The portrayal of women in television advertisements on SABC3: A reflection on stereotypical representation

Media representations of minority groups particularly representations of women has been a popular and contested area of research and an important issue in public debate. This study involves an analysis of sampled television advertisements drawn from SABC3. The way that the media represents women is a part of women’s issues. These issues in South Africa continue to feature prominently in state policy and initiatives that emphasise the point that many of the issues that have faced women in the past require constant revisiting to understand the current state of women in society. The aim of this study is to explore the ways that female characters are portrayed in South African advertising content and to compare this with how male characters are portrayed. The premise of this study is that female characters are stereotyped resulting in a limited view of women in advertising content. Upon examination of the advertisements it was found that female characters are still stereotyped and portrayed in line with traditional roles associated with women, while a more significant change was found in how male characters are portrayed. In conducting this analysis, this study highlights the importance of continued research in the field of gender studies as a means of measuring the media’s representation of women against social change and development.

Publisher: University of the Witwatersrand
Year of Publication: 2008