26th Annual Student Research Conference
It Depends on Who's Watching:
The relationship between perceived audience size and gender stereotyping in advertisements as measured by Super Bowl and primetime commercials
Samantha R. Galloway
Dr. Amber Johnson, Faculty Mentor
This study examined the relationship between sex stereotyping in a commercial and the time of year during which the commercial is aired. The hypothesis stated that commercials aired during the 2012 Super Bowl would contain more stereotypical representations of women than advertisements aired during a week of regular primetime broadcasting on the same network. The sample included 87 commercials. Primarily utilizing Goffmans criteria for measuring gender stereotyping, each commercial was coded as displaying certain aspects of stereotyping. The research supported the hypothesis, but also suggested that sex stereotyping is still common during regular weekday programming, supporting a previous study which showed that women are more often portrayed as parents, spouses, homemakers, and sex objects, regardless of time of broadcast. Sex stereotypes are still present in commercials, and their existence leads to the perpetuation of such stereotyping in society, but they appear to be utilized more during large-audience events.
Keywords: sex stereotyping, advertising, time of broadcast, Erving Goffman, audience size, gender stereotypes
Topic(s):Sociology
Women's and Gender Studies
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 10-3
Location: GEO
Time: 3:30