Gender Portrayal in Ethiopian Television Advertisements

No doubt that in all forms of media of mass communication images of gender are explicitly or implicitly communicated, but it has been argued that the images communicated are mostly unrealistic and stereotyped. This has often been identified as critical areas of concern of media critics, feminist researchers, women s organizations and gender sensitive action programmes. In Ethiopia, women are common ingredients of television dramas, music and comedy shows, feature programmes, advertisements and other television programming as well. However, their participation seems to be confined to specific characters, and their images appear to be stereotyped, which may influence society s perception of gender roles, positions and behaviors. This book attempts to provide detailed analysis of gender portrayal in Ethiopian Television advertisements and document the various depictions associated with women. Eight coding features adapted from various researches are employed to analyze and determine how women are portrayed in the sampled advertisements. The analysis would be useful to organizations working on gender issues, media practitioners, advertisers and academics who study gender and media.