26th Annual Student Research Conference
Buying Into Objectification: An Examination of the Objectification of Models in Magazine Advertisements
Miriam E. Mahder
Dr. Amber Johnson, Faculty Mentor
A culture's values can, in part, be learned by observing the ways in which men and women are portrayed in advertising. Some have argued that advertising depicts and reinforces the cultural understanding of traditional gender roles of domination and submission. The objectification of models is often used as a means to depict gender roles within advertisements. This research examines the correlations between the objectification of the models within magazine advertisements and the gender of the model, the targeted gender of the magazine, the genre of the magazine, and the product of the advertisement. Data is collected from 36 magazines selected from the Audit Bureau of Circulation's list of top 100 magazines by circulation. Ten advertisements from each magazine are analyzed, totaling 360 advertisements in all. Results indicate female models exhibit overall higher levels of objectification than male models, and magazines targeted towards male audiences portray the highest level of objectification.
Keywords: Objectification, Magazines, Advertising, Models, Cultural Values, Gender Roles
Topic(s):Sociology
Women's and Gender Studies
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 10-4
Location: GEO
Time: 3:30