Gender stereotyping in Philippine television commercial

Abstract

Gender stereotyping is high in the Philippines, assuming that the equality is the basis of comparison for gender stereotyping and that stereotyping is more prevalent when advertising deviates more from gender equality (Eisend, 2010). Hence, this study aimed to analyze the representation of men and women in the selected Philippines television commercials. The general objective of the study is to find out the gender stereotyping that are reflected in the selected Philippine television commercials in terms of setting, language, characters, endorser/voiceover, over product category and to discover how do the respondents recognized the gender stereotypes in the selected Philippine television commercials in terms of personality trait, gender/occupational role. The core intention of this study was to examine the gender stereotyping in selected Philippine television commercials. Specifically, it sought answers to the following research queries: 1. What gender stereotyping exists in selected Philippine television commercials in terms of: a. Setting b. Language c. Character d. Endorser/ Voiceover e. Product Category 2. How do the respondents recognize the gender stereotyping in the television commercials in terms of: a. Personality trait b. Occupational/ gender role c. Physical Appearance This study utilized a quality method of research, content analysis and reception analysis which included an adopted questionnaire for senior high and college students, a group discussion for students on October 2018. To treat the data, the following were sued; first, to analyze the reflected gender stereotype in the selected Philippine television commercials, content analysis was used having the following elements: settings, language, characters, endorser/voiceover, product category. Second, to determine how did the participants recognized the gender stereotype in the selected Philippine television commercials in terms of personality trait, occupational/gender role, and physical appearance. Based on the findings, the following conclusions are formulated: 1. Gender stereotyping through personality traits had been most evident in the selected Philippine television commercials in the elements of character, setting and language. 2. The respondents of the group interview believed that the television commercials shown to them clearly depicts gender stereotype through the depiction of gender roles and that most of the participants had decoded the message having a negotiated position. Based on the findings, the following are recommended: 1. There is an obvious need to address the nature of advertising and ideological are still prevalent in the advertising content. The commercial content does not accurately represent society, nor does it adopt fair, unbiased representations of men and women. Research continually exposed this fact, but it is obvious that little or no change has occurred. The ideal solution would be to dispose the use of stereotypes completely, however this will only be taken away, if the key techniques that advertisers employ to make contact with audience is more realistic approach and to call for more accurate representations or rather more positive stereotypes. Not all stereotypes are negative, and advertisers can employ this counter-act the use of negative gender stereotypes. The government and media owners should support efforts concerned with the representation of women in the media that aim to raise awareness among journalists and other media professionals. 1. The government and other concerned institution should support initiatives that aspire to increase the understanding of how gender is constructed, reconstructed and contested in media discourse and the ideological implementations involved for gender transformation as well as the development of the Philippine society. 3. A wider sample should have been used in this study, as these findings are significant, yet they cannot be generalized to wider population. More concentration should have also been given to performing the qualitative analysis on a larger sample number of advertisements. 4. Future research must work towards creating a more balanced account of both male and female. This research proved that separating the two is next to impossible. The result be a more holistic study that takes into account in equal measures for both the sexes. 5. Further research might also consider a longitudinal study in which advertising content looks at representations across a certain period. A longitudinal time frame would accommodate any changes in trends and patterns. 6. A module on gender development are employed in the Understanding Culture, Society and Politics could be provided to the teachers who will teach the said subject.