Because of the feminists the most ordinary verbal exchange between men and women now reverberates with new meaning; the most simple gesture, familiar ritual, taken-for-granted form of address has become a source of new understanding with regard to relations between the sexes and the social forces at work behind those relations (Gornick 1976, p. vii)
Abstract
The analysis of visual imagery in magazine advertising can be approached directly or indirectly insofar as gender messages are concerned. Using Goffman's theoretical underpinning, some of the more subtle clues regarding gender relations, gender stereotyping, and gender roles were explored. Over 1000 advertisements, selected from Good Housekeeping, Sports Illustrated, Time, MS, Gentlemen's Quarterly, and Rolling Stone were content analyzed using Goffman's decoding behavior methodology. The results demonstrated that the feminine touch and ritualization of subordination were fairly often discovered; licensed withdrawal occurred somewhat; and relative size, function ranking, and the family very infrequently. The findings reported were provocative and suggestions for future research are enumerated.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akert, R. M., & Chen, J. (1984, April). Gender display: The incidence of facial prominence in print and television media. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Baltimore, Md.
Archer, D., Iritani, B., Kimes, D. D., & Barrios, M. (1983). Face-isms: Five studies of sex differences in facial prominence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 725–735.
Basaw, S. A. (1986). Gender stereotypes (2nd ed.) Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.
Belkaoui, A., & Belkaoui, J. J. (1976). A comparative analysis of the roles portrayed by women in print advertisements, 1958, 1970, 1972. Journal of Marketing Research, pp. 168–172.
Berger, J. (1985). Ways of seeing, London: British Broadcasting Corp. and Penguin Books.
Courtney, A. E., & Lockeretz, S. W. (1971). Woman's place: An analysis of the roles portrayed by women in magazine advertisements. Journal of Marketing Research, pp. 92–95.
Courtney, A. E., & Whipple, T. W. (1983). Sex stereotyping in advertising. Lexington, MA; Lexington Books.
Duncan, M. C. (1990). Sports photographs and sexual difference: Images of women and men in the 1984 and 1985 olympic games. Sociology of Sport Journal, 7, 22–43.
Ferguson, M. (1983). Forever feminine: Women's magazines and the cult of femininity. Exeter, NH: Heinemann Educational Books.
Franzwa, H. H. (1975). Female roles in women's magazine fiction. In R. Unger & F. Denmark (Eds.), Women: Dependent and independent variable. New York: Psychological Dimensions.
Geise, L. A. (1979). The female role in middle class women's magazines from 1955 to 1976: A content analysis of nonfiction selections. Sex Roles, 5, 51–62.
Goffman, E. (1976). Gender advertisements. Studies in the Anthropology of Visual Communication, 3, 65–68.
Goffman, E. (1979). Gender advertisements. New York: Harper & Row.
Hall, M. A. (1985). Knowledge and gender: Epistemological questions in the social analysis of sport. Sociology of Sport Journal, 2, 25–42.
Holsti, O. R. (1969). Content analysis for the social sciences and humanities. Reading MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
Kaplan, M. F., & Miller, C. E. (1987). Group decision making and normative versus informational influence: Effects of type of issue and assigned decision rule. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 306–313.
Marchand, R. (1985). Advertising the American dream. Berkeley: University of California Press.
McLuhan, M. (1963). Understanding media. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Phillips, E. B. (1978). Magazine heroines: Is Ms just another member of the Family Circle? In G. Tuchman, A. K. Daniels, & J. Benet (Eds.), Hearth and home: Images of women in the mass media. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ruggiero, J. A., & Weston, L. C. (1985). Work options for women in women's magazines: The medium and the message. Sex Roles, 12, 535–547.
Sexton, D. F., & Haberman, P. (1974). Women in magazine advertisements. Journal of Advertising Research, 14, 41–46.
Shepard, J. M. (1984). Sociology. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.
Signorielli, N. (1989). Television and conceptions about sex roles: Maintaining conventionality and the status quo. Sex Roles, 21, 341–360.
Skelly, G., & Lundstrom, W. (1981). Male sex roles in magazine advertising, 1959–1979. Journal of Communication, 31, 52–57.
Wagner, L. C., & Banos, J. D. (1973). A woman's place: A follow-up analysis of the roles portrayed by women in magazine advertisements. Journal of Marketing Research, May, 213–214.
Additional information
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Tracy Ellman for his assistance in this research project, and to Richard A. Stivers, Raymond L. Schmitt, and William L. Tolone for their theoretical and methodological contributions.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Belknap, P., Leonard, W.M. A conceptual replication and extension of erving goffman's study of gender advertisements. Sex Roles 25, 103–118 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289848
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289848