key research (part a)

• aim

  1. is the language of ads aimed at preschool/early elementary school children scripted differently for boys and girls?
  2. how is gender used as a discourse code to link products to gender role
• method - sample of commercials

  in this study the sample was commercials not of participants. children's tv cartoons were recorded from American channels in the autumn of 1996-97.

  three sources of cartoons:

  1. commercial networks
  2. independent stations in new England
  3. nickelodeon

  478
• gendered voices - procedure


  analysis of discourse styles focused on four aspects of gendered voice (how males and females use language and speech differently:

  • voice overs
  • verb elements
  • speaking lines given to boys and girls
  • use of the word "power" in ads aimed at boys
• gendered voices - results

  all the results illustrated 'gendered voice',

  • 78 of the 188 ads included speaking turns
  • 55% of the girl-orientated and the 53% of the boy/girl-orientated ads included speaking turns
  • the corresponding figure for boy-only ads was just 26%
  • 21% of the ads aimed at boys contained the words 'power' or ' powerful'
  • these words were used 45 times
  • the word 'power' was only used once in girl ads
• voice-overs - procedure


  voice-overs were considered to be gendered in terms of two aspects;

  1. the gender of the voice-over
  2. whether the voice-over was gender exaggerated
• voice-overs - results


  all of the sampled ads included voice-overs

  • there was a male voice-over in every one of the boy-oriented and boy/girl-oriented ads
  • 89% of the girl-oriented ads contained female voice voices but also some male voices
  • 80% of voice overs in boy-oriented ads were gender-exaggerated, and in the 87% of girl-oriented ads
• verbs - procedure


  gender-relevant verbs used in the ads were classified into:

  1. action verb elements
  2. competition/destruction verb elements
  3. agency/control verb elements
  4. limited activity verb elements
  5. feeling and nurturing verb elements
• verbs - results


  there were significantly more nurturing verb elements in girl-oriented ads. many of these verbs were linked to mothering.

  boy-oriented ads contained significantly more verb elements associated with limited activity than ads aimed at boys.

  girl-oriented ads contained significantly more verb elements associated with limited activity than ads aimed at boys
• conclusions


  analysis of children's advertising raises serious questions about the influence of TV on gender roles.

  the types of toys advertising to boys and girls reinforce traditional gender-based ideas about the play activities of boys and girls