Content Analysis of the Portrayal of Woman in Television Advertisements

Commercial advertisements as one of television’s programs are effective in presentation and reproduction of women’s position in society and continuity of gender stereotypes. The main purpose of this research is the study of gender stereotypes. In this regard, theory of gender representation of Goffman and symbolic annihilation of Tuchman were used. In this study firstly, the advertisements were segregated according to their subjects and then were studied regarding their gender stereotypes to specify if there is in Iran, differentiation in stereotyping. The method used was quantitative content analysis with reverse questionnaire. Population was commercial advertisements from 20:00 to 23:00 among three channels (channel 1, 2 and 3). The results showed that there is significant relation between gender of performer and presence in advertisements, main character of advertisements, touching of objects, ritual subordination, and voice of narrator and the subject of the advertisements do not affect their method of presentation. This is due to the outstanding stability of gender stereotypes in commercial advertisements behind the subject of advertisements. According to these results, gender stereotypes are re-produced and depicted regardless of what the subject of advertisements is.