Worked example 1
A sociologist conducted a content analysis of 200 primetime television advertisements to investigate gender stereotypes. They used a coding frame to categorise the main character in each advert. The results are shown in the table below.
| Role Category | Male Characters | Female Characters |
|---|---|---|
| Professional (e.g., doctor, executive) | 60 | 20 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Domestic (e.g., parent, cleaning) | 15 | 75 |
| Other (e.g., consumer, celebrity) | 25 | 5 |
| Total Characters Coded | 100 | 100 |
Calculate the percentage of the total adverts that featured men in a professional role and the percentage that featured women in a domestic role. Briefly comment on what these findings suggest about media representations of gender.
Show solution outline
Part 1: Calculation for Men in Professional Roles
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Step 1: Identify the number of adverts featuring men in a professional role. From the table, this is 60.
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Step 2: Identify the total number of adverts analysed. The question states this is 200.
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Step 3: Calculate the percentage.
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Step 4: Final Answer. 30% of the adverts featured men in a professional role.
Part 2: Calculation for Women in Domestic Roles
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Step 1: Identify the number of adverts featuring women in a domestic role. From the table, this is 75.
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Step 2: Identify the total number of adverts analysed. The total is 200.
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Step 3: Calculate the percentage.
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Step 4: Final Answer. 37.5% of the adverts featured women in a domestic role.
Part 3: Sociological Commentary
The findings provide quantitative evidence for the persistence of gender stereotyping in media. A significantly higher proportion of adverts show women in domestic roles (37.5%) compared to men (15/200 = 7.5%), while men are far more likely to be shown in professional roles (30%) than women (20/200 = 10%). This supports feminist arguments, such as those by Tunstall, that media reinforces a 'cult of femininity' by associating women with the private, domestic sphere. It also reflects the concept of hegemonic masculinity, where men are associated with power and the public world of work.