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The Stereotypes of Black and White Women in Fashion Magazine Photographs: The Pose of the Model and the Impression She Creates

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Abstract

We examined the portrayal of women in magazine advertisements and fashion spreads. In Study 1, photographs were selected from Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Vogue (N = 226), and a content analysis showed that the incidence of stereotyping is still prevalent. However, counter to our hypothesis, Black models were portrayed significantly less often in explicitly sexual poses, but significantly more often in submissive poses, than White models were. In Study 2, 64 students gave their impressions of eight models from either advertisements or fashion spreads whose race, immigration status, and stereotypic pose varied. The results showed that the impression of Black models in advertisements was counter to the stereotype of Black women. Within fashion photographs, Black or immigrant models in a submissive pose and White or non-immigrant models in an explicitly sexual pose were judged to be particularly intelligent and achievement-oriented. The implications of these results are discussed.

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Notes

  1. Similar results have been found in television commercials. For example, Coltrane and Messineo (2000) found that 86% of characters in prime-time advertisements were White, whereas 11% were Black, and the remaining 3% representing other ethnic groups (Asian, Latino/a).

  2. The goal was to select approximately 60 photographs for each cell of the design. Because less than 60 pictures that featured Black women were found, an additional number of White advertisements and fashion photographs were chosen to get closer to the desired cell size. As Study 1 was Millard’s thesis, an expansion of the number of magazine issues was not possible due to time constraints.

  3. Write to the authors for a complete set of biographies.

  4. A significant race by type of photograph by stereotypic pose interaction was also obtained (see Table 3). In a subsidiary analysis of the models shown in fashion spread photographs a significant main effect confirmed that White models were considered to be more attractive than Black models, F(1, 31) = 5.59, p<0.05. In essence, this three-way interaction was obtained because the attractiveness of the models in advertisements varied with race and pose. As Table 3 shows and a subsidiary analysis confirms, White and Black models in a submissive pose (licensed withdrawal) and Black models in an explicitly sexual pose (body display) pose were judged to be equally attractive and more attractive than White models in an explicitly sexual (body display) pose in these advertisements. This isolated finding could easily be a Type 1 error.

  5. Two significant race by immigrant status by stereotypic pose interactions were obtained on the measures of intelligence and achievement-orientation, F(1, 62) = 7.63, p<0.01; F(1, 62) = 11.64, p<0.01, respectively. The means suggest, however, that these interactions are significant because the ratings of the White models varied in response to their immigrant status and the stereotypic pose that they portrayed. The only other significant finding that involved race and immigrant status was a type of photograph by race by immigrant status interaction found in the analysis of the achievement-orientation ratings, F(1, 62) = 9.89, p<0.01. Subsidiary analyses showed that the race by immigrant status interaction was significant, F(1, 31) = 8.82, p<0.01, for the ratings of models in the fashion spread photographs, but not for the ratings of models in the advertisements. Specifically, in fashion spreads Black immigrants were judged to be more achievement-oriented than Black non-immigrants (5.12 versus 4.81), whereas White immigrants were judged to be less achievement-oriented than White non-immigrants (4.86 versus 5.22).

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Acknowledgments

We made equal contributions to this paper and share senior authorship. We thank our research assistant, Farzana Karim-Tessem, for her valuable assistance with Study 2. Study 2 was funded by a grant from the Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration (final report available at: http://www.pcerii.metropolis.net). We acknowledge the support of the Metropolis Project, which is funded primarily by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Citizenship and Immigration Canada, as well as other Federal Government Ministries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, University of Saskatchewan, 9 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A5, Canada

    Jennifer E. Millard & Peter R. Grant

Authors
  1. Jennifer E. Millard
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  2. Peter R. Grant
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Correspondence to Peter R. Grant.

Appendix

Appendix

Gender Role Stereotypes: Categories, Variables, and Coding Scheme

Categories

Variables

Coding scheme

Licensed withdrawal

1—Smile

Yes=1, No=0

2—Head/eye aversion or withdrawal from scene at large

(range 0–3)

3—Covering mouth or face with hand/object

 

Ritualization of subordination

1—Not holding body erect

Yes=1, No=0

2—Body or head cant

(range 0–4)

3—Reclining/sitting on some surface (bed or floor)

 

4—Knee bend/crawling/lying on front

 

Feminine touch

1—Cradling and/or caressing object with hands or finger

Yes=1, No=0

2—Touching self (covering breasts)

(range 0–2)

Body display

1—Body revealing clothing

Yes=1, No=0

2—Body exposure/nudity

(range 0–2)

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Millard, J.E., Grant, P.R. The Stereotypes of Black and White Women in Fashion Magazine Photographs: The Pose of the Model and the Impression She Creates. Sex Roles 54, 659–673 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9032-0

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