“Pax Advertisinia”: A New Era of Unstereotyping of Women in Advertising: An Abstract

Abstract

Our study is dedicated to the genesis of “Pax Advertisinia.” This genesis will be augured by advertisements that balance gratification and non-demeaning representation. The primary means of the same is to ensure that consumers are not reduced to sex objects via audiovisual stereotyping. Thus, this study will discover the means of developing unstereotyping. There have been many studies that have focused on the dynamics and complexity of stereotyping in advertisements. However, there are almost no studies that have developed an effective means and format for developing unstereotyping. This format will be the launch pad of Pax Advertisinia. Therefore, our study attempts this positive intervention by subtly scrutinizing the socioeconomic contexts of the stories of the advertisements. Such a scrutiny will be focused on the depiction of women and men as based on values that appeal to target audiences. This study would also discover their incipient appeal that foster stereotype portrayals of gender. These stereotypes reduce the efficacy and meaning-making capacity of advertising. This reduction is further seen in the activities that are also stereotyped in terms of the gender associated with them. In order to achieve these objectives and study these complex phenomena, the study has used an exploratory format. This exploratory format has been set in place in this study by qualitative methods. We effected two successive studies: content and thematic analysis. In the first study, we discovered the predominant cues related to the stereotyping and unstereotyping of women and men in advertisements. This process was carried out by two coders who followed the process with utmost scientific and systematic precision. In the second study, we were able to develop an analytical overview of the back ground and approaches central to understanding the overarching narratives and explanations necessary to understand the themes related to the stereotyping and unstereotyping of women. As a result of these two studies, we were able to develop the following key themes: caretaking of family, responsibility for health maintenance, enhanced self-determination, locus of control of domestic purchases, non-intensive physical and aesthetic pursuits, and domiciliary focus. The careful study of these themes and their juxtaposition allowed us to discover the means and modes of embedded stereotypes. Through this engagement, we were also able to set in place in the means of developing a highly effective format for the development of unstereotyping of men and women in advertisements.