THE DEPICTION OF SEX ROLES IN AMERICAN AND GERMAN MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENTS*

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Abstract
This study provides a quantitative content analysis of the depictions of sex roles in the American news magazine Time and the West German news magazine Stern from 1969 to 1988. The underlying assumption of the study is that advertisements reflect changes in social reality. While most studies focus on explicit aspects of gender role depictions such as jobs, activities, interactions and situations, this content analysis also covers implicit aspects of role depictions such as posture, gestures, and facial expression. Some authors have claimed that these are powerful means of transmitting traditional sex role stereotypes of women as being submissive and of men as being dominant. Results indicate that while there have been considerable changes in the explicit presentation of male and female roles, the implicit presentation remained quite consistent over the 20-year period. According to these findings, sex roles may have changed primarily on the surface, while nonverbal sex role stereotypes still linger on. Differences between the developments in Germany and the US are outlined.

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