Bold or Beautiful? The Duplicity of Women Protagonists in Indian Advertisements

By : Pooja Prabhavalkar, Megha Deuskar

Page No: 73-82

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to look at the portrayal of women in advertisements. Advertisements are a tool used to influence and modify consumer behaviour and attitudes and hence can have an impact on our daily lives. The portrayal of women with respect to gender stereotyping and objectification in advertisements over three decades was studied. Fifteen raters were shown five advertisements per decade starting from 1990s to the present year and chi square analysis revealed that the portrayal of women with respect to the role they play has changed over the three decades and has become less stereotypical. However the appearance ratings showed that women’s bodies continue to be portrayed as thinner and fairer than the average, thus pointing to an implied message of subtle objectification.

Authors :
Pooja Prabhavalkar : Research Fellow – Department of Psychology, Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Megha Deuskar : Assistant Professor – Department of Psychology, Fergusson College, Pune.