Gender portrayals in food commercials: A content analysis of Spanish television advertisements

Authors

  • Eva Espinar-Ruiz University of Alicante
  • Cristina González-Díaz University of Alicante

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS642012586

Keywords:

Gender, advertising, food, television

Abstract

Content analysis of media messages from a gender perspective has a long tradition. Regarding advertising, most of the researches have been focused on generic samples of advertisements or on the advertising traditionally associated to one gender or the other. However, few authors have analyzed gender contents in food advertising, in spite of the close relationship between gender structures and the social processes of food purchase and preparation. Thus, gender representations in food advertising broadcast in Spanish television are analyzed in this article. The main results obtained show clear gender differences. This way, there is a clear predominance of the male gender in the voices-over and a more balanced situation regarding the protagonists. Besides, female protagonists are more frequently located indoors, portrayed as attractive women and connected to advertising claims related to beauty or to the healthy qualities of the product.

Author Biographies

Eva Espinar-Ruiz, University of Alicante

Assistant professor at the Deparment of Sociology II

Cristina González-Díaz, University of Alicante

Assistant professor at the Department of Communication and Social Psychology

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Published

2012-12-29

How to Cite

Espinar-Ruiz, E., & González-Díaz, C. (2012). Gender portrayals in food commercials: A content analysis of Spanish television advertisements. Observatorio (OBS*), 6(4). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS642012586

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 4 (2012)

Section

Articles

License

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