A Content Analysis of Gender Stereotyped Portrayals in Television Commercials: How Have They Changed over the Thirty-Three Years？

This paper analyzes frequency of stereotypic portrayals of women and men and the temporal changes of stereotypes through the television commercials broadcasted in the year between 1961 and 1993. The results were as follows: (a) women and men in commercials were generally portrayed in accordance with traditional gender stereotypes; (b) stereotypic portrayals decreased over 33 years as to some aspects but increased as to other aspects. Thus, it was concluded that efforts to reduce traditional gender stereotypes in television commercials in Japan have only met with limited success