Reflections of changing gender roles in advertisements: The example of television advertisements

Gender roles reflect behavioral patterns expected from individuals, unlike biological sex; It is kept alive by the structures to which the individual is constantly exposed, such as family, school, and mass media, and is passed on to the next generations. Today's technological developments, cultural interactions and the increasing involvement of women in business life and the changes in gender roles are also reflected by these structures. This reflection and transfer is clearly seen in advertisements in mass media. Considering the mediating role of advertising in conveying gender roles and the changes in these roles, it can be said that advertisements are one of the most important media contents for examining the changes in gender roles. In this regard, the aim of the study is to examine how the change in social roles is reflected in advertisements over the years. In this study, television advertisements broadcast between 1980-2020 were examined using quantitative content analysis and descriptive analysis method. 861 advertisements were analyzed with quantitative content analysis. In the descriptive analysis, 32 advertisements collected through purposive sampling were tried to be explained in line with the categories.