The Effect of Advertisements on Sex-Role Perception

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Abstract This study measured the effect of advertisements on female’s sex-role perception. A number of 39 female participants took part in this experiment. They were divided into the control condition and the experimental condition by random assignment. The control condition viewed 20 neutral advertisement slides. In the experimental condition, the participants were exposed to sexually-biased advertisements. The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) was administered as pretest and posttest. It was hypothesized that participants in the experimental group would show a more feminine sex-role perception after the experiment. The results showed a shift towards a more feminine sex-role perception in both groups at posttest. next page To what extent do advertisements affect our sex-role perception? There have been many studies about exposure to media and its effects on human beings. In this study, we aim to look specifically at the effect of exposure to magazine advertisements on female college students’ sex-role perception. Sex-roles are “attitudes, behaviors, rights, and responsibilities that a society associates with each sex” (Holt & Ellis, 1998, as cited by Konrad & Harris, 2002, p. 2). Our perception of sex-roles could be either liberal or conservative. Those who hold conservative views concerning sex-roles believe that there are obvious delineations in the roles played by men and women, while those who hold liberal views do not ascribe roles according to sex (Konrad & Harris, 2002). Therefore, a traditionalist would say that men should be more directive while women should be more nurturing, while a liberal would approve of a more androgynous role for both sexes. One example of the extent to which advertisements are gender-stereotyped can be seen in televised images of men and women. According to a survey on the U. S., an average television viewer watches six hours of
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