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Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine contemporary female response to gender
role portraying in advertising across two different countries at the border of the EU namely
Ukraine and Turkey. While their advertising history remains different both have been for a
long time influenced by western lifestyle perceptions and brands.
Design/methodology/approach – Survey data, collected by questionnaires, 150 respondents
respectively in Ukraine and in Turkey were first analysed separately using principal
components analysis to identify the underlying dimensions of attitudes towards gender role
portraying in advertising. The factor congruency technique was then used to examine the
extent of similarity between the two samples. Principal component and multiple attribute
score were then used to summarise attitude across the various sections in the questionnaire.
Findings –The result indicated significant difference in female responses between two
samples..
Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to a particular sample. Future
research should include media content analysis over a longer period of time. As well as more
qualitative techniques to understand better salient factors.
Practical implications – The findings of this study suggest that international advertisers need
to take careful consideration while using gender role portrayals in their advertising for Turkish
and Ukrainian consumers. Therefore what may be acceptable in one country may not be
accepted in the other but most of all old stereotypes are hard to die and local cultural
influences remain strong.
Originality/value – This article examines consumer response to gender role portrayals in ads
in countries that have been seldom studied. Both being new potential EU candidates, we argue
that gender stereotype could also be use as a barometer of progress and closure towards a
more general EU accepted behaviour towards women in the industry.
Keywords Attitude, Gender stereotypes, Advertising, Ukraine, Turkey, Advertising
effectiveness
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Many measures are currently used to evaluate the appropriateness of new member states
accession to the EU. Many have criticise these rules being too economistic, and a poor
reflection of the actual motivation, way of life and expectation of the population under
concerns. “Most ad campaigns invoke gender identity, drawing their imagery primarily from
the stereotyped iconography of masculinity and femininity” (Schroeder and Zwick, 2004,
p.21). Stereotypically the male embodies the active subject, while the female occupies the
passive subject, these stereotypes dictate what is seen as attractive, desired by others
(Schroeder and Borgerson, 2003), and the ‘ideal’ to aspire to. Consequently it can be seen
that the image projected in advertising now, as in the past, provides a key to understanding
how we make sense of ourselves and the world we live in (Schroeder, 2004). Askegaard
(1991) maintains that socio-cultural identity concerns questions such as ‘who are we and who
are the others?’ and ‘how are we related to each other?’. We contend here that these
dimensions should be seen as key factor in measuring ‘real possible’ European integration.
Consequently advertising influences both cultural and individual concepts of identity, as
individuals are enabled to use advertising images as “visual department store[s] of symbolic
possibilities that can be tried on, adopted, altered, or discarded in keeping with their desired
self” (Hirschman and Thompson, 1997, p.54). Findings are derived from a survey
encompassing 56 statements over five key dimensions (general advertisement sensitivity (9),
role portrayal (30), effect on company image (3), purchase intention (4) and female
consciousness (10)) explored in the literature. This paper first provides a brief review of the
literature concerning gender role portraying in advertising, and feminine consciousness in our
case study countries. Attention then turns to the issue of methodology. The final section
provides a synopsis and discussion of the more salient themes which have arisen from our
analysis and concluding statements.
Literature Review:
Gender role portraying in advertising – an overview
Gender stereotyping in advertising is a major debate since the late 1960s (Odekerken-
Schroder et al., 2002). It has been claimed that women are often portrayed as dependent on
men or subservient to them, e.g. in a home setting; mostly sown as preoccupied with their
physical attractiveness, behaving as sex objects or decorations, and as product users or
demonstrators. These stereotypical portrayals seem to have even increased in some ways
during the last decade (Ferguson, Soley, Maracek, Gilly in Ford et al., 1998). Three main
types of studies are usually carried out to measure gender role portrayal including (a) content
analysis of magazines and or television ads XXXX, (b) survey and experimental studies of
consumer groups’ role portraying XXX and (c) critical studies concentrating on ideological
themes and impacts XXXXX.
Role portrayal in advertisements has been recognised as affecting society members’ self-
concept, achievement aspiration and self-images (Moschis and Moore, 1982, in Ford, Voli,
Honeycutt and Casey, 1998). The ‘ideal’ body image is associated with the “good life”
(Myers and Biocca, 1992), furthering individual’s desires to peruse such an image. With our
bodies becoming recognised as a montage upon which people attach meanings (Patterson and
Elliott, 2002), there is no counter argument in the literature that body image represents gender
identity whether attainable or not. Additionally Patterson and Elliott (2002, p.233) contrive
body image as a continual process or ‘project’; arguing that bodies are “not accepted as given;
rather they are malleable, capable of being transformed and reconstructed”. This brings into
question how reliable female body image is as both a construction and symbol of
feminity/masculinity, if it can be “transformed and reconstructed” (Patterson and Elliott,
2002, p.233) to portray roles or to be moulded to suit any purpose. Most of these differences
influence the degree of gender stereotyping in advertising of a given country. Ads will differ
for example regarding simple criteria such as models’ age, models’ type of fashion (e.g.
seductive vs. modest), type of setting (working vs. lifestyle/leisure), psychological state,
models’ relation to depicted products etc. Indeed Sandikci’s (1998) model proposes gender
identity to be complex, fluid and multi-dimensional truly reflecting how societies perceive
gender. Furthermore, individuals undergo a process of constant negotiation and renegotiation
(Patterson and Elliott, 2002), adding weight to this view. Patterson and Elliot (2002) have
concluded that gender remains central to the world of advertising, with advertising playing “a
strong role in promulgating dualistic gender roles and prescribing…identities” (Schroeder and
Zwick, 2004, p.21). Not only does advertising broadcast gender identity, it assists in the
construction and reinforcement of gender identities (Ritson and Elliott, 1999; Myers and
Biocca, 1992; Schroeder and Borgerson, 1998). Moreover, Schroeder (2004) maintains that
advertising does not exist in a vacuum, it is connected to both media and cultural worlds, and
historical frameworks that inform “production, consumption, circulation and interpretation”
(Schroeder, 2004, p.238) of images. Advertising affects us and we affect advertising”
(Lammon and Cooper, 1983 cf. Gustafson, 2001, p.205). Advertising does not control us, nor
is it responsible for solely creating gender identities that must be adhered to. It influences us
in many subtle ways, creating images of ‘perfection’ leading to unattainable gender images, to
which we can only aspire but can also be used in other manners such as ‘proxy barometer’ in
other context such as EU accession.
Advertising has always been part of Turkish way of life. Multiple medias types are available
and only loosely controlled by the government (RTUK and RK). Turkey also has access to
many satellite channels coming from the Arabic world and Europe exercising a
counterbalancing influence while highlighting clear cultural clashes. The large expatriated
Turkish community in Europe is also mediating the understanding and interpretation of many
advertisements. Traditionally advertisements have been promoting modernity and global
brands using a mix of humour and national pride. Turkey has often developed strong national
brands instead of generic brands used in many other countries. National vs international brand
competition is still strong in Turkey. This still influences consumption patterns and to many
examples of boycott threats depending on country of origin.
Until December 1991, Ukraine was a part of unified country Soviet Union. According to some
of the principles that Soviet constitution declared, - such as the equality and opportunity for
everyone, - females were treated more or less equal to males in many aspects of the society.
Feminism and feminism movement were institutionalised. From the 1930s through the early
perestroika years, Soviet’s women were employed outside the home and at the same time
were managing most of traditional household tasks (Six, 2005; Zhurzhenko, 2001). Great
flexibility, initiative and active behaviour of many women helped them survive during the
hard years of communism and perestroika (Six, 2005). After the Soviet Union collapsed and
during most of the 1990s Ukrainian woman were often described as in the position of the
main provider for the family (Zhurzhenko, 2001). Today, Ukrainian contemporary women are
certainly experiencing more gender discrimination in salary level, employment, carrier
promotion etc. During the Soviet Union era female represented 35% of parliamentary seats.
However, when the Soviet Union collapsed, this external constraint vanished, and women
representation has fallen to 9.8% of the total legislative number (Buckley 1997). During the
Soviet era, women’s pay averaged 70% of man’s, though now it averages only 40% (Linz
1996).
Advertising in the Ukraine and former Soviet Union is not new Richman (1974) noted that
goods needed to be promoted to foreign and COMECON buyers. However, marketing mix
decision were centralised and the advertising managed by official state owned agencies.
Reklama (advertisement) were also considered as a political propaganda tool (Wells, 1994).
The content was often informative but not directed at individual satisfaction (Yu, 1994).
Advertising was aimed at re directing demand for a greater overall economic and social
welfare (Ostlund, 1973; Hanson, 1974). Advertising of foreign products was censured and
export oriented products were presented as showing Soviet Union capabilities (Andrews,
Druvasula and Netemeyer, 1994; Feick and gierl, 1996). After 1991 the situation changed but
many consumer behaviour needed to be taken into account. Early research showed that
decision was affected by unavailability of product, indifference to media and muted response
to advertising (VonDorn and Akimova, 1998). Interpretation and reinterpretation of
advertising was seen in an interaction context rather than transaction (Wells, 1997). Consumer
experience was seen as lacking but advertising was perceived as part of the overall political
macro changes (Andrews, Druvasula and Netemeyer, 1994). Overall advertising was
perceived as positively contributing in some forms. Brand awareness was considered as low
and mainly all in consumer products categories, on social responsibilities responses were
sceptical (Sangwan and Golovkina, 2000).
Methodology
Data were collected through a questionnaire via face-to face interview in both countries. 56
statements designed to assess feminine role portrayal orientation were included in the survey.
The different part within the questionnaire were constructed from the various concepts in the
literature review and include the following aspects: attitudes toward advertising, perceived
advertising role portrayals, statements regarding image of a companies using such practices,
purchase intentions towards the products of these companies (Lundstrom and Sciglimpaglia,
1977; Ford et al., 1991; Ford et al., 1997; Ashill et al., 2004). Lastly, statements of Female
Autonomy Inventory developed by Arnott (1972) were used to identify the traditionalism
versus modernism of the respondents. Several statements were slightly updated according to
the modern conventions. Respondents were informed about the general purpose of the survey.
Responses were measured using five-point Liker-type scale ranging from 1- Strongly
Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree. The survey instrument was translated into Russian and
Turkish from English using the accepted back to back technique to ensure its accuracy.
General demographic information (e.g. gender, age) were collected at the end.
A total of 280 filed questionnaires were analysed. The population of this study was adult
females over the age of 18 who reside in Ukraine (Dnepropetrovsk city) and Turkey
(Istanbul). The sample was drawn using the ‘non probability’ convenience sampling method.
The strategy behind the study is primarily exploratory; to define and clarify factors of gender
portrayal in advertising at the border of the EU, but also explanatory; to understand if possible
the key factors and the relationship between them that encourage positive gender portrayal
development. Our objective is not to draw final conclusion about the state of gender portrayal,
instead given the limited fieldwork this study illustrates patterns appearing and concentrate
mainly on the positive factors affecting both countries.
The results are organised following themes that have emerged from the mapping of the
questionnaires. They follow the reasoning of the consumers over the issues of gender role
portrayal surrounding the main topics of this article We start by present an overview of the
results and questions asked. Table XX present the mean score for each statement in Turkey
and Ukraine.
Exhibit 1
An Examination of the Attitudes of Contemporary Women Toward Sex Role Portrayal,
Company Image and Purchase Intention
TURKEY UKRAINE
MEAN STD MEAN STD
(N- (N-
QUESTION 135) DEV 145) DEV
1 My attitude towards advertising in general is positive 2,51 1,14 2,65 1,17
2 Most advertisements are believable 3,22 1,19 3,41 1,04
3 I usually buy products that are advertised 3,22 1,21 3,09 1,09
4 Advertising can push me to buy things that I don’t need 3,78 1,16 3,31 1,22
General attitude
50 Women should be as free as men to make decisions 1,53 0,98 1,78 0,92
Women's Responses to Sex Role Role Portrayal, Company Image & Purchase Intetion
% Agree
WHOLE
STATEMENT TURKEY UKRAINE DATA
1 My attitude towards advertising in general is positive 50,20 53,10 51,60
2 Most advertisements are believable 64,39 68,14 66,20
3 I usually buy products that are advertised 64,47 61,81 63,18
4 Advertising can push me to buy things that I don’t need 75,69 66,15 71,08
General attitude
Exhibit 3
Correlates of Women's Attitudes Toward Female Role Portrayal in Advertising
Personal Household Characteristics*
Turkey Employmet
Education
Status
Income
Turkey Marital
Status
Age
Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine
Turkey
Turkey
Turkey
STATEMENT
3 if it will offer me attractive benefits 0,01 0,23 7 0,08 3 0,16 0,10 0,25 5 0,20
4 If I can relate to the woman in the advertisement it -0,1 -0,1 -0,0
4 encourages me to buy the product/ service 0,24 0,05 0 0,05 0,09 3 0,13 0,06 0,07 1
4 -0,0 -0,1 -0,0 -0,0 -0,0 -0,0
5 Advertising are more memorable if they use a women 1 4 0,03 0,11 7 3 0,06 0,03 1 4
4 If advertising of a product offends me I will look for -0,4 -0,0 -0,0 -0,0 -0,2
6 substitutes 0,14 7 1 0,06 0,07 8 0,10 8 0,21 8
4 -0,1 -0,0 -0,0
7 Obedience of the wife to her husband is important 0 0,00 0,38 0,02 9 0,09 0,11 3 0,00 0,00
4 Women should be able to do the all the different -0,2 -0,2 -0,0 -0,0 -0,1 -0,1 -0,1
8 types of housework 3 6 0,35 2 0,00 6 0,02 1 1 6
4 -0,2 -0,0 -0,0
9 It is the men responsibility to initiate courtship 0 8 0,29 0,14 0,05 0,05 0,06 0,00 5 0,06
5 Women should be as free as men to make -0,1 -0,0 -0,0 -0,1 -0,0 -0,0
Statements regarding
decisions
5 Women should not subordinate their careers for their -0,2 -0,1 -0,0 -0,0
1 husbands 0 0,12 0,04 0,08 0,14 3 0,01 7 7 0,04
5 -0,1 -0,3 -0,1 -0,2
2 Motherhood is an ideal career for women 8 1 0,43 0,04 0,01 0,07 0,19 0,09 2 3
5 -0,2 -0,3 -0,0 -0,1
3 Women can have as many sexual partners as they wish 0,14 0,20 7 0 0,04 0,03 4 5 0,01 0,15
5 -0,1 -0,0 -0,1 -0,0 -0,1
4 Husband should be legal family representative 8 8 0,29 0,11 1 3 0,21 0,16 7 0,02
5 Only women should decide how many children to have or -0,1 -0,0 -0,0 -0,0 -0,0
5 not 0 0,08 2 0,02 0,10 0,08 7 5 8 0,13
5 Sexual discrimination for work is not an issue -0,1 -0,0 -0,0
6 anymore 0,00 4 0,15 0,09 0,18 0,17 0,21 2 5 0,10
* Pearson product moment correlation coefficients
Cluster analysis
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