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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Gender role portrayals and sexism in Spanish magazines

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PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to analyse the male and female stereotypes in Spanish magazine advertising during the last three decades of the twentieth century in order to determine if they reflect or not the important cultural changes of Spanish society in these years.Design/methodology/approachContent analysis of 1,033 different advertisements randomly selected. To ensure reliability two independent codifiers of opposite gender worked together, one as an analyst and other as a judge. Three agreement indices were calculated.FindingsUse of male and female portrayals has undergone relevant changes in the last 30 years in accordance with the social evolution of Spain. For both men and women stereotypes persist but there has been a move from the portrayal of the character in situations considered socially traditional to less traditional scenarios. At the end of the period analysed, Spanish magazines show low and decreasing levels of sexism.Research limitations/implicationsOnly one advertising medium and one country have been analysed.Originality/valueThis is the first study developed in Spain in gender role stereotyping and sexism, and has been analysed through a longitudinal research.