Watching each other: portrayals of gender and ethnicity in television advertisements

The stereotypical depiction of men and women and of ethnic minority groups in advertisements is problematic because studies have shown that repeated exposure to selective portrayals of particular groups can lead to viewers adopting distorted beliefs about those groups. The current study examined the contemporary portrayal of men and women and of ethnic minority groups in New Zealand television advertisements. Over 3,000 advertisements were coded. Men and women were less often depicted in stereotypical roles than has previously been reported. However, White actors dominated the screen with Maori and Pacific Island people only being proportionally represented in advertisements that presented negative stereotyping. The findings were similar for Asians whose portrayal also appeared to be stereotypical. The authors call for more equitable appearances of women and ethnic minority groups.