Gender and Age Roles in Magazine Advertisements
In this project, you will investigate gender and age stereotypes in magazines. Look at one widely circulated magazine and evaluate how ads depict males and females of various ages (adolescence, early, middle, and late adulthood). You should evaluate physical appearance, personality, and behaviors as they are depicted in the magazine ads. You can use the attached data sheet to help organize your impressions. After completing the data collection, write a brief report that answers the following questions. Make sure to include a literature review concerning the importance of media influencing gender stereotypes.
Are all age groups represented in advertisements?
Who is underrepresented and overrepresented? Why do you think that is so?
Compare the various groups in terms of the characteristics you observed portrayed for each in the advertisements. What generalizations about age and gender do these portrayals convey?
Compare your findings to those obtained by someone who looked at a different magazine. Are your findings similar or different?
What do you conclude if they are similar? Different? If they are different, do the differences sensibly relate to differences in the apparent purpose or style of the magazines?
