| Abstract: |
Gender stereotype refers to socially shared beliefs about behaviours
and roles considered appropriate for men and women. Gender
stereotypes in advertising have been a continuing problem in the
media world, influencing the perception of the audience and the
society around the proper roles of men and women. The study
“Gender Stereotypes in Advertising: Shaping Audience Perceptions
and Social Norms” investigates the manner of depicting men and
women in Nigeria's commercials, the effect of these depictions on
the audience's perception, and the social implications of advertising
based on stereotypes in a larger context. Besides, it also analyses the
power of advertisements via the non-stereotypical route to prevail
over customary gender norms. A desktop research (secondary
research) method is utilised in the study which relies on a
comprehensive examination of scholarly literature, and reports.
Analyses from the literature show that men are mostly presented as
powerful, self-sufficient, and making-their-own-decisions while
women are having the roles of being at home, beautiful, or helping.
Such images affect the audience's views, making the existing gender
bias and the public's expectations about gender roles stronger. On
the contrary, new anti-stereotypical advertisements, which are
culturally honest and contextually pertinent, claim to be the
contributors to changing the perception of gender roles to be more
equal. The research draws attention to the immense power of media
in determining the gender roles and proposes the tactics of counterstereotypical advertising promotion, media literacy reinforcement,
regulatory frameworks implementation, and diversity
encouragement in creative teams as the means of tackling the issue
of stereotypical portrayals. By doing so, the research also helps to
uncover the dynamics of how advertising can be a source or a
battleground of traditional gender roles in Nigeria. |
