Female role portrayals in Brazilian advertising: are outdated cultural stereotypes preventing change?

Abstract

The use of female stereotypes in advertising is damaging to women and society. In this study we examine how creative practitioners construct stereotypes within creative decision-making. In an era of brand social responsibility, it is important that advertising supports gender equality by using positive portrayals rather than harmful stereotypes. Hence, identifying and reporting on stereotyping that is negative is important to effect change in advertising practices. The study considers the influence of local cultural norms on stereotypes and finds that in Brazil, traditional conceptions of the role of women dominate creative decision-making. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews with advertising creative practitioners in Brazil, the research reveals their mental models of female stereotypes. Six distinct female stereotypes are elucidated: Housewife, Trophy, Sexual Object, Sexually Powerful, Professional and Object of Beauty. These stereotypes shape how females are depicted in Brazilian advertising. The identification of Trophy and Sexually Powerful stereotypes are novel within the extant literature. We recommend Brazilian creative practitioners seek to connect better with their female audiences in the future by representing them more equitably. However, this will require the support of advertising agency leaders to deliver training programmes that will eliminate practitioners' inherent biases. gender equality and empowerment (Association of National Advertisers 2017; Facebook Business 2017; Unstereotype Alliance 2018). In recent years, there have been notable examples of successful, breakthrough campaigns, which challenge female stereotypes (for example,

Gender stereotypes in advertising have negative cross-gender effects

“…The present research joins the growing body of work on the negative effects of gender stereotypes in advertising (Eisend, 2019) urging advertising and marketing professionals to reconsider their continued use of gender stereotypes for creating easily recognizable narratives is thought to connect with desirable brand values (Windels, 2016;Tuncay Zayer and Coleman, 2015;Middleton et al, 2019). That is, the argument that divergence from normative elements of stereotypes risk being evaluated negatively (Zawisza and Cinnirella, 2010) should no longer be perceived as valid in practice.…”

Consumer reactions towards femvertising: a netnographic study

“…However, there are still gender stereotypes in advertising (Hogg and Fragou, 2003;Matthes et al, 2016), and women are still represented in advertising as a sexualized object even in the post-feminism era (Amy-Chinn, 2006;Middleton et al, 2020), depending on the advertising type, gender and target country (Zawisza et al, 2018). When developing semiotic analysis to advertising narratives, several gender inequalities are still identified (Fischer, 2015;Lenton et al, 2009;Ourahmoune et al, 2014).…”

“…For example, non-stereotyped advertising is not well accepted by all target audiences (Chu et al, 2016), and some practitioners consider that, sometimes, gender stereotypes in advertising represent the reality, are appropriate and the obvious solution to create a clear and well-perceived message (Windels, 2016). However, gender stereotypes can lead to negative social consequences (Eisend, 2019), particularly for women (Middleton et al, 2020), such as body dissatisfaction, decreased self-esteem, limited job opportunities (Zotos and Tsichla, 2014) and consumer vulnerability (McKeage et al, 2018).…”

“…Marketers are conscious of that persuasiveness, but show a lack of sensitivity to reflect changes of gender roles in advertising (Matthes et al, 2016;Zotos and Grau, 2016). There are still stereotypes in advertising that damage women with portrayals of housewife, trophy, sexual object, sexually powerful and object of beauty (Middleton et al, 2020), even after post-feminist regulation for advertising (Amy-Chinn, 2006). This fact has generated criticisms in public opinion, motivating the appearance of feminist movements in the 1970s and 1980s against sexist advertising and the advocacy for progressive social change (Gavey, 2012;Maclaran, 2012Maclaran, , 2015.…”

Feminist Stereotypes and Women’s Roles in Spanish Radio Ads

“…However, it is also true that the stereotypical image of women has improved over time (Lazar, 2009;Zhou & Chen, 1997) and advertising tries hard to sell the idea of joint responsibility between men and women, balancing out the presence of women in the public sphere and men in the home (Aramendia, Olarte, & Hatzithomas, 2020;Lobo, 2011). However, some authors detect a tendency for both realities to co-exist in conflict: On the one hand, a propensity to represent women in traditional roles (Middleton, Turnbull, & de Oliveira, 2020;Vaca, Carpio, Barrazueta, & Ordóñez, 2019); and on the other, to show them as assertive, independent, with public presence (Lazar, 2009), linked to more modern roles and figures of authority (Khalil & Dhanesh, 2020;Michell & Taylor, 1990).…”