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Sex-Role Stereotyping in Television Commercials: A Review and Comparison of Fourteen Studies Done on Five Continents Over 25 Years

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Abstract

Since the pioneering content-analytic study byMcArthur and Resko (1975) on sex-role stereotyping oftelevision advertisements in America, many others haveused a similar methodology and coding scheme to examine similar stereotypes in their owncountries. This study compares and contrasts 14 studies,all using the McArthur and Resko (1975) scheme: 3 fromAmerica, 1 each from Australia, Denmark, and France, and 2 and one from Great Britain, Hong Kong,Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, and Portugal. Problemsof such a comparison are considered: specifically, theequivalence of the channel, the three different time periods, and slight variations in thecontentcategories. Nevertheless, clear patterns arisewhich attestto the universality of sex-role stereotypingin television commercials.

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Furnham, A., Mak, T. Sex-Role Stereotyping in Television Commercials: A Review and Comparison of Fourteen Studies Done on Five Continents Over 25 Years. Sex Roles 41, 413–437 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018826900972

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