Feminist Stereotypes and Women’s Roles in Spanish Radio Ads

Abstract

This article takes a quantitative approach to Spanish radio advertising and the stereotypes and female roles that it broadcasts in a medium that has traditionally had high female audience rates in our country. From content analysis of 679 radio ads extracted from the 3 main general Spanish radio stations and collected 10 years apart, the study attempts to show the evolution (or regression) of how radio advertising portrays women. The radio in Spain has always been a medium anchored in the real world that has also provided some degree of space to broadcast social movement. #MeToo, as a phenomenon promoting female empowerment, was no exception. Therefore, this longitudinal study aims to demonstrate whether the social movements that led to increased female activism have been reflected in a change of roles and stereotypes projected by radio advertising messages. The work presented here looks at the concept of role from a dual perspective: firstly, it focuses on the role played by female voices in radio advertising items. Secondly, it works on the concept of role by assimilating it into the female image projected in radio advertising items. The results obtained between the two samples are remarkably similar, demonstrating a clear tendency to polarise the female image and confirming that women are still being portrayed in significantly traditional roles.

Female stereotypes and female empowerment in advertising: A systematic literature review and future research agenda

“…In addition, research conducted in the postfeminist era showed that the advertising industry considers local cultures and perpetuates traditional female stereotypes, including racialized ideologies (Ho & Tanaka, 2022; Middleton et al, 2020;). Despite female activists' efforts during the fourth wave of feminism, women continue to be portrayed in traditional and passive roles like parenting and housekeeping (Fajula et al, 2021; Yarimoglu, 2022).…”

“…Some studies question the validity of media and advertising discourse (Lazar, 2009; Muraveva, 2018), highlighting the persistence of stereotypes in both male‐dominated and collectivist societies (e.g., Brazil, Middle Eastern countries, Spain, Turkey; Chatti, 2022; Fajula et al, 2021; Khalil & Dhanesh, 2020; Middleton et al, 2020; Vemuri, 2021; Yarimoglu, 2022) and individualistic societies (e.g., United States; Aley & Thomas, 2021; Snow et al, 2022). These stereotypes are prevalent across different eras of feminism and advertising formats.…”

Radio, mobile communications, and women’s empowerment: Experiences in Mathare, Nairobi

“…In Kenya, community radio stations such as Realist FM in Kiambu County are embracing ICTs and providing greater opportunities to their audiences to access and participate in their radio programmes (Mwangi, 2021). Crider (2022) and Fajula et al (2021) caution that the use of radio for women's empowerment is not without its risks, and that careful attention must be paid to the content of programmes, the target audience, and the overall context in which they are broadcast. For instance, although the radio sector in Kenya is well advanced and thriving, there is still a lack of gender policies in many radio stations to address imbalances in organisational structures and programming outputs (Ntshangase, 2021).…”