Abstract

This study explores female representation in Brazilian print advertising to reveal who the missing women are (i.e. the least common portrayals) and how this lack of representation can hinder women’s well-being. We undertook a content analysis of 1,387 portrayals in 1,207 advertisements covering 20 years of female representation in Brazil and involving four dimensions: the female role, age, body type, and skin color/race. By doing so, we provide both generalizable and specific evidence on the presence and portrayal of women over the years across magazine types and on intersectionality between the dimensions. Three new female roles (i.e. empowered, ornamental, and subaltern) emerged in the research process, thus extending the previous literature. Our results show that women portrayed as career-oriented, in nontraditional activities, or as being equal to men have been continuously ignored over the years. Women who are nonwhite, fat, and over 40 have also been very underrepresented, and their limited visual appearance becomes even more apparent when underrepresented features are combined (e.g. mature black women). The results indicate that the distribution of female representation in the advertisements is inconsistent with the distribution of the Brazilian female population. Theoretical and practical implications are provided so that advertising can move toward fostering and enhancing women’s well-being instead of reinforcing biased female roles and beauty standards.

摘要

本研究探讨巴西平面广告中的女性代表，以揭示失踪女性是谁（即最不常见的描绘）以及这种缺乏代表如何阻碍女性的福祉。我们对涵盖巴西 20 年女性代表的 1,207 个广告中的 1,387 个描绘进行了内容分析，涉及四个维度：女性角色、年龄、体型和肤色/种族。通过这样做，我们提供了关于多年来不同杂志类型的女性存在和描绘以及维度之间的交叉性的可概括和具体的证据。研究过程中出现了三个新的女性角色（即被授权的、装饰的和从属的），从而扩展了之前的文献。我们的结果表明，女性在非传统活动中被描绘成以职业为导向，或与男性平等多年来一直被忽视。非白人、肥胖和 40 岁以上的女性的代表性也非常低，当结合代表性不足的特征（例如成熟的黑人女性）时，她们有限的视觉外观变得更加明显。结果表明，广告中女性代表的分布与巴西女性人口的分布不一致。提供了理论和实践意义，以便广告可以朝着促进和增强女性福祉的方向发展，而不是强化有偏见的女性角色和美容标准。当结合了代表性不足的特征（例如成熟的黑人女性）时，她们有限的视觉外观变得更加明显。结果表明，广告中女性代表的分布与巴西女性人口的分布不一致。提供了理论和实践意义，以便广告可以朝着促进和增强女性福祉的方向发展，而不是强化有偏见的女性角色和美容标准。当结合了代表性不足的特征（例如成熟的黑人女性）时，她们有限的视觉外观变得更加明显。结果表明，广告中女性代表的分布与巴西女性人口的分布不一致。提供了理论和实践意义，以便广告可以朝着促进和增强女性福祉的方向发展，而不是强化有偏见的女性角色和美容标准。