Gender Stereotypes in TV Commercials: A Multimodal Analysis Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1309.24Keywords:
multimodality, Algerian TV commercials, gender stereotypes, visual grammar meta-functionsAbstract
The current study examines gender stereotypes in TV commercials through the lens of multimodality. It adopts Kress and Van Leeuwen's (2006) visual grammar to decipher the visual resources that form gendered depictions in Algerian TV advertising discourse. To achieve this aim, five TV ads broadcasted on public and private Algerian TV channels were selected and downloaded from YouTube, then they were analyzed in terms of the representational metafunction, the interactive metafunction, and the compositional metafunction. Results show that Algerian TV commercials are loaded with offensive depictions for both genders. They also indicate that different multimodal resources are involved in the construction of these gendered portrayals. The study concludes with some recommendations for ad designers and TV producers.
References
Abboud, D. G. (2020). Exploring Evolving Trends of Gender Representation in Digital advertising in Egypt. Journal of Architecture, Art, and Human Science, 21, 594-610.
Adami, E. (2016). Multimodality. In O. Garcia, N. Flores, & M. Spotti (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Language and Society (pp. 451–472). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Browne, B. A. (1998). Gender Stereotypes in Advertising on Children’s Television in the 1990s: A Cross-National Analysis. Journal of Advertising, 27(1), 83–96.
Cook, G. (2001). The Discourse of Advertising. Routledge.
Fairclough, N. (1989). Language and Power. London: Longman.
Goffman, E. (1979). Gender Advertisements. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hal, A, Z. (2021). An Interactive Multimodal Analysis of the Portrayal of Women in TV Detergent Advertisements, Maǧlat Kūliyat Āladāb Ġāmyʿat Bwrsāʿyd, 18(18), 1-4.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1985). An Introduction to Functional Grammar (1st ed.). London Edward Arnold.
Hassnaoui, E. (2018). Swrat Ālmraa fy Āliʿlānāt ĀltlfzywnyaĀlmūqdma fy Qanat ālnhār Ālǧzāiyrya-Ḏrāsa Taḥlylya. Revue Algérienne de la Recherche et Des Etudes, (03), 61-76.
Hassanaath, B. (2020). Gender Stereotypes in Advertising: A Critical Discourse Analysis. Language in India, 20(1), 45–55.
Jewitt, C., Henriksen, B. (2017). Social Semiotic Multimodality. In: Klug, N-M, Stöckl, H. (eds) Handbuch Sprache im Multimodalen Kontext (Handbook of Language in Multimodal Contexts). Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter Sebeok, T. A. (2001). Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics. University of Toronto Press.
Khalil, A., & Dhanesh, G. S. (2020). Gender Stereotypes in Television Advertising in the Middle East: Time for Marketers and Advertisers to Step up. Business Horizons, 63(5), 671-679.
Kolman, P., & Tkalac Verčić, A. (2012). Consumers’ Opinions on Gender Stereotyping in Advertising. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, (2), 117-126.
Kress, G., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2001). Multimodal Discourse: The Modes and Media of Contemporary Communication. London: Arnold Publishers.
Kress, G., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. London/ New York: Routledge.
Raber, D., & Budd, J. M. (2003). Information as Sign: Semiotics and Information Science. Journal of Documentation, 59(5), 507-522.
Rubio, M. (2018). A Multimodal Approach to the Analysis of Gender Stereotypes in Contemporary British TV Commercials: “Women and Men at Work”. Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, 54(2), 185–221.
Shaikh, M., Bughio, F. A., & Kadri, S. A. (2015). The Representation of Men and Women in Advertisements: A critical Discourse Analysis. The Women-Annual Research Journal of Gender Studies, 7, 109-141.
Rizvi, S. Z., Khan, N. W., & Farooq, M. (2020). A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of E‐Advertisement Visuals. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(10), 4473‐4492.
Susanti., S. (2019). A Critical Discourse Analysis on Beauty Product Advertisements. Journal of Language Learning and Research, 2(1), 1-11.
Slak Valek, N., & Picherit-Duthler, G. (2020). Pushing for Gender Equality in Advertising: Gender Role Stereotypes in the United Arab Emirates. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 33(5), 1–14.
