The attitude of women towards female stereotypes in traditional advertising and femvertising
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15170/MM.2021.55.04.01Keywords:
feminism, femvertising, advertising, stereotypesAbstract
THE AIMS OF THE PAPER
The present study examines the female depictions and stereotypes that appear in advertisements in the three periods related to feminism, and the attitudes of women towards them. As the portrayal of women in advertisements have been constantly changing, this article compares the stereotypes of the oldest, traditional period which happened before feminism, with the latest femvertising type of advertisement, which belongs to the 4th, newest wave of feminism. This primary research seeks to answer the question: What is the attitude of women towards female stereotypes seen in traditional advertising and in femvertising?
METHODOLOGY
The current exploratory research analyzes 10 semi-structured in-depth interviews. The target group of the research consisted of working women with families aged 30-50 in Hungary. Responses were analyzed using NVivo 12 Plus software by using qualitative content analysis.
MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS
Two different opinions were reflected in the interviewees’ attitudes towards female representation in relation to both traditional and femvertising advertisements. Although Hungarian women consider it quite natural to see women portrayed as housewives and caregivers in traditional advertisements (Hofmeister Tóth - Malota 1999), yet they are increasingly aware of the lack of gender equality. Although femvertising represents diversity and in many cases inspires women (Åkestam et al. 2017, Kapoor - Munjal 2019), interviewees have not yet been able to fully accept advertising that presents women with masculine stereotypes.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The results of the research serve as a guide for marketers to portray women in their advertisements in an appropriate and varied way. The study also identifies future research directions for a deeper understanding of the topic, with a focus on further measuring the positive impact of femvertising on brand attitude or purchase intention.
Keywords: feminism, femvertising, advertising, stereotypes
Acknowledgement: The present publication is the outcome of the project „From Talent to Young Researcher project aimed at activities supporting the research career model in higher education”, identifier EFOP-3.6.3-VEKOP-16-2017-00007 co-supported by the European Union, Hungary and the European Social Fund
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