Who Does the Housework? Turkish Consumer Responses to Gendered Role Portrayals in Advertisements

Abstract

Gender role portrayals in advertisements reflect how gender is seen in societies. Also advertisers use gender role portrayals to change the understanding of genders in the society with the help of advertising. Consumers always have an emotional relation with gender role portrayals and create an advertising and brand image in their minds with the usage of these gender roles in advertisements. In the creation process of advertising, the positioning strategy of brand in the market and the social change of the society are important for how gender role portrayals are used in the advertisements. The perception and attitudes of female and male consumers’ are affected by the gender roles in advertising, so gender role portrayals can play the key role in brand image and buying decision.

The aim of the study is to measure the attitudes and beliefs of female and male Turkish consumers towards gender role portrayals who do housework in different positions in magazine advertisement. And also analyze how consumer perception and buying decisions are effected by gender roles.

The research was conducted in Istanbul to 500 respondents with questionnaire method. Researchers created a fictional magazine advertisement that measured the attitudes towards gender equality of males and females in housework roles.

Ad. A: Female is doing housework and male is reading newspaper
Ad. B: Female and male are sharing housework
Ad. C: Male is doing housework and female is reading newspaper

The results indicate that age, income and education level have affected the attitudes of male and female consumers in Turkey towards the gender role portrayals in magazine advertisements.