Comparative analysis of presentation of women and men in advertising: Content analysis of gender presentation in the case of personal care products and clothing category

Behavioral patterns, lifestyles and stereotypes are presented in the advertisements as well as information about the products. In this context, ads also convey role models related to femininity and masculinity to consumers. While advertisements are presented to consumers to identify male and female role models, gender distinction is made clear through male and female stereotypes in these role models. The advertisements published in various channels reproduce the messages about how male and female identities should be. Even though the definitions put forward in the advertisements about femininity and masculinity do not overlap with social reality, they are important because they reveal the ideals that the society wants to achieve. In this study, the presentation of femininity and masculinity in commercials is discussed comparatively. The thesis aims to reveal the basic characteristics of women and men in advertising. In this study, which examined comparatively the presentation of femininity and masculinity in advertisements, content analysis was conducted. In this study, the presentation of gender roles towards women and men in advertisements was examined in the example of magazine advertisements with a focus on personal care products and clothing category. Within the scope of this research, 405 advertisements were reviewed and product-oriented and repetitive advertisements were eliminated and 278 advertisements were coded. In this study, which revealed similarities and differences in female and male presentations in advertisements in line with the findings of the research, it was found that the sexual body of the female body was frequently used in advertisements as well as the male body. It is known that advertisements aiming to attract attention in this way also increase the awareness. It is observed that sexual elements are used extensively in personal care products such as perfumes and creams and clothing advertisements. In the previous periods, while the sexual elements towards the female body were brought to the forefront, it was determined that this situation differentiated due to the cultural transformations experienced today, and the use of men in advertisements as sexual objects increased. In addition, studies conducted to date have shown that women are predominantly represented indoors. In the study, it was observed that women were presented extensively outdoors and in places where space was not used.