Gender representations and portrayal of adults in children’s television advertising: content analysis of prime cartoon channels in India
IntroductionGender stereotyping in television advertising is a universal phenomenon and has the potential to influence children’s perceptions of gender roles. Despite India’s enormous child population, gender representation in television advertising is hardly researched.MethodsThis study was conduct...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1234678/full |
| _version_ | 1797690250229710848 |
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| author | Kamalakannan Ravishankaran Chitra Nakkeeran Senthilkumar |
| author_facet | Kamalakannan Ravishankaran Chitra Nakkeeran Senthilkumar |
| author_sort | Kamalakannan Ravishankaran Chitra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionGender stereotyping in television advertising is a universal phenomenon and has the potential to influence children’s perceptions of gender roles. Despite India’s enormous child population, gender representation in television advertising is hardly researched.MethodsThis study was conducted using a content analysis methodology to examine gender stereotypes in children’s television advertising in India. A total of 189 unique advertisements were selected from six prime cartoon channels, namely Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Hungama, Cartoon Network, Discovery Kids, and Pogo TV. A stratified constructed sample of 319 central figures from 102 hours of TV viewing was collected over two consecutive weeks in November 2018 during children’s prime-time viewings.ResultsThis study examines gender role cues in children’s television advertising using McArthur and Resko’s coding method. The sample was subsequently analyzed using chi-square statistics, and the findings were contextualized and compared with those from other Asian nations. The results indicated that men significantly dominate (voice-over, product authority, autonomous roles, fact-based arguments, other products, end comments, pleasure, and practical rewards), whereas females are stereotyped (dependent roles, product users, portrayal of domestic products in domestic settings, opinion-based arguments, and self-enhancement rewards).DiscussionHowever, the results reveal a reduction in certain stereotypical aspects, such as a significant increase in women performing voice-overs and portraying characters with product authority and autonomy, while men exhibit increased involvement with domestic products and rewards such as self-enhancement, practical, and pleasure rewards. The theoretical (social learning and role congruity theory) and practical implications for advertisers and marketers are discussed based on these findings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:56:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19cd3f345e7749998a19a090b8d4261d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:56:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-19cd3f345e7749998a19a090b8d4261d2023-09-08T00:42:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-09-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.12346781234678Gender representations and portrayal of adults in children’s television advertising: content analysis of prime cartoon channels in IndiaKamalakannan Ravishankaran ChitraNakkeeran SenthilkumarIntroductionGender stereotyping in television advertising is a universal phenomenon and has the potential to influence children’s perceptions of gender roles. Despite India’s enormous child population, gender representation in television advertising is hardly researched.MethodsThis study was conducted using a content analysis methodology to examine gender stereotypes in children’s television advertising in India. A total of 189 unique advertisements were selected from six prime cartoon channels, namely Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Hungama, Cartoon Network, Discovery Kids, and Pogo TV. A stratified constructed sample of 319 central figures from 102 hours of TV viewing was collected over two consecutive weeks in November 2018 during children’s prime-time viewings.ResultsThis study examines gender role cues in children’s television advertising using McArthur and Resko’s coding method. The sample was subsequently analyzed using chi-square statistics, and the findings were contextualized and compared with those from other Asian nations. The results indicated that men significantly dominate (voice-over, product authority, autonomous roles, fact-based arguments, other products, end comments, pleasure, and practical rewards), whereas females are stereotyped (dependent roles, product users, portrayal of domestic products in domestic settings, opinion-based arguments, and self-enhancement rewards).DiscussionHowever, the results reveal a reduction in certain stereotypical aspects, such as a significant increase in women performing voice-overs and portraying characters with product authority and autonomy, while men exhibit increased involvement with domestic products and rewards such as self-enhancement, practical, and pleasure rewards. The theoretical (social learning and role congruity theory) and practical implications for advertisers and marketers are discussed based on these findings.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1234678/fullchildrenadultstelevision advertisinggender stereotypescontent analysisAsian countries |
| spellingShingle | Kamalakannan Ravishankaran Chitra Nakkeeran Senthilkumar Gender representations and portrayal of adults in children’s television advertising: content analysis of prime cartoon channels in India Frontiers in Psychology children adults television advertising gender stereotypes content analysis Asian countries |
| title | Gender representations and portrayal of adults in children’s television advertising: content analysis of prime cartoon channels in India |
| title_full | Gender representations and portrayal of adults in children’s television advertising: content analysis of prime cartoon channels in India |
| title_fullStr | Gender representations and portrayal of adults in children’s television advertising: content analysis of prime cartoon channels in India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender representations and portrayal of adults in children’s television advertising: content analysis of prime cartoon channels in India |
| title_short | Gender representations and portrayal of adults in children’s television advertising: content analysis of prime cartoon channels in India |
| title_sort | gender representations and portrayal of adults in children s television advertising content analysis of prime cartoon channels in india |
| topic | children adults television advertising gender stereotypes content analysis Asian countries |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1234678/full |
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