase. Rational arguments contain
facts about quality, reliability, performance, safety, value, or economy.
Emotional arguments arouse feelings. Moral arguments direct attention to
what is right or good.
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Credibility Credibility is whether the central figures are believable or likable. Sources of
credibility are being an authority on a subject, being a person who might
have used the item promoted, and appearing sincere or honest.

Activity- Activity refers to whether the characters are busy and doing a lot or are
passive and quiet.

AggressiOn" Aggression is acting against another person or thing: hitting, throwing,

grabbing, loud or abusive talk, face making, and determined behavior (as in
aggressively pursuing a goal).

Frequency of scene change- Frequency of scene change refers to how often the camera switches from
one scene to another and shifts angles or camera viewpoints.

Loudness: Loudness refers to volume of speech, music, and sound effects.

Central character A central character is the child, adult, or cartoon character that appears most
in the ad. There may be more than one or none. The product is not a
character.

Voiceover The voiceover is a voice (or voices) from an unseen source that describes
the product and/or encourages product purchase.

Product user The user is the person handling or consuming the product in the commercial.

Product gender-type Products are gender-typed if most people would think they would be more
appropriate for one gender than another. Male-gender-typed products are
ones associated with use by boys; female-gender-typed products are ones
associated with use by girls. Gender neutral products are ones generally
thought to be appropriate for use by both genders.

"Activity, aggression, frequency of scene change, and loudness were rated on a scale of 1= low and 7 high. Other variables were categorical.
 Spring 1998 89

Table 2
Description of Gender Display Variables-

Licensed withdrawal The character is psychologically removed from the social situation or appears
unoriented or in need of protection. Demonstrations of licensed withdrawal
include shyness, nervous giggling, face covering, head or eye aversion, hiding or
peeking out from behind an object, looking into space with an unfocused gaze
and snuggling or nuzzling.

Deference-dominance Deference behaviors represent a ritualization of subordination. Examples of

these behaviors include head, knee, or body cants, child-like postures and
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displays of appeasement or mock fear. Dominance behaviors involve holding or

restraining, assault, and space-occupying postures.

Function ranking Function ranking refers to a character's performance of an executive role.

Examples of behaviors indicating higher function ranking include giving verbal
instructions (product explanations or other directions) and molding behavior
through contact (as in pushing or feeding).

Object contact Utilitarian contact involves object manipulation, grasping. and causing objects to
"work." Feminine touch is when the character is seen cradling, caressing, or
gently touching and object.

'Categories were adapted from Goffman's (1976) typology. The original typology also included relative size and position in the advertising
frame. Those variables proved difficult to code in the moving sequence of the commercials and were excluded from the analysis.

ally female roles (homemaker, mother, and teacher) p<.09). Ratings of activity, aggressiveness, loudness,
and traditionally male roles (professional, worker, and the frequency ofscene change ofthe commercials
and sports person). A two by three (gender of the are moderately correlated (Table 4).
target viewer by adult sex role) chi square analysis
for nominal data indicated that significantly more Characteristics of Commercials by
traditionally male roles (79%) than traditionally fe- Country
male roles (21%) appeared in the commercials (X2=5.69,
d.f.=2, p<.06). The proportions of male roles in com- Table 5 reports the characteristics of the sample of
mercials containing only boys and those containing commercials by country. Examination of the general
both genders were 82.4% and 82.8%, respectively. characteristics showed no differences between coun-
Traditional female adult roles appeared primarily in tries in execution styles or in the source of credibility
commercials containing girls (46.2% of adult roles in of the spokesperson, 86% of which were portrayed as
those commercials). users of the product. The overwhelming argument
One-way ANOVAs on ratings for activity, aggres- offered for purchase was emotional and focused on
sion, frequency of scene change, and loudness indi- fun and enjoyment (82% of American commercials
cated that commercials targeting boys were signifi- and 71% ofAustralian commercials). However, a three
cantly more active than commercials targeting girls by two (argument by country) chi square analysis
(F2, 26/1=4.29, p<.02). They were also substantially more showed that Australian commercials employed more
aggressive (F 2 269=32.84, p<.OOOl). Aggressiveness rational arguments than American commercials
among boys involved throwing, hitting, making faces, (X 2=5.80, dJ.=2, p<.05). In both countries, pre-Christ-
and using toys in mock efforts to kill or maim an mas commercials featured a high percentage of toys
object or person. Those actions were rarely observed (50% of Australian commercials and 67.6% of Ameri-
among girls. Loudness and frequency of scene change can commercials); post-Christmas advertising tended
did not differ with the target of the commercial (boy to be dominated by snacks and other foods. Austra-
or girl), even though commercials targeting boys lian advertising contained higher percentages of com-
tended to be somewhat faster in pace (F 2, 2118=2.46, mercials for adult products, primarily in post-Christ-
 90 The Journal ofAdvertising

Table 3
Interrater Reliability of Variables Used In the Content Analysis

Variable ".

Advertisement
Type (Institutional, product/service, public service) 50 1.00
Execution style (cartoon, live, mixed, product only) 50 .84
Voiceover (male, female, both, none) 50 .87
Argument type (rational, moral, emotional) 50 .77
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Activity 45 .80
Aggression 45 .74
Loudness of sound/music 45 .48
Frequency of scene change 45 .57

Character
Central character (adult, child, cartoon, other) 45 .90
Age (preschool, elementary, teen, adult) 50 .94
Basis of credibility (authority, user, other) 50 .99
Rating of amount of boy's activity 46 .72
Rating of amount of girl's activity 43 .74
Rating of amount of loudness among boys 42 .78
Rating of amount of loudness among girls 36 .82

Product
Gender type (male, female, both) 45 .86
Gender using the product (male, female, both) 45 .89

Self-Presentational Behaviors
Licensed withdrawal (boys) 42 .51
Licensed withdrawal (girls) 50 .79
Deference (appeasement behavior - boys) 42 .46
Deference (appeasement behavior - girls) 36 .65
Assertion (assault, space-occupying postures - boys) 42 .84
Assertion (assault, space-occupying postures - girls) 36 .89
Function ranking (boys) 42 .55
Function ranking (girls) 36 .61
Object contact (gentle touch - boys)" 50 1.00
Object contact (gentle touch - girls) 38 .92
Object contact (utilitarian - boys) 50 .73
Object contact (utilitarian - girls) 38 .90

"Numbers refer to paired observations made by the independent coders.

bBoys in advertisements coded for the reliability check engaged in no gentle touch.
CAli correlations were significant at p < .01 or lower.
 Spring 1998 91

Table 4 covering, and head or eye aversion and snuggling

Pearson Product Moment Correlations Among than boys. Boys and men were more likely to engage
RatingS- in ritualized domination behaviors (holding, mock
assault, throwing) whereas girls were more likely to
assume deference postures that conveyed coyness or
Activity Aggression Loudness bashfulness, such as lowering and tilting of the head
or body and upward glances.
Men and boys were most likely to engage in execu-
Aggression .66** tive behaviors (in all but ads directed toward very
Loudness .62** .44** young children), describe or demonstrate product fea-
tures, and advise product purchase. Highly signifi-
Scene Frequency .58** .29** .60**
cant differences were found in the amount and kind
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"There were no significant differences between countries in these

of contact children had with objects portrayed in com-
variables; therefore, the data are aggregated. mercials. Boys were shown as being more instrumen-
••p < .01. tal and more often engaged in behaviors that created
action on the part of the advertised item than girls.
They were more likely to push, pull, or press buttons
mas advertising (36% of the commercials), than Ameri-
to engage mechanisms, and manipulate or construct
can advertising (4.7% of commercials).
objects skillfully. Generally, boys were portrayed as
Further analysis of depictions of boys and girls in-
more effective, more able to make things work, and,
dicated minimal support for the expectation that the
in ads featuring games of competition, more frequently
two countries have different levels of stereotyping.
"winning" than girls. Girls were more likely than boys
The majority of commercials in both countries pro-
to be shown caressing objects or touching them gen-
moted products that were gender neutral (such as
tly. In few instances did children, either boys or girls,
snack foods and some toys), rather than products
request or accept help from another child or an adult.
likely to be used specifically by one gender or the
Student t-tests of separate behaviors indicated no
other (X2=15.70, d.f.=2, p<.OOl). However, there were
gender differences in appeasement displays, mock
substantial differences between countries in genders
fear, or hiding in either country.
depicted using the products (X2=13.28, d.f.=2, p<.002).
Main effects for country were found for licensed
Though numbers of commercials depicting girls were
withdrawal and utilitarian contact. Examination of
similar in the two countries, approximately twice the
the means indicates more licensed withdrawal be-
number of boys and men were depicted in American
haviors for both male and female characters in Ameri-
commercials as in Australian commercials. Austra-
can commercials than for those in Australian com-
lian commercials also were more likely than Ameri-
mercials. In addition, significantly more demonstra-
can commercials to depict both genders in the same
tions of executive or function-ranking behaviors were
commercial (55.2% and 36.2%, respectively).
present in the American commercials. Male charac-
ters in commercials appearing in the United States
Self-Presentational Behaviors also engaged in almost twice the amount of utilitar-
ian contact with objects as those in Australian com-
Table 6 reports the results of separate two by two mercials, though means for female characters in the
(country by gender) analyses of variance for the self- two countries were not especially disparate. The in-
presentational variables. For the analyses, multiple teraction between country and gender for utilitarian
occurrences ofindividual behaviors indicating licensed contact is significant (F 1 421=9.24, p<.003).
withdrawal, deference, dominance, and function rank- The differences between portrayals of children and
ing were recorded and then aggregated into indices. adults were examined by computing difference scores
Means for the indices, representing the average oc- between male and female characters for licensed with-
currence of behaviors in each behavioral classifica- drawal, domination/deference, executive behaviors,
tion, are given in Table 7 by country and gender. and product contact behaviors. Adult difference scores
Those data show large gender differences in self-pre- were compared with children's difference scores by
sentation but smaller differences between countries. means of a one-way ANOVA for each variable. The
Gender differences are in the hypothesized direction results indicated little support for the notion that
with girls demonstrating more shyness, giggling, face adults exhibit more ritualized self-presentations. Only
 92 The Journal ofAdvertising

TableS
Characteristics of the Commercials by Country·

United States Australia

Characteristics f % f %

Type of Commercial
Institutional 3 2.0 13 8.8
Public Service 13 8.8 12 8.1
Product or Service 131 89.1 123 83.1
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Product Category
Toy 82 55.4 31 20.7
Snack food/candy 6 4.1 31 20.0
Cereal and other food 24 16.2 7 4.7
Clothing 15 10.1 19 12.7
Adult products 7 4.7 43 28.7
Other (e.g., services) 14 9.5 20 13.3

Execution
Cartoon 10 6.8 15 10.0
Live people 95 64.2 114 76.0
Mixed animation/live people 41 27.7 19 12.7
Product only 2 1.4 2 1.3

Argument Type
Rational 20 13.5 35 23.3
Emotional 122 82.4 106 70.7
Moral 6 4.1 9 6.0

Credibility
Users, people like the target market 120 93.0 96 78.7
Authorities, sources of information 9 7.0 26 21.3

Voiceover
Male 97 66.4 92 61.7
Female 22 15.1 24 16.1
Mixed 4 2.7 5 3.4
None 23 15.8 28 18.8

ProductGender-Typing
Male 23 15.9 5 3.4
Female 22 15.2 16 10.8
Gender Neutral 100 69.0 127 85.8

"Frequencies represent numbers of unique advertisements. Repetitions were not included in the analysis.
 Spring 1998 93

Table 6
Summary of F Tests of Gender Display by Country and Gender

Effects d.t. F-Statistic Sig.F

Country
Deference 1,421 <1 .48
Dominance 1,421 3.24 .07
Licensed withdrawal 1,421 5.01 .01
Function ranking 1,421 6.76 .03
Gentle touch 1,421 <1 .98
Utilitarian contact 1,421 40.40 .001
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Gender
Deference 1,421 26.79 .001
Dominance 1,421 28.03 .001
Licensed withdrawal 1,421 32.33 .001
Function ranking 1,421 19.37 .001
Gentle touch 1,421 39.59 .001
Utilitarian touch 1,421 32.01 .001

Country x Gender
Deference 1,421 <1 .62
Dominance 1,421 1.67 .19
Licensed withdrawal 1,421 3.43 .07
Function ranking 1,421 <1 .35
Gentle touch 1,421 <1 .48
Utilitarian touch 1,421 9.24 .003

the variable "molding behavior through contact" more common among boys, assigning others (such as
showed a significant difference between adults and instrumentality) to one gender or another represents
children (F1 1113=4.66, p<.04). More physical directing a distortion of actual behavior. Certainly the numeri-
was exhibited by men and women than by boys and cal representations of boys and girls in the commer-
girls (:x =.34 and .06, respectively). cials are not consistent with real-world distributions.
Sex-typing of the product, though influencing role
Discussion portrayals in the commercials, cannot explain those
variations because comparable results were obtained
One aim of the study was to examine current levels when the product was gender-neutral (likely to be
of gender stereotyping in television commercials tar- used by either boys or girls). One might argue that
geting children. With the exception of the two format current portrayals mirror social norms and reflect
characteristics, pace and loudness, the results are the interests of target markets, but changes in actual
generally similar to those of previous studies and roles occupied by men and women in both countries
indicate substantial gender stereotyping (Macklin and make that argument increasingly less compelling.
Kolbe 1984; McArthur and Eisen 1976; Stemglanz Despite similarities in gender stereotyping between
and Serbin 1974). Boys appeared in greater numbers, countries, Australian commercials tended to contain
assumed more dominant roles, and were more active more nearly equal male-to-female proportions, more
and aggressive than girls. Gender role reinforcement often depicted both boys and girls in the same adver-
was observed at the level of body language and facial tisement, and less frequently portrayed girls as shy
expression; girls were portrayed as shyer, giggly, un- or giggly and boys as directive. Moreover, male char-
likely to assert control, and less instrumental. Though acters had significantly more active interactions with
some characteristics (such as aggressiveness) may be objects in the American commercials than they did in
 94 The Journal ofAdvertising

Table 7
Mean Scores for the Gender Display Variables-

Australia United States

Behaviors Male Female Male Female

Deference .72 1.63 .68 1.44

Dominance 2.77 1.01 4.00 1.15
Licensed withdrawal .47 1.21 .59 2.01
Function ranking .65 .29 .99 .44
Gentle touch .00 .54 .00 .60
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Utilitarian contact 2.82 2.00 5.27 2.77

"Means represent average occurrences of each classification of behavior per advertisement.

Australian commercials in comparison with female stance, children and society at large could benefit
characters. Those results might reflect country-re- from less aggressive and more nurturing media por-
lated variations in ideals of male and female behavior trayals of male characters and more instrumental
or indicate actual differences in efforts at counter- portrayals offemale characters.
stereotyping. Children's advocates and advertising Television's influence on the acquisition of gender
professionals in both countries have been concerned stereotypes is well understood even though the traits
with its content, placement, and amount of advertis- and roles associated with gender form fundamental
ing aimed at children. However, differences in levels schemata in human interaction. Our current under-
of interest in the content of children's television, ad- standing of the effects of attempts at counter-stereo-
vertising codes of ethics pertaining to children's pro- typing indicates that short-term interventions are not
gramming, and women's movement activity are pos- likely to be effective, especially if they contradict
sible explanations that warrant further research at- children's current sex role knowledge (Durkin 1985b).
tention. However, televised messages about sex roles and traits
that do not provide direct contradictions but instead
Policy Implications open paths to new behavioral possibilities can be con-
structed. In addition, there may be practical reasons
In 1975 the National Science Foundation identified for presenting more realistic depictions of boys and
10 public policy issues facing television advertisers girls. To the extent that counter-stereotyping pre-
that included television's impact on socialization, the sents reasonable possibilities rather than complete
influence of format and audiovisual effects, and the departures from social norms, more balanced por-
effects of source and self-concept appeals (reported by trayals could have benefits for both viewers and spon-
Liebert and Sprafkin 1988). More currently, self-regu- sors. Indeed, research supports the notion that
latory bodies in Australia and the United States have counter-stereotyped presentations may actually have
advocated promotion of positive social behavior and positive rather than negative effects on some prod-
avoidance of demeaning or restrictive stereotypes. ucts by making them acceptable to both male and
The findings reported here suggest that, especially female consumers (Kolbe and Muehling 1995), thus
where stereotyping involves subtle behaviors, the ef- expanding potential markets.
fectiveness of self-regulatory guidelines may be lim-
ited. The importance of that limitation depends not Limitations
only on the stereotypes presented, but also on demon-
strations of children's willingness to accept stereo- The study had several limitations. First, content
typed portrayals as real and use them as models for analysis is susceptible to bias due to methods of data
their behavior. Particularly in the areas of instru- collection, interpretation, or analysis even when per-
mentality and aggressiveness, greater attention to sistent attempts are made to eliminate it. The fact
self-regulatory guidelines on the part of advertising that some behaviors had to be examined separately
managers would serve desirable social ends. For in- for boys and girls may have cued raters to the real
 Spring 1998 95

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and Rhonda Ro88 (1984), "Children'a Comprehension of Tele-
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