The Impacts of Gender Roles for Society in Advertising

The impacts of gender roles for society in advertising There are lots of social roles that a person has to perform during his or her life time. The most clear and basic role is gender role. A gender role is a set of social and behavioral norms that are generally considered appropriate for either a man or a woman in a social or interpersonal relationship. Gender roles are widely between cultures and even in the same cultural tradition have differed over time and context.

Most societies regulate different behavior pattern and social value regarding to gender, therefore consumer’s behavior cater for their gender role image. Men and women roles and how the roles are defined and described in the advertisement can affect individual acceptors, public’s consciousness, behavior pattern and the social system. There are three impacts of gender roles for society in advertising. First of all, the gender role can make the fixed idea and change. In most societies, the members of societies have similar thought about a series of characteristics that the gender has.

We call that fixed idea of gender roles. the fixed idea is socially shared belief and excessively simplified belief in matters of the specific target. Every society has the simplified idea about men and women and the fixed idea which regulate personality and role regarding to the gender. For example, the fixed idea about women is that women are passive, sensible, dependent, lacking in patience and internally sensitive. Vice versa, the fixed idea about men is that men are active, ideal, independent and possible for mind control. This fixed idea about men and women provided background that divide men and women role.

Through the characteristic role, men work outside and women work inside for their life, and the polarization of the gender role is accepted as the best way for their work and family. This fixed idea is accepted as a natural result for a long time. People could not realize that they have the fixed idea because this idea exists everywhere of society. However, now, realization of the gender roles in advertisement is changed according to the passing of time. Before women’s liberation, the fixed idea about the gender role was believed as natural phenomenon and what is bred in the bone.

The pioneer of women’s liberation claim that women’s potential power and ability had been restricted because they be bred true to the fixed idea about the gender role. Also, we delude ourselves that physical, psychological and social characteristic according to the gender is real, and we define what men are and what women are. Also, we delude ourselves that physical, psychological and social characteristic according to the gender is real, and we define what men are and what women are. The fixed idea is always exaggeratedly simplified, and sometimes could be totally wrong.

Also, the fixed idea exaggerates or minimizes difference between groups. The fixed idea about the gender role makes men look as if they are similar even if actually they are very different each other, so do women. Finally, the fixed idea can be usually used to justify prejudice and discrimination to member of some groups. This distorted fixed idea about the gender role cannot reflect the image of the gender role properly in modern time. Secondary, the concept of androgyny comes to the fore. According to the radical change of society, the concept of the gender role becomes changed. Androgyny is at the head of the change.

Bem(1974) rendered the concept of androgyny for the first time. It means that the two character coexistent in one person. In other words, androgyny has manhood and femininity. Through the study about people who have the fixed idea about the gender role, androgyny people are more ethical, self-respected, and stable than them who have the fixed idea about the gender role(Block, 1973; Bem;amp; Lenny, 1976; Kyoungsuk Park, 1988; Jeongeun Lee, 1991;Sujung Seo), and androgyny people are more flexible and practical and have more information-processing capacity. These studies confirm the value of androgyny.

As a result, the concept of androgyny develops our society and diversifies industry. Third is socialization of gender role image. Women’s role image in an advertisement affects learning of women’s social role, namely women are affected their socialization by an advertisement. It shows how much mass media and advertisement is an important information source to women. We can guess that mass media and advertisement affects consumer to form mold about other world if the mass media or the advertisement is considered as the optimum conditions for effective learning, cultural environment.

Social scientists point out that the gender role description in an advertisement applies leverage on thought about society. An advertisement had a tremendous impact on a consumer when the role or image of the character is a role model. Today, day by day, we are living in numerous advertisements. Gender roles that appear in the advertisement can change our traditional stereotypes. The advertisement appeared to reflect social change traditional stereotypes Image and appearance are mixed gender role images appear in the advertisements today.

People realized that the concept of androgyny is better than a fixed idea of gender roles. Moreover, socialization of gender roles has become an important issue in our society. Image to adhere to traditional gender roles, women’s social activity and a surge in traditional gender roles than in the past, the position is improved according to the hypothetical social change gradually, and social roles that appear in the structure, major changes are reflected in a market economy, the advertising is the side effects that are not suitable.

Fixed according to gender in advertisements, when you think that advertising is having a big impact on the value formation of children as well as the function of promoting the sale of goods and as a medium of socialization with the public over an image or a negative image of women reassurance that the portrayal is not a desirable thing. Exercise and develop human potential is an important factor which is responsible for its leading role, the mass media and advertising, and the stereotypes tied to the gender roles of society be reshaped.

Advertising like a mirror reflects a social phenomenon and as a pathway for changing gender roles in this society, the society and culture of that era and the social interaction that leads to the development direction because they share two features to create a new culture will be able to. Reference Bem, S. L. (1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155-162. Yijeongeun (1991). Study of Learned Helplessness in ministering to college studentof identity and attribution according to the type of Sookmyung Women’s University Graduate School Master’s thesis.