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Advertising and Stereotyping: Women

The portrayal of women in advertising is an issue that has received a great deal of attention through the years. Advertising has received much criticism for stereotyping women and failing to recognize the changing role of women in our society. Critics have argued that advertising often depicts women as preoccupied with beauty, household duties, and motherhood or shows them as decorative objects or sexually provocative figures. The various research studies conducted through the years show a consistent picture of gender stereotyping that has varied little over time. Portrayals of adult women in American television and print advertising have emphasized passivity, deference, lack of intelligence and credibility, and punishment for high levels of effort. Men have been portrayed as constructive, powerful, autonomous, and achieving. 

http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/six-stereotypes-women-advertising/1426391