Creative marginalization of gender: a discourse analysis of advertisements in Pakistani newspapers
Abstract
Creative industries have been considered crucial to the economic well-being of any country. Besides the economy, the advertising industry has been investigated in West for its influence on the minds of its consumers. Pakistan has a diversity of culture and impact of creative industries on common people is not studied yet. The present study analyses the advertising discourse to explore gender construction through language and visuals in Pakistani print media. The sample includes four national English newspapers collected over a period of one month. An asymmetrical and stereotypical portrayal of women emerges from discourse analysis. Along with gender-specific language, images are constructed to render women marginalised as compared to men in Pakistani society. Results imply that creative industries have a potential to exert an ever-lasting impact on mass-mind but have become a tool in the hands of influential people.
Article in English.
Kūrybinis lyties marginalizavimas: reklamos diskurso Pakistano laikraščiuose analizė
Santrauka
Kūrybinės industrijos traktuojamos kaip esminės bet kurios šalies ekonominei gerovei. Be ekonomikos, reklamos industrija Vakaruose tyrinėjama dėl jos įtakos vartotojų suvokimui. Pakistano kultūros įvairovė ir kūrybinių industrijų įtaka eiliniams žmonėms dar nėra ištirta. Šiame tyrime analizuojamas reklamos diskursas siekiant paaiškinti lyties konstravimą, pasitelkiant kalbą ir vizualinę medžiagą Pakistano spaudos medijose. Pavyzdyje pasitelkiami keturi angliški laikraščiai, išleisti vieno mėnesio laikotarpiu. Diskurso analizės rezultatas – asimetriškas ir stereotipinis moterų portretas. Kartu su lyčiai būdinga kalba konstruojami įvaizdžiai siekiant marginalizuoti moteris, kad būtų galima jas palyginti su vyrais Pakistano visuomenėje. Rezultatai atskleidžia, kad kūrybinės industrijos gali daryti nuolatinę įtaką masių mąstymui, tačiau yra tapusios priemone įtakingų žmonių rankose.
Reikšminiai žodžiai: reklama, kūrybinės industrijos, diskurso analizė, lyties stereotipizavimas, spaudos medijos, vizualinė analizė.
Keyword : advertising, creative industries, discourse analysis, gender stereotyping, print media, visual analysis
How to Cite
Yasmin, M., Naseem, F., & Raza, M. H. (2018). Creative marginalization of gender: a discourse analysis of advertisements in Pakistani newspapers. Creativity Studies, 11(1), 152-161. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2018.5509
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Yasmin, M., Sohail, A., & Mangrio, R. A. (2015). Myths broken or sustained: representation of women victims in Pakistani media. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 3, 209-219. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2015.37033
Yasmin, M., & Sohail, A. (2018a). Socio-cultural barriers in promoting learner autonomy in Pakistani universities: English teachers’ beliefs. Cogent Education, 5(1) 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2018.1501888
Yasmin, M., & Sohail, A. (2018a). A creative alliance between learner autonomy and English language learning: Pakistani university teachers’ beliefs. Creativity Studies, 11(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3846/23450479.2017.1406874
Yasmin, M., Sohail, A., Sarkar, M., & Hafeez, R. (2017). Creative methods in transforming education using human resources. Creativity Studies, 10(2), 145-158. https://doi.org/10.3846/23450479.2017.1365778
Zotos, Y. C., & Tsichla, E. (2014). Female stereotypes in print advertising: a retrospective analysis. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 148, 446-454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.07.064
Clow, K. E., & Baack, D. (2012). Integrated advertising, promotion, and marketing communications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Cortese, A. J. (2008). Provocateur: images of women and minorities in advertising. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Dijk, van T. A. (1993). Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse & Society, 4(2), 249-283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926593004002006
Duffy, M. (1994). Body of evidence: studying women and advertising. In L. Manca, A. Manca, & W. Scarlato (Eds.), Gender & utopia in advertising: a critical reader (pp. 5-30). Lisle, IL: Procopian Press.
Eisend, M. (2010). A meta-analysis of gender roles in advertising. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(4), 418-440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-009-0181-x
Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical discourse analysis: the critical study of language. London: Addison Wesley Publishing Company.
Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and power. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Goffman, E. (1987). Gender advertisements. New York: Harper Torchbooks.
Huang, Y., & Lowry, D. T. (2015). Toward better gender equality? Portrayals of advertising models’ occupational status in Chinese magazines. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 27(1), 69-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/08961530.2014.967904
Jokubauskas, D. (2003). Reklama ir jos poveikis vartotojui. Vilnius: InSpe.
Khan, R., Khan, H. U., Faisal, M. Sh., Iqbal, K., & Iqbal Malik, M. Sh. (2016). An analysis of Twitter users of Pakistan. International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, 14(8), 855-864.
Kilbourne, J. (1999). Deadly persuasion: why women and girls must fight the addictive power of advertising. New York, NY: Free Press.
Klassen, M. L., Jasper, C. R., & Schwartz, A. M. (1993). Men and women: images of their relationships in magazine advertisements. Journal of Advertising Research, 33(2), 30-39.
Kress, G., & Leeuwen, van Th. (1996). Reading images: the grammar of visual design. London and New York: Routledge.
Lazar, M. M. (2006). “Discover the power of femininity!” analysing global “Power femininity” in local advertising. Feminist Media Studies, 6(4), 505-517. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680770600990002
Lloyd, S., & Woodside, A. G. (2013). Animals, archetypes, and advertising (a3): the theory and the practice of customer brand symbolism. Journal of Marketing Management, 29(1-2), 5-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2013.765498
Lorber, J. (1993). Believing is seeing: biology as ideology. Gender and Society, 7(4), 568-581. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124393007004006
Lysonski, S. (1985). Role portrayals in British magazine advertisement. European Journal of Marketing, 19(7), 37-55. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000004724
Mager, J., & Helgeson, J. G. (2011). Fifty years of advertising images: some changing perspectives on role portrayals along with enduring consistencies. Sex Roles, 64(3-4), 238-252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9782-6
Mitchell, P. C. N., & Taylor, W. (1990). Polarising trends in female role portrayals in UK advertising. European Journal of Marketing, 24(5), 41-49. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569010003482The Nation. (2014). Nawaiwaqt group. Retrieved from https://nation.com.pk/nawaiwaqt-group
Plakoyiannaki, E., & Zotos, Y. (2009). Female role stereotypes in print advertising: identifying associations with magazine and product categories. European Journal of Marketing, 43(11-12), 1411-1434. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090560910989966
Pollay, R. W. (1986). The distorted mirror: reflections on the unintended consequences of advertising. Journal of Marketing, 50, 18-36. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251597
Ruggiero, J. A., & Weston, L. C. (1985). Work options for women in women’s magazines: the medium and the message. Sex Roles, 12(5-6), 535-547. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288174
Wiles, J. A., Wiles, Ch. R., & Tjernlund, A. (1995). A comparison of gender role portrayals in magazine advertising: the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA. European Journal of Marketing, 29(11), 35-49. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569510100696
Yasmin, M., Sohail, A., & Mangrio, R. A. (2015). Myths broken or sustained: representation of women victims in Pakistani media. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 3, 209-219. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2015.37033
Yasmin, M., & Sohail, A. (2018a). Socio-cultural barriers in promoting learner autonomy in Pakistani universities: English teachers’ beliefs. Cogent Education, 5(1) 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2018.1501888
Yasmin, M., & Sohail, A. (2018a). A creative alliance between learner autonomy and English language learning: Pakistani university teachers’ beliefs. Creativity Studies, 11(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3846/23450479.2017.1406874
Yasmin, M., Sohail, A., Sarkar, M., & Hafeez, R. (2017). Creative methods in transforming education using human resources. Creativity Studies, 10(2), 145-158. https://doi.org/10.3846/23450479.2017.1365778
Zotos, Y. C., & Tsichla, E. (2014). Female stereotypes in print advertising: a retrospective analysis. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 148, 446-454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.07.064