Gender Stereotypes in Japanese Television Advertisements

The aim of this study was to reveal gender portrayal types in Japanese television advertisements through content analysis. Five hundred and thirty-one adult main characters were coded for sex, age, ethnic background, credibility, role, place, dress, background, persuasion type, camera work, camera angle, product type, target, and sex of voice-over. Five types were found by performing quick cluster analysis: “beautiful and wise housewives,” “young ladies attracting people's attention,” “young celebrities,” “middle- and old-aged people enjoying private time,” and “middle-aged worker bee.” The first three were mainly women and the latter two were mainly men. The results indicate that in Japanese television advertisements men and women are portrayed differently, and the differences correspond with traditional gender stereotypes.