Journal of Consumer Marketing

Contemporary women′s evaluation of female role portrayals in advertising

John B. Ford Michael S. LaTour William J. Lundstrom
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John B. Ford Michael S. LaTour William J. Lundstrom, (1991),"Contemporary women#s evaluation of female role portrayals
in advertising", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 8 Iss 1 pp. 15 - 28
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Judith A. Wiles, Charles R. Wiles, Anders Tjernlund, (1995),"A comparison of gender role portrayals in magazine
advertising: The Netherlands, Sweden and the USA", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 29 Iss 11 pp. 35-49 http://
dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090569510100696
Steven Lysonski, (1985),"Role Portrayals in British Magazine Advertisement", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 19 Iss 7
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 CONTEMPORARY WOMEN'S
EVALUATION OF FEMALE ROLE
PORTRAYALS IN ADVERTISING
John B. Ford
Michael S. LaTour
William J. Lundstrom

With increasing social awareness of the por-

Introduction
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trayal of women in today's advertising, this

study uses an upscale female sample to extend
previous research on women's perceptions of
their role portrayals in these media. The
results indicate that serious disenchantment
with the perceived portrayal of women still
exists for this important group of consumers.
Various attitudinal, company image, and pur-
chase intention responses were measured in
addition to salient demographic and role ori-
entation variables. The findings have impor-
tant implications for advertisers using female
models in their advertisements.
The advertising industry has been attacked by
renowned feminist activists 9,13,14 who claim vio-
lations of the dignity of women on several fronts.
In the most recent version of a nationally known
Cambridge Documentaries film, Still Killing Us
Softly,13 the advertising industry is accused of
serious misconduct, including the glorification of
violence against women, the unrealistic inferiori-
ty of anything less than "ideal beauty," women's
inferiority to men, and an increased emphasis on
women as sex objects. While advertisers creative-
ly employ female models to overcome media

John B. Ford is currently Assistant Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University. He graduated from the University of
Georgia in 1985 with a Ph.D. in Marketing. His research interests include strategic market planning, international marketing,
and the marketing of services.
Dr. Ford has written articles appearing in Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, Columbia Journal of World Business, International Marketing Review, and Journal of Business Strategy. Before
completing his graduate coursework, Dr. Ford had managerial experience in management consulting, executive recruit-
ing, international sales, and financial services.
Michael S. LaTour is currently Assistant Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University. He graduated with honors
in 1986 from the University of Mississippi with a Ph.D. in Business Administration. His research interests focus on emo-
tional response to advertising and managerial issues arising in this context. Dr. LaTour has written articles appearing in
the Journal of Consumer Marketing, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Health Care Marketing, and Journal of
Business Ethics.
William J. Lundstrom is currently Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean of the College of Business and Public
Administration at Old Dominion University. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a D.B.A. in Marketing.
His research interests include sex role portrayals of males and females, scale development in marketing, and advertising
and promotional strategy development. Dr. Lundstrom has published articles in Journal of Marketing, Journal of
Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research,
among many other marketing journals.

Vol. 8 No. 1 Winter 1991 15

 THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING
clutter,6 this controversy over female portrayals
in ads continues. According to one study,8 adver-
tisers are still guilty of incorrectly portraying
women in society.
The importance of this marketing/social
influence issue is reflected in a summary of
several articles published during the past two
decades (see sidebar). It is interesting to note
that while research findings in the 1970s indi-
cated some perceived improvements in adver-
tising's treatment of female roles,22 the use of
traditional female stereotypes (e.g., women as
primarily domestic types, sex objects, sub-
servient to men.) continued in the 1980s. 151725
The use of some stereotypical
female portrayals may have actually
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increased.
This past research has indicated that per-
ceptions of female role portrayals appear to
vary by demographic factors (i.e., feminists
tend to be more educated than traditionalists)
as well as by feminine role orientation (e.g.,
traditionalist versus feminist). Research has
found that feminists in particular are more
sensitive to the portrayal of women in adver-
tising and expect a greater emphasis on con-
temporary working women in ads. In contrast,
a study reported in The Marketing News
(1981) revealed that many traditionalist
women thought current advertising focused
too much on the working, "liberated" woman.
One study29 stated that the appropriateness of
role portrayals for the product and particular
market segments is also an important factor.
For example, traditional role depictions may
be better tolerated for household goods, while
ads for women's personal grooming products
would more likely require a career-oriented
female model.
A 1979 comprehensive review 11 predicted
that because of an increasing proportion of
women in the professional workforce and
social pressure on advertisers from growing
strength in the women's movement, the 1980s
would see an increasing emphasis on contem-
16
porary roles for women in ads. In particular,
they forecast that advertising would contain
the use of more role blending (scenes in which
no sex dominates), role switching (purchase or
use of product portrayed by persons of the
opposite sex of the stereotype), and dual roles
(portrayal of women in both traditional and
nontraditional roles simultaneously). Recent
content analyses have shown some shift in this
predicted direction, although the results have
been mixed. Ensuing perceptions of any
changes in female role portrayals may have
consequences for purchase intention and per-
ceptions of the corporate image18.
Content Analysis
At least six studies in the 1980s have
focused on content analysis of women's por-
trayals in advertisements. One of the earliest
studies4 evaluated portrayals of women in tele-
vision commercials. While the authors indicat-
ed more contemporary roles reflected in 1976
than in 1971, this trend appeared to reverse
itself when compared with a 1980 sample.
One 1983 study19 examined the portrayal of
women in magazine ads. The author found
that advertisers between 1974-75 and 1979-80
had come to portray women more often as
career-oriented as well as in nontraditional
activities. He also found that women were
being portrayed less often as dependent upon
men while men were being portrayed less
often as dominant over women and as authori-
ty figures. In contrast, however, little reduc-
tion was noted in the portrayal of women as
housewives and as being concerned with
physical attractiveness.
A later study26 compared the depiction of
women in 1964 print ads with 1984 print ads in
general interest magazines (Time and
Newsweek), women's magazines (Cosmopolitan
and Redbook) and men's magazines (Playboy
and Esquire). The authors found an increase in
overt illustrations of women used as sex objects,
in particular for general interest magazines.
A 1988 study 8 evaluated prime time televi-
sion commercials during a three-week period
 EVALUATION OF FEMALE ROLE PORTRAYALS IN ADVERTISING
Summary of Female Role Portrayal Studies
Author/Year
Leigh, Rethans, and Whitney (1987)25
Soley and Kurzbard (1986)26
Lysonski (1983)16
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Venkatesh (1980)27
Kerin, Lundstrom and Sciglimpaglia (1979)20
in October 1986 in a r e p l i c a t i o n of a 1972
study. 5 This later study found that advertisers
had m a d e some changes in their advertise-
ments, with more use of female voice-overs
and more female on-camera product represen-
tatives, but women were still being portrayed
predominantly in the home while men were
more often portrayed in a business setting.
Another 1980s study 20 compared portrayals of
women in seven general readership magazines
Focus of Article
Cognitive responses to role portrayals in ads
were examined — it was found that modern
women were more critical of ads that were
inconsistent with their role orientations.
Depiction of women in print ads was exam-
ined — an increase was found in overtness
of illustrations of women in sex object roles
in general interest magazines.
Depiction of men and women in print ads
was examined — it was found that women
continue to be portrayed as housewives, as
concerned with physical attractiveness, as
dependent upon men, and as sex objects.
General r o l e s of w o m e n in c o n s u m e r
research were examined — using the Arnott
scale to identify feminine role orientation,
the researcher found that there were signifi-
cant differences in lifestyle, consumptive
habits, and perceptions of advertising.
Trends in sex-role differentiation and the
use of sex in advertising were examined —
it was concluded that the 1980s would see
more ads with women in work-related set-
tings as well as home-oriented roles and less
use of ads with women as sex objects.
(Life, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Saturday
Review, Time, Reader's Digest, and U.S. News
and World Report) for the years 1955, 1965,
1 9 7 5 , a n d 1 9 8 5 . B e t w e e n 1975 a n d 1 9 8 5 ,
women were shown less in the home and more
in social and business settings as well as less in
"decorative" depictions. In contrast, however,
and somewhat consistent with the 1986 study, 26
the authors found that the number of women in
"alluring" sex object roles had not decreased.
17
 THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING
One of the most recent studies7 looked at 15
years of advertisements in Ms. Magazine, and
the conclusion drawn was that while the por-
trayal of women as subordinate to or as decora-
tion for men had declined over time, there had
been an actual increase in ads that portrayed
women as sex objects.
In summary, these content analyses of the
last decade indicate that improvements have
been made; however, the use of some stereo-
typical female portrayals may have actually
increased; for example, while somewhat dated,
the 1984 data 26 did indicate an increase in
overtness of sex object portrayals. Given the
importance of these issues to advertisers, it is
appropriate to reexamine the perceptions of
diverse samples of women regarding their role
portrayals in contemporary advertising.
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Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to evaluate
women's current perceptual states related to
advertising. In a 1977 study18 150 women from
the cities of Dallas and Denver were surveyed
concerning their general perceptions of
women's portrayals in advertising. The
strongest critics of female role portrayals were
women who had higher incomes, were younger,
better educated, less tradition-oriented, and
from higher-status households. Given the appar-
ent changes that have taken place in the por-
trayals of women in advertising since 1977 (as
revealed by the recent content analyses) and the
continuation of social activism over feminist
issues, the timing is appropriate for an exten-
sion of the previous work. Specifically, this
study measured perceptions of women's por-
trayals in contemporary advertising, perceived
sponsor image, and purchase intention assess-
ments, as well as salient demographic variables
and feminine role orientation as covariates.
Because content analyses have indicated that
advertisers have responded to these issues, an
underlying concern is whether the steps that
have been taken are perceived to be sufficient.
The focus of this study is to look at the upscale
female consumers, those previously found to be
most critical. The results presented in this
18
research suggest the need for prescriptive
actions for those advertisers engaged in commu-
nicating with today's female customers.
Methodology
The survey instrument, which is identical to
one used in a landmark 1977 study, 1 8
employed seventeen attitude statements (see
Exhibit 1) related to perceptions of advertising
sex role portrayals, perceived image of firms
using traditional advertising practices, and
intention to buy products of such firms.
Responses were measured with a seven-point
Likert-type scale ranging from l=Strongly
Disagree to 7=Strongly Agree. Ten statements
designed to assess feminine role orientation
were also in the survey instrument. This role
orientation summed scale, known as the
Female Autonomy Inventory, 2 was used to
identify the traditionalism versus modernism
of the respondents in their views of women's
role in society. This scale has been validated in
marketing research focusing on this issue,10-2324
and it was included in this study because of
the growth in importance of feminism as a
mediating variable for women's perceptions of
advertising.6 The specific use of Arnott's scale
was predicated on the previously justified
rationale10-27 that liberalization and changes of
sex roles are characterized by a general
increase in status and greater autonomy of
females in the purchase process. Levels of
female autonomy are well-represented by
responses to this scale.10 The same Likert-type
scaling was used to measure responses. (See
Appendix A for a list of the specific items and
pertinent statistics relating to the Female
Autonomy Inventory.)
The respondents were adult females residing
in a large MSA in the Mid-Atlantic region. The
mail survey population consisted of area mem-
bers of the League of Women Voters and the
YWCA. While this sample frame was essential-
ly a nonrandom judgment sample, it was
believed that it would effectively access the
more educated, less traditional, and higher-
income females. (See Appendix B for a profile
of the sample respondents.)
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EVALUATION OF FEMALE ROLE PORTRAYALS IN ADVERTISING

19
 THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING
Results
Respondent Perceptions
The most significant finding in this research
is that the women respondents remain critical
of female role portrayals. Since previous con-
tent analysis research suggests that advertisers
have made changes in role portrayals, it would
be reasonable to expect some lessening of the
criticism. The results of this study, however,
do not support this contention. Apparently the
changes that have been made are not sufficient
in the minds of upscale women. This reaction
can be seen in the mean responses on 12 attitu-
dinal statements found in Exhibit 1. It is appar-
ent that respondents agreed that (1) ads suggest
t h a t w o m e n are f u n d a m e n t a l l y d e p e n d e n t
upon men; (2) ads treat women mainly as "sex
objects"; (3) ads suggest that women don't do
i m p o r t a n t t h i n g s ; (4) a d s s u g g e s t t h a t a
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woman's place is in the home; (5) the respon-
dents are more sensitive to the portrayal of
women in advertising than they used to be; (6)
they find the portrayal of women in advertis-
ing to be offensive; and (7) they believe that
the portrayal of women in advertising is chang-
ing for the better. While this last perception
appears to be a positive exception, reflecting
changes verified by recent content analyses, a
comparison with the 1977 18 sample indicates
there is less agreement on this statement (see
Appendix C). Overall, the respondents were
negative about the following statements: (1)
ads which I see show women as they really
are; (2) ads which I see show men as they real-
ly are; (3) ads which I see accurately portray
women in most of their daily activities; (4) ads
suggest that women make important decisions;
and (5) ads which I see accurately portray men
in most of their daily activities. Even though
differences in sampling frames preclude statis-
tical tests for longitudinal differences, it is
nonetheless interesting to note that in compari-
son to the 1977 study, every one of the 12 atti-
tudinal items has a mean that is at least the
same, or stronger (in a "negative perception"
direction).
When examining the effect of women's role
p o r t r a y a l s in a d v e r t i s e m e n t s on c o m p a n y
image, similar results are found. The respon-
dents were in agreement that (1) companies
that use offensive ads are more likely to dis-
20
criminate against women and (2J women are
portrayed in ads as a reflection of that compa-
ny's attitude toward the woman's place in soci-
ety. In t h e 1977 s t u d y , the a g r e e m e n t was
appreciably less than in the present research.
Companies that use offensive ads
are more likely to d i s c r i m i n a t e
against women.
W h e n e x a m i n i n g the potential effects on
purchase intention, a continuation of negative
p e r c e p t i o n s is also seen. T h e r e s p o n d e n t s
were, on average, in agreement with the state-
m e n t that "if a n e w p r o d u c t , w h i c h I u s e ,
adopts an offensive ad campaign, I'll discon-
tinue using it;" and in disagreement with the
statement that "if a new product is introduced
with ads that I find offensive, I might still buy
it if it offers me benefits that I find attractive."
The respondents were basically neutral to the
statement that they w o u l d c o n t i n u e to pur-
chase other products of a company that had
offensive ads.
Another valuable perspective obtained from
the results can be found in an examination of
the percentage levels of agreement shown in
Exhibit 2. It can be seen from these compar-
isons that there was agreement for items with
negative connotations. At the same time, there
was disagreement with statements with posi-
tive c o n n o t a t i o n s . Obviously, this u p s c a l e
female population remains critical about cur-
rent female role portrayals in advertising.
Respondent Differences
Respondents' attitudes toward role portray-
als, company image, and purchase intention
were correlated with family income, age, level
of education, household occupational status,
and feminine role orientation (Arnott's Female
Autonomy Inventory), so that the relationships
c o u l d be e x a m i n e d . These correlations are
found in Exhibit 3. Also, as is indicated by the
means for each of the Arnott scale items (as
found in A p p e n d i x A), this upscale sample
appears to be on average feminist-oriented, as
 EVALUATION OF FEMALE ROLE PORTRAYALS IN ADVERTISING

Exhibit 2
Women's Responses to Sex Role Portrayal,
Company Image & Purchase Intention

Abbreviated Statement % Agree*

1. Women shown as they really are 11.6%

2. Women as dependent 55.6

3. Men shown as they really are 16.6

4. Women treated as sex objects 65.5

5. Women shown in most of their activities 20.6

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6. Women make important decisions 30.2

7. Men shown as they really are 30.2

8. Women don't do important things 58.5

9. Woman's place is in the home 55.3

10. More sensitive to portrayal of women 71.1

11. Find portrayal of women offensive 59.1

12. Portrayal of women changing for better 58.4

13. Companies more likely to discriminate 59.9

14. Ads reflect company's view of women 62.0

15. Might still buy new product 37.7

16. Would discontinue using product 62.9

17. Would continue buying other products 44.4

* N+289 to 296, due to missing values

** For complete wording of statements, see Exhibit 1.

21
 THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING

Exhibit 3
Correlates of Women's Attitudes Toward Female Role Portrayal in Advertising 1

Personal and Household Characteristics

STATEMENT**

Attitudes Toward Role Portrayals

.1764 a -.1527 a -.2243 a

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1. Women shown as they really are -.0119 .0042

2. Women as dependent .0055 -.0620 .1674 a .3185 a -.0823
4. Women treated as sex objects -.1267 -.1702 b .0505 -.2086 a .0766
5. Women shown in most of their activities .0027 .1224 -.1355 -.2942 a .0240
6. Women make important decisions -.0064 .0714 -.1709 a -.2086 a .0766
8. Women don't do important things .0304 -.1253 .1884 b .3551 a -.0518
9. Woman's place is in the home .0108 -.1857 b .1639 a .3301 a -.0894
10. More sensitive to portrayal of women -.0525 .0681 .1201 .2241 a -.0545
11. Find portrayal of women offensive -.0043 -.1426 a .1932 b .3590 a -.0553
12. Portrayal of women changing for better .0150 .0935 -.1233 -.1495 b .0099

Effect on Company Image

13. Companies more likely to discriminate -.1381 .0751 .0021 .0994 .0141
14. Ads reflect company's view of women -.0623 .0580 .0558 .1721 b .0483

Effect on Purchase Intention

15. Might still buy new product -.0481 -.0310 -.1665 a -.1570 b -.0264
16. Would discontinue using product .0549 .0485 .1662 a .1822 b -.0266
17. Would continue buying other products .0440 .0703 -.1921 a -.1168 -.0375

1. N=289 to 296 due to missing data

2. Pearson product moment correlation coefficients
3. Spearman's rank order correlation coefficients
a. p = .01 b. p = .001

** For complete wording of statements see Exhibit 1.

22
 EVALUATION OF FEMALE ROLE PORTRAYALS IN ADVERTISING
would be expected. Upon reviewing the stan-
dard deviations, however, there is an apparent
sizable variance in female role orientation.
In contrast with the 1977 study,18 there were
no significant correlations found for either
family income or household occupational sta-
tus. This finding suggests that criticism or neg-
ative attitudes permeate all levels of income
and occupations for this sample. However, it is
clear that this sample is more representative of
women in higher income and occupational
strata than the general population.
Specifically, an examination of attitudes
toward role portrayals and respondent charac-
teristics reveals other differences. First, the
respondents who believed that women in ads
are shown as they really are (item 1) were
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older, less educated, and more traditional in
their orientation. The more traditional respon-
dents were also those who tended to see
women as accurately portrayed in most of their
daily activities (item 5). Those respondents
who perceived that women are being shown as
dependent upon men (item 2) tended to be
more educated and more feminist. This finding
was also true of those who perceived that
women are not shown to make important deci-
sions (item 6) and women are not shown doing
important things (item 8).
One of the most interesting results was found
in the comparison of responses to item 11 ("I
find the portrayal of women in ads to be offen-
sive"). In this instance, as in the responses to
item 9 ("Ads show that the woman's place is in
the home"), the most critical respondents tend-
ed to be younger, more educated, and feminist
in their orientation. When examining the treat-
ment of women as sex objects (item 4), the most
critical group were younger and more feminist.
Finally, feminine role orientation was impor-
tant in determining sensitivity to the portrayal
of women (item 10) and perceived improve-
ment in the role portrayal of women (item 12).
Here, the feminist-oriented respondents were
more sensitive to portrayals, and the less femi-
nist-oriented were the most supportive of
improvements in portrayals.
When looking at the effect sex role portrayals
have on company image (items 13 and 14), only
one significant correlation was found. Those
who were most supportive of the statement that
ads reflect the company's view of women (item
14) tended to be more feminist in orientation.
The better educated and more feminist
respondents were found to be the most nega-
tively impacted in terms of purchase intention
(items 15 and 16). They were more critical and
(1) would not buy a company's new product if
it was introduced with an offensive ad cam-
paign (item 15) and (2) would discontinue
using a new product if offensive ads were
adopted (item 16). Overall, the results follow a
pattern, with younger, better-educated, and
feminist-oriented women showing a greater
sensitivity to these issues. These results tend
to confirm earlier research findings.27
Managerial Implications and
Recommendations
Although the results presented here were
obtained from a convenience/judgment sample,
it would appear that advertisers still face a large
problem. Content analysis research indicates
that advertisers have attempted to address many
of the earlier concerns of the female population,
but the effort apparently has not had the desired
effect upon upscale women's perceptions of sex
role portrayals in advertising. This group was
the most critical in the 1977 study, and some
improvement would have been expected as a
result of the changes; however, none was seen
in this sample population. In fact, it is possible
that instead of an alleviation of the problem of
negative perceptions by women, there may actu-
ally be a growing problem, especially among
feminist activists. As a result, a series of man-
agerial suggestions follow.
Advertisers Need to be Wary of Stressing the
"Wrong Elements." It is possible that advertis-
ers have been addressing the wrong elements
in their handling of female role portrayals in
advertisements. These "wrong elements" 1 3
include the objectification of women and its
relationship to violence, the negative attitude
23
 THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING
toward maturity, the obsession with "skinni-
ness" leading to potential eating disorders, and
the unrealistic "ideal" beauty standard.
A d v e r t i s e r s N e e d to R e a l i z e that Role
Depictions that Worked in the Past May Not
Work in the Future. The perceptions of women
may be directly impacted by such films as Still
Killing Us Softly and the growing focus on
women's studies and feminine literature. This
situation indicates that the offensiveness asso-
c i a t e d w i t h f e m a l e r o l e m i s p o r t r a y a l s is
dynamic rather than static. In other w o r d s ,
because of the growth in awareness of women's
issues, ads that may have been acceptable in
the past may now be considered inflammatory.
Advertisers should therefore not necessarily
continue to rely on past successful role depic-
tions employing female models.
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A d v e r t i s e r s Cannot Risk A l i e n a t i o n of
Upscale Women. While one cannot overgener-
alize from these limited findings, upscale con-
temporary women appear to be a sensitive and
a proactive (as seen in the responses to the
purchase intention and company image ques-
t i o n s ) s e g m e n t of t h e p o p u l a t i o n . T h e s e
women, with a high social profile, may often
be key market opinion leaders for new prod-
u c t s ; therefore, m a r k e t e r s m u s t be a c u t e l y
a w a r e of p o s s i b l e a l i e n a t i o n as a r e s u l t of
shortsighted advertising strategies.
Corporate Public Relations Has a Crucial
Function. Corporate public relations must be
charged with demonstrating to potentially sensi-
tive consumer groups the company's concern for
(1) the advertising portrayal of and (2) the inter-
nal corporate treatment of women. This program
can be facilitated in part through a continual
monitoring of women's perceptions of their role
portrayals in advertisements as done in the pre-
sent study. One thing is clear: Advertisers must
c o m m u n i c a t e better w i t h the c o n t e m p o r a r y
female audience about the improvements that
have been made as well as making further sub-
stantial changes in their advertising messages.
24
Role Portrayals of Women in Advertising
Should Be an Internally Marketed Element of
Corporate Policy. With an increasing proportion
of women in the corporate ranks 18 and the inter-
action between the salesforce and socially sensi-
tive buyers in the distribution channel (e.g., a
large retailer concerned about consumer boycotts
and adverse publicity), it behooves corporations
to "market" their role portrayal philosophy inter-
nally to their own employees. In particular, those
employees with high customer or public contact
need to be sensitive to this issue and able to pro-
mote the company's proactive stance toward
appropriate portrayals of women.
In c o n c l u s i o n , it is clear that advertisers
must deal with a very sensitive, complex, and
emotionally charged set of perceptions toward
role portrayals in advertisements. Continuing
research is needed for understanding and alle-
viating what appears from this study to be a
serious and possibly worsening situation, espe-
cially in the eyes of feminists.
Upscale contemporary women
appear to be a proactive segment of
the population.
This study focused on general advertising
perceptions only; therefore, further specificity is
warranted in any future studies. Future practi-
cal research should focus on the diverse value
systems of females comprising target market
segments for specific p r o d u c t classes. One
would expect interactions between value-laden
female role orientation, role portrayals in adver-
tising, and specific product purchase situations.
A wider demographic base of female respon-
dents with a random sampling procedure
should also be attempted in future studies. It
may be that this heightened sensitivity to role
portrayal may extend beyond the upscale
female segment.
 EVALUATION OF FEMALE ROLE PORTRAYALS IN ADVERTISING

Appendix A
Arnott's Female Autonomy Inventory*
Standard
Item Mean Deviation
Take Obey out of the Marriage Service 5.69 1.766
Girls Should be Trained as Homemakers 1.80** 1.438
Men Should Initiate Courtship 2.82** 1.752
Women Should be as Free as Men to Make Decisions 6.02 1.383
Women Should not Subordinate their Careers for their Husbands 5.26 1.717
Motherhood is an Ideal Career for Most Women 2.65** 1.566
Women Should be Allowed to Withhold or Initiate Sex 5.65 1.541
Husband Should be Legal Family Representative 2.27** 1.630
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Wife Should Make Abortion Decision 4.87 2.015

Women Should not be Disqualified from Occupations because of Sex 6.42 1.028
* The scalar extremes were 1-Strong Disagree and 7-Strongly Agree
** These items were reverse scored prior to summing the ten items.
The ten items of this scale exhibited a high degree of internal reliability with a Cronbach Alpha Coefficient of .7230.

Appendix B
Profile of Sample Respondents
Of the 800 questionnaires mailed, 296 usable
responses were obtained, a 39.9% response rate
(59 were returned with addressees unknown).
According to Kerlinger,12 response rates of 40 to
50% on mail surveys are both common and rea-
sonable. The mean income for respondents was
$43,895.17, the mean age was 47.2 years, and the
average number of years of formal education was
16.5 (with high school equal 12). While the sam-
ple on average c l e a r l y fits t h e profile of
"upscale" females, it is interesting, nevertheless,
to note the heterogeneity of the sample popula-
tion, indicated by the large standard deviations
for each of these demographic categories (e.g.,
$30,348.40 for income; 15.54 years for age; and
2.55 for years of formal education). The racial
mix included 8 3 % Caucasian, 12% black, and
5% Hispanic, American Indian, and Oriental. A
broad array of occupations were represented,
with 4 3 % being nonmanagerial, "white collar"
professions (i.e., teachers, health care profession-
als, and clerical staff), 10.4% housewives, 16.4%
retirees, 18.2% administrative, 3 % students, and
the remaining 9% blue collar workers. The sam-
ple was balanced in terms of marital status, with
57.3% married and the residual comprised of
15.6% never married, 17.3% divorced, and 9.8%
w i d o w e d . In t e r m s of e m p l o y m e n t , 5 3 . 7 %
reported full-time employment and the remain-
der were divided between part-time (16.4%) and
not employed (29.9%).
The respondents appear to represent a het-
erogeneous group of upscale adult females.
While generalizability from these results may
be limited, this cross section represents an
important segment of contemporary w o m e n
with significant political and buying power.
Since the purposes of this study were (1) to
extend the previous literature and (2) to gain

25
 THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING

insight into the perceptions of more educated,
higher-income women on the issues of female
role portrayals in advertising, the sample
obtained was appropriate for meeting study
objectives. However, given the heterogeneity
of this upscale sample, future research should
extend the focus and generalizability to more
specific demographic subsets using a random
sampling technique. In this way, additional
insight can be gained which would aid the
development of strategically sound advertise-
ments to specific segments or target markets.

Appendix C
Statement Means from 197717 Sample a

Statement Mean
1. Ads which I see show women as they really are. 2.55
2. Ads suggest that women are fundamentally dependent upon men. 4.05
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3. Ads which I see show men as they really are. 2.77

4. Ads treat women mainly as "sex objects." 3.81
5. Ads which I see accurately portray women in most of their daily activities. 3.25
6. Ads suggest that women make important decisions. 3.63
7. Ads which I see accurately portray men in most of their daily actvities. 3.60
8. Ads suggest that women don't do important things. 4.19
9. Ads suggest that a woman's place is in the home. 4.22
10. I'm more sensitive to the portrayal of women in advertising than I used to be. 5.00
11.I find the portrayal of women in advertising to be offensive. 4.07
12. Overall, I believe that portrayal of women in advertising is changing for the better. 4.80
13. Companies that portray women offensively in their advertising are more likely to
discriminate against women and other minorities in job promotion and
advancement, compared with other companies in the same business or industry. 4.36
14.1 believe that how women are portrayed in ads merely reflects the general attitude
of that company towards women's place in society. 4.36
15. If a new product is introduced with ads that I find offensive, I might still buy it if it
offers me benefits which I find attractive. 4.38
16. If a new product or service I use adopts an ad campaign which I find offensive,
I'll discontinue using it. 4.13
17. Even though I may see an ad which is offensive for one product, I would continue
to purchase other products that I have beeen using from the same company. 5.18

A equals Strongly Agree and 1 equals Strong Disagree.

26
 EVALUATION OF FEMALE ROLE PORTRAYALS IN ADVERTISING

End Notes
1. "Ads Glorifying Career ' S u p e r w o m e n ' Can Alienate Full-Time Housewives," Marketing
News, May 1,1981, pp. 1-2.
2. Arnott, Catherine C., "Husbands' Attitude and Wives' Commitment to Employment," Journal
of Marriage and the Family, 34 (November 1972), 673-77.
3. Bartos, Rena, The Moving Target: What Every Marketer Should Know About Women. New
York: The Free Press, 1982.
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1971,1976,1980," 1980 Southern Marketing Association Proceedings, pp. 396-99.
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Journal of Broadcasting, 16 (1972), pp. 259-65.
6. Engel, James F., Roger D. Blackwell, and Paul W. Miniard, Consumer Behavior, 5th ed.
Chicago: The Dryden Press, 1986.
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Portrayals of Women in Advertising," Journal of Advertising, 19, no. 1 (1990), pp. 40-51.
8. Ferrante, Carol L., A n d r e w M. H a y n e s , and Sarah M. Kingsley, "Image of Women in
Television Advertising," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 32, no.2 (Spring 1988),
pp. 231-37.
9. Freedman, Rita, Beauty Bound. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1986.
10. Green, Robert T., and Isabella C. M. Cunningham, "Feminine Role Perception and Family
Purchasing Decisions," Journal of Marketing Research, 12 (August 1975), pp. 325-32.
11. Kerin, Roger A., William J. Lundstrom, and Donald Sciglimpaglia, "Women in Advertisements:
Retrospect and Prospect," Journal of Advertising, 8 (Summer 1979), pp. 37-42.
12. Kerlinger, Fred N., Foundations of Behavioral Research, 2nd ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, 1973.
13. Kilbourne, Jean, "Still Killing Us Softly," Cambridge, MA: Cambridge Documentary Films, 1987.
14. Komisar, Lucy, "The Image of Women in Advertising," in Women in Sexist Society, ed. Vivian
Gornick and Barbara Moran. New York: New American Library, 1971, pp. 304-17.
15. LaTour, Michael S., "Female Nudity in Print Advertising: An Analysis of Gender Differences
in Arousal and Ad Response," Psychology and Marketing, 7, No. 1 (March 1990), pp. 65-81.
16. Leigh, T h o m a s , Arno R e t h a n s , and Tamatha Whitney, "Role Portrayals of Women in
Advertising: Cognitive Responses and Advertising Effectiveness," Journal of Advertising
Besearch,27, no. 5 (1987), pp. 54-63.
17. Loudon, David, and Albert J. Della Bitta, Consumer Behavior:Concept and Applications, 3rd.
ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988.
18. Lundstrom, William J., and Donald Sciglimpaglia, "Sex Role Portrayals in Advertising,"
Journal of Marketing, 41 (July 1977), pp. 72-79.
19. Lysonski, Steven, "Female and Male Portrayals in Magazine Advertisements: A Re-examina-
tion," Akron Business and Economic Review, 14 (Summer 1983), pp. 45-50.

27
 THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING

20. Mays, Amy E., and Donald L. Brady, "Women's Changing Role Portrayals in Magazine
Advertisements: 1955 to 1985," Journal of Advertising, forthcoming.
21. McNemar, Quinn, Psychological Statistics, 4th ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1969.
22. Schneider, K e n n e t h C , and S h a r o n B. Schneider, "Trends in Sex Roles in Television
Commercials," Journal of Marketing, 43 (Summer 1979), pp. 79-84.
23. Sciglimpaglia, Donald, William J. Lundstrom, and Dinoo J. Vanier, "Women's Feminine Role
Orientation and Their Attitudes toward Sex Role Portrayals in Advertising," Current Issues
and Research in Advertising, 1979, pp. 163-175.
24. S c i g l i m p a g l i a , D o n a l d , W i l l i a m J. L u n d s t r o m , a n d D i n o o J. Vanier, " P s y c h o g r a p h i c
Segmentation by Feminine Role Orientation," Current Issues and Research in Advertising,
1980, pp. 210-20.
25. Soley, Lawrence, and Leonard Reid, "Taking it Off: Are Models in Magazine Ads Wearing
Less?" Journalism Quarterly, 65 (Winter 1988), pp. 960-66.
26. Soley, Lawrence, and Gary Kurzbard, "Sex in Advertising: A Comparison of 1964 and 1984
Magazine Advertisements," Journal of Advertising, 15, no. 3 (1986), pp. 46-54,64.
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27. Venkatesh, Alladi, "Changing Roles of Women - A Life-Style Analysis," Journal of Consumer
Research, 7 (September 1980), pp. 189-97.
28. Weiss, F. B., "New Life Styles of 1975-1980 Will Throw Switch on Admen," Advertising Age,
September 18, 1972, p. 62.
29. Whipple, Thomas W., and Alice E. Courtney, "Female Role Portrayals in Advertising and
Communication Effectiveness: A Review," Journal of Advertising, 14, no. 3 (1985), pp. 4-17.

28
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