Is gender stereotyping in advertising more prevalent in masculine countries? A cross-national analysis

Abstract

The objective of this study is to test whether gender stereotyping in printed advertising is more prevalent in masculine as opposed to feminine countries. We consider this to be important, as advertising is generally more influential than literature in spreading stereotypical ideas given its high accessibility. Moreover, the way in which sexes are portrayed in advertising affects people's perceptions of gender roles in real life. Using content analysis, we collected empirical data on gender stereotyping of women depicted in 946 printed advertisements from two European countries widely differing in their level of masculinity, the UK and the Netherlands. The results indicate that a country's masculinity index is hardly related to the use of gender stereotyping in printed advertising, potentially implying that other factors underlie the use of gender stereotyping. Key words: Gender stereotyping, UK and the Netherlands, advertising, content analysis, masculinity index