Gender Stereotyping of Women in Contemporary Magazine Advertisements by Pariya Sripakdeevong (Will) (M.I.T. Psychology of Gender and Race)

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Exaggerated Portrayal of Sexualized Beauty Ideal, Internalization of Gender

Stereotypes, Consequences on Women’s lives, Cross-Cultural Examination of

South Korean Women, and Educational Interventions!

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Gender Stereotyping of Women in Contemporary Magazine

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Pariya Sripakdeevong (Will)

Psychology of Gender & Race

Research Paper

April 29, 2010

Gender Stereotyping of Women in Contemporary Magazine Advertisements 1

INTRODUCTION

The ways women are depicted in media reflect and also influence feminine values and

expectations of a particular society. Magazine advertisements are a conventional and influential

media source for women; a study reports 47% of women in United States having read a magazine on

the previous day (D. Roberts et al. 2005)1. Thus, magazine ads “shape the status and roles of

women…and influence the values and attitudes of the society as a whole” (Hovland et al., 2005;

p.887)2. However, the portrayals of gender roles in magazine ads are often exaggerated. Albert

Bandura commented on the “pervasive cultural modeling of gender roles” that depicts women as

being dependent and confined to domestic roles, although these representations do not actually “fit

the common vocations…in real life”(Bussey & Bandura, 1999; p.37)3. Additionally, stereotypical

gender conventions in magazines are becoming increasingly pervasive and increasingly global with

today’s advancement in communication technology. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the role

magazine ads play in perpetuating the exaggerated portrayal of women in stereotypical ways, in

order to understand the well being of women across the world.

This paper will examine the ways in which women are portrayed in contemporary magazine

ads, the process by which women internalize these media portrayal, and the negative consequences

that arise from such internalization. Furthermore, the cross-cultural elements of Western gender

stereotypes in magazine ads conventions will be explored through the example of South Korean

women. Findings suggest that magazine ads depict women in sexualized ways and encourage them

to put beauty as their primary goals. Internalization of these gender-stereotyping portrayals may lead

to serious negative consequences in various perspectives of women’s lives. Moreover, these trends

are not confined to United States. Thus, the last section will discuss and evaluate current intervention

methods and suggest future research directions.

2 Gender Stereotyping of Women in Contemporary Magazine Advertisements

DISCUSSION

I. Gender Stereotyping in Modern Magazine Advertisements

Messages in magazine advertisements emphasize gender relation as power relations, with

female being less powerful (Hare-Mustin & Marecek, 1988)4. In a classic magazine content analysis

study, Erving Goffman demonstrated that women are exclusively depicted as mothers, as childlike,

or as sex objects, which represent the traditional female roles (Goffman, 1979)5. However, there have

been criticisms of the study’s applicability for contemporary magazines, since the study was

conducted during the 1970s. Goffman classified depictions of women in magazines into categoriesa

that all suggest submissive role of women that may not be present in modern times.

This raises the question of whether depictions of modern women are free from gender

stereotypes. Are women now portrayed objectively and equally to men? Research suggests that

women are increasingly portrayed as independent from stereotypical gender roles. For example, a

content analysis of US magazines from 1979 to 2000 indicated decrease in portrayal of female

models lowering themselves physicallyb (from 22.2% to 7.5%). The study also found that advertisers

are increasingly promoting products more broadly for both women and men (eg. power tools for

women and cosmetics to men) (Hovland et al., 2005)2. Moreover, Chung (1990)

6 suggested a

dramatic increase in depiction of women having freedom from traditional roles (i.e. having a career

and enjoying their own social activities). Consequently, a later replication of Goffman (1979)5 added

an ‘Independence/Self-assurance’c category in women’s magazine content analysis (Kang, 1997)

7.

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a Six categories: relative size, feminine touch, function ranking, family scenes, ritualization of subordination, and

licensed withdrawal b A sub-category of Goffman (1979)

5’s ritualization of subordination category, defined by person bowing down or

bending body to show bashfulness or subordination c Person appears independent and self-assured explicitly or implicitly


Yet, in addition to adding the ‘Independence/Self-assurance’ category, Kang (1997)7 also

added the ‘Body Display’d category. Women are now less frequently depicted as housewives and

more likely depicted as independent, but they are also more likely depicted in sexualized ways.

Sullivan and O’Connor (1988)8 found a 60% increase in portrayal of women in purely ‘decorative’

e

roles from 1970 to 1988. Furthermore, Hovland et al. (2005)2 (the content analysis from 1979 to

2000 discussed above) found that although 13 of 16 items of stereotypical feminine depictions went

down across time, one of the items that did not go down but increased was depiction of women

‘Lying or sitting on a bed or floor’f. Thus, the increase in depiction of women being free from

traditional gender roles also accompanies the increase in use of sexually appealing female models,

body display, and nudity in ads (Chung, 1990)6. Soley & Kurzbard (1986)

9 suggested that female

nudity and erotic content had become commonplace in contemporary US magazine ads by the mid-

1980s.

Therefore, portrayal of gender stereotypes in magazines has not been eliminated, but has

changed form into subtle depictions of women as sex objects. The definition of desirable women has

simply changed from domesticity to sexiness. Although messages in contemporary magazines bring

less pressure for women to be submissive housewives to attract men, they still encourage women to

attract men by achieving media’s beauty standards. Women are still dependent upon men’s judgment.

One of the dominant themes in women magazines is self-presentation: to be sexy in order to gain

attention from men (M. Duffy & Gotcher, 1996)10

. Contemporary magazines are filled with articles

and tips aimed towards self-improvement, such as how to look more attractive by loosing weight

(Thomsen, Weber, & Brown, 2002)11

. Thus modern women, despite not explicitly depicted as being

economically and socially dependent on men, are encouraged to think of themselves as sexual

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d Person wears revealing, short, or tight cloths or is shown nude (Guideline for coding clothes: tight-fitting clothes;

shirts unbuttoned to reveal cleavage or chest; skirts shorter than mid-thigh; shorts exposing buttocks; ripped or torn

clothing; see-though clothing; sheets, blankets, coats, etc to conceal nudity; explicit or implicit nudity) e Women appearing idle, featured in ads purely for sexual appeals

f A sub-category of Goffman (1979)

5’s ritualization of subordination category, defined models physically

lying/sitting on bed or floor suggesting sexual appeals


objects that are not complete unless they attract men (Garner at al., 1998)12

. Although these messages

are subtle, their impact is comparable, if not greater, to earlier explicit gender stereotyping messages.

II. Internalization of Gender Stereotyping Messages

Cultural perpetuation of beauty standards in magazine ads may lead to detrimental

consequences on women’s lives, if women internalize these gender stereotyping messages. This

section investigates why prevalent stereotypical portrayal of women in ads would cause women to

internalize media’s beauty ideals, through discussion of theoretical explanations and empirical

evidence.

We learn by observing the social world and are reinforced to act correspondingly, according

to Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977)13

. Bussey & Bandura (1999)3 use the Social

Cognitive Theory to explain how representation of gender role in media affects women’s behaviors.

The theory stresses the importance of ‘modeling’—“one of the most pervasive and powerful means

of transmitting values, attitudes, and patterns of thought and behavior” (Bussey & Bandura, 1999;

p.16)3—in promoting stereotypical gender conduct. Women are susceptible to taking magazine

models as their model and vicariously learn their beauty standards. Despite knowing that these

standards do not reflect the norms of how women look in real life, women are aware that mainstream

media culture is endorsed by society. Hence, women are reinforced to achieve beauty ideals due to

the positive associations tied with them.

Alternatively, the Cultivation Theory focuses on the symbolic environment in media that

affects women’s attitude of how the world really is rather than on behavioral reinforcement as Social

Cognitive theorists argued. George Gerbner explained how being exposed to media messages causes

individuals to gradually cultivate beliefs about the world that coincide with messages they receive

(Gerbner et al., 1994)15

. He identified ‘heavy viewers’ as being more influenced by the way the

world is framed in media that they come to believe it is more consistent with the real world.


However, there have been criticisms on how Gerbner defined ‘heavy viewers’ and ‘non-heavy

viewers’ with the defining line of four hours of media consumption per day. This underplays the

importance of individual differences. Unlike the Social Cognitive Theory that stresses how the

degree to which internalized media standards actually reflect a woman’s behavior depends on her

unique self-efficacy and socio-cultural structure, the Cultivation Theory assumes great passivity and

little influence of real-world experiences in women accepting the framed world as ‘real’. There have

also been criticisms on how empirical evidence of the theory relies heavily on correlation studies that

do not infer causation.

Nevertheless, these correlation studies supporting the Cultivation Theory bought significant

understanding of the relationship between media consumption and endorsement of gender

stereotypes. For example, one study found positive correlation between amount of magazine

consumption and belief that sexualized beauty standards should be achieved (Zurbriggen & Morgan,

2006)16

. The researchers suggested that media exposure constrains women’s conception of

femininity by putting physical attractiveness at the center of their value. Thus, consumption of

gender stereotyping conventions in magazine affects women’s conception of how femininity and

sexuality are in the real world.

Furthermore, individuals also have the basic drive to compare themselves to outside images,

in order to evaluate their own attitudes and abilities, according the Social Comparison Theory

(Festinger, 1954)17

. However, although the theory argues that individuals tend to compare

themselves to those who are similar (such as peer groups), research suggests that women also

compare themselves to unrealistic models in magazine ads just as frequently (Engeln-Maddox,

2005)18

. Women’s magazine contents often promote self-improvement of beauty, thus encouraging

women to compare their features to the unrealistic and unattainable bodies of female models (Wykes

& Gunter, 2005)19

. This can lead to detrimental consequences, especially if the media world is seen

as a realistic representation of the world as the Cultivation Theory suggests. Given that women


perceive the idealized media images as more realistic than they actually are, women would be more

likely to use upward social comparison (comparing themselves to someone who they believe are

better than them in a particular area) wrongly, thinking that females models are more similar to them

and thus compare for self-evaluation rather than self-improvement.

Negative self-evaluations that arise from unrealistic social comparison have been widely

studied; Dittmar & Howard (2004)20

suggested a correlation between body-focused anxiety and thin

ideal internalization as a result of social comparison with female models in ads. Furthermore,

although the Social Comparison theory suggested that individuals would not continue to make

comparisons if comparisons are damaging their self-image, a study demonstrated that women still

frequently make social comparison with media images despite negative consequences that follow

(Strahan et al., 2006)21

. Furthermore, one study demonstrated that even if women do not compare

themselves unrealistically to female model, the peer groups that are a realistic comparison group also

promote media’s idealized beauty conventions (Krayer, Ingledew, Iphofen, 2007)22

. Even though

most peer group members do not have those unattainable bodily features that female models do,

beauty standards in magazines are often discussed and valued among peer groups and seen as the

desirable trait that will attract men. Hence, social comparisons with both female models in media and

peer groups may lead to negative self-evaluation, since they sanction comparison to idealized beauty

standards.

Magazine content encourages women to be concerned about what others think of their

appearances. Consequently, the Objectification Theory explains how women internalize media’s

sexualized messages and reproduce their own schemas in objectified perspective. This creates

women’s expectations of achieving beauty standards in media and a tendency to evaluate how much

they meet those standards from a third person point of view (Frederickson & Roberts, 1997)23

.

Sexualized messages in media “function to socialize women to treat themselves as objects to be

evaluated on the basis of appearance” (Fredrickson et al., 1998: p.270)24

.


This may lead to lack of opportunity for women to evaluate themselves in other ways such as

their health, desires, achievement, or competence rather than on their sexual desirability. Most

importantly, women are pressured to hold unhealthy conceptions of their femininity and sexuality.

As media encourages women to meet ‘salient cultural standards’ of ‘sexy’ in order to gain attention

from men, women learn to think of themselves as a ‘good object’ when she is sexually desirable.

This process is called Self-Objectification, the process by which women learn to think of and treat

their own bodies as objects of desires by others. Zurbriggen & Morgan (2006)16

found that women

who more frequently consume mainstream media showed more tendency of Self-Objectification and

consequently stronger endorsement of sexual stereotypes such as paintings of women as sexual

objects. This can lead to serious consequences; “other people’s evaluations of their physical

appearance can determine how…women are treated in day-to-day interactions, which in turn can

shape their social and economic life outcomes” (Fredrickson et al., 1998; p. 270)24

. Thus the next

section will explore the impact of internalization of gender stereotype in media on women’s lives.

III. Consequences on Women’s lives

Emotional and Cognitive Consequences

Women can experience serious emotional and cognitive consequences by being exposed to

gender stereotype messages that are pervasively reinforced in magazine ads. Fredrickson et al.,

(1998)24

tested the effect of Self-Objectification on women’s body shame and math performance.

These two topics are highly charged with gender stereotypes; sexualized media encourage women to

have ‘sexy’ bodies and to spend energy on attracting men with their bodies rather than on

quantitative domains.

The Objectification theory predicts that Self-Objectification leads women to experience

negative emotions associating with increased body shame. In the study, female undergraduates tried

on and evaluated either a swimsuit or a sweater in a dressing room with full-length mirror and then


completed a measure of body shameg. The idea is that the swimsuit group will be primed to self-

objectify based on idealized body images in prevailing media culture. Participants in the swimsuit

condition reported higher body shame compared to the sweater condition (figure 1). Furthermore, the

researchers identified heavier womenh as having the ‘higher trait self-objectification’. Among the

swimsuit group, heavier women reported higher shame than lighter women, as heavier women tend

to evaluate their body image as more deviant from idealized thin body standards and thus experience

more body shame.

Note that the researchers made a distinction between body shame and body dissatisfaction

(which will be discussed in the Health Risks section), since the Objectification Theory predicts that

women experience negative consequences of Self-Objectification primarily because of being

concerned with physical appearance without regarding whether they feel satisfied with their bodies.

Body shame thus suggests detrimental emotional consequences as a result of rejection of expressing

women’s own judgment.

In addition to negative emotional consequences, women also experience cognitive

consequences from self-objectification. The second part of the study explored how self-

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g Body shame scale was based on the Body Esteem Scale from Franzoi & Shields (1984)

25 but departed from the

Body Esteem Scale that it does not examine women’s satisfaction with their bodies but assess concern with

appearance without a judgmental or evaluative component) h Women in High and Low trait self-objectification group (heavy and light women respectively) were classified

using the Body Mass Index (weight/height2) from Must, Dallal, & Dietz (1991)

26


objectification affects math performance (for the purpose of this paper, only the female participants

will be discussed). The procedure was similar to that of the first part, except that while participants

were told to wait to adjust into new swimsuit or sweater, they completed a math testi. Participants

primed with self-objectification (swimsuit group) performed worse on the test compared to the non-

primed condition (figure 2). The experimenter concluded that chronic attention to physical

appearance leaves fewer cognitive resources for other mental and physical activities, resulting in

impaired performance on quantitative domain.

Additionally, gender stereotyping in media may cause women to experience stereotype threat,

or apprehension that they will confirm those gender stereotypes (such as the stereotype against

women in quantitative domains). The apprehension causes anxiety and impairs women’s cognitive

performances. Davies et al., (2002)27

demonstrated that activated stereotype through exposure to

stereotypic advertisement commercial caused women to underperform on a subsequent math test. In

the study, female undergraduates who strongly identify with math domains were either shown a

commercial that reinforced female stereotypes or countered them. The stereotypic commercial

showed a woman excited about looking more attractive with an acne product that she bounced on her

bed, while the counter stereotypic commercial showed an attractive woman impressing a man with

knowledge of automotive engineering. Women exposed to stereotypic commercial were primed with

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i The math test used was a challenging test composed of 20 multiple-choice word problems drawn from the

Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). Participants were allowed 15 minutes to complete the test.


gender stereotypical conventions in media and consequently underperformed on the math testj

compared to those in counter-stereotypic condition. This has important implications to cognitive

consequences and disadvantages women experience from being surrounded by gender stereotyping

in media.

Furthermore, the emotional disturbance women experience with the contradicting roles of

modern women should also be considered. While women are constantly pressured to achieve the

unattainable stereotypic expectations such as having the perfect sexy body, they are also becoming

increasingly expected to succeed in their profession (White & Wyn, 2004)28

. This further reinforces

the danger of today’s subtle gender stereotypes portrayal compared to earlier explicit traditional

female role expectations; while seemingly accepting women as independent, contemporary media is

also promoting sexualized conceptions in women.

Health Risks

Unrealistic depictions of female model’s bodies in magazines set unrealistic cultural

standards of beauty that women are expected to attain. For the past 20 years, there has been much

research attention on the increase in body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in American women

due to beauty ideals in media. For example, Hawkins et al. (2004)29

tested the effects of stereotypical

depictions of women with idealized thin body on women’s mental health. Female participants were

exposed to ads from Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and Glamour magazines containing either female model

or no model. The study concluded that participants who viewed female models, which reinforced

beauty ideals, indicated more negative mood states and lower self-esteem. As ads featuring female

models surrounds women wherever media exists, women are constantly being reminded of their

‘mediocre’ bodies that, media again suggests, cannot attract men. The negative consequences on

women’s mental health that can arise from this cannot be undermined.

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j The math test consisted of 12 questions taken from the Advanced Subject Graduate Record Examination (GREs).


Furthermore, several studies have reported association between the level of exposure to thin

female model and eating disorder symptoms (eg. Abramson & Valene, 199130

; Thomsen, Weber, &

Brown, 2002)11

. One study analyzed eating pattern of adolescent girls in Rochester, Minnesota and

changes in fashion during a 50-year period from 1935-1984 (Lucas et al., 1991)31

. The researchers

found that rates of anorexia nervosa, a type of eating disorder with symptoms of obsessive fear of

gaining weight, among those girls correlate with changes in body size of models in the fashion of a

particular time period. The period with thin female models marks the time when rates of anorexia

nervosa were highest. This effect infers that the girls were socially comparing themselves to popular

female model images that they are exposed to during that time, as the Social Comparison Theory

suggested. In fact, a meta-analysis of 156 studies on body dissatisfaction showed that social

comparison is a predictor of eating disorder (Myers and Crowther, 2009)32

. Thus, the unrealistic

beauty standard in magazines is partly responsible for unhealthy eating patterns that arise from

women’s distorted evaluation of their self body image.

Disadvantages in Competency and Relationship

Despite much improvement in today’s education system for women, some women may still

lose educational opportunities and vocational competencies because of gender stereotyping in media

culture. Women are exposed to magazine ads that encourage them to stand out by their looks, rather

than on their intelligence on math and science domains (Kilbourne, 1999)33

. Davies et al. (2002)27

(the study on stereotype threat discussed above) found that women who viewed gender stereotypical

ads not only performed worse in subsequent math test, but also avoided math items in favor of verbal

items in an aptitude test (figure 3) (while the opposite affect occurred for women exposed to neutral

ads). Although participants were those highly invested in math domain and not in verbal domain, in

the study they were immune to stereotype threat in verbal domains. Thus, many women may have

quantitative skills but exposure to gender stereotypes in media may discourage them to compete in

quantitative domains. In fact, part 3 of the study have found that women who viewed gender


stereotypical ads indicated “less interest in educational or vocational options [dealing with]

quantitative domains”(Davies et al,, 2002; p. 1615)27

(figure 4).

In addition, there may also be consequences on women’s experiences of the social world,

such as their romantic relationships. A study found that more frequent media consumption correlated

with greater acceptance of sexual double standards (i.e. women indicated that men are less likely to

be blamed for having more than one partner than women are) (Zurbriggen & Morgan, 2006)16

.

Moreover, magazines content that encourages women to place value on their physical appearances

may lead to women’s fear of negative evaluations of their bodies. Self-objectification may occur as

women become more focused on their partner’s judgments of their body image rather than on their

own judgments. There has been various studies on how self-objectification limits women’s pleasure

drawn from sexual experiences (Widerman, 2001)34

because women follow sexual activities that

men desire while neglecting their own desires (Wingood & DiClemente, 1992)35

. This may lead to

unequal power relationship between women and their male partners.


IV: Asian Experiences: Comparison of Conceptualization and Consequences in South Korean

and American Women

The media gender stereotyping literature has been strongly influenced by studies in United

States and may not fully describe the experiences of women across all cultures. Thus, this section

explores the influence of cultural elements on how gender stereotypes in Western ads convention

affect Asian women, specifically emphasizing South Korean women. In addition to gender

stereotypes pressuring women to achieve beauty standards, Asian women also have to live up to

racial stereotypes depicted in a popular culture that is dominated by Caucasian beauty ideals.

Adoption of Western Beauty Ideal

Magazine ads, as the marketing theory holds, are a reflection of the social norms and cultural

values of a given society (Belk & Pollay, 1985)36

. However, due to contemporary globalization,

increased trade and improved communication technologies are facilitating global integration between

different cultures. Magazine ads thus become one socializing agent that perpetuates beauty standards

globally, as seen in conventional models’ posing styles and physical features in cross cultural

magazine ads (Shaw, 1999)37

. Western cultures set the beauty standards of white skin, thin nose,

double-eye lid and long legs in magazine ads. With the social, economic, and political power

relations between United States and the rest of the world, Western transnational companies represent

the world’s mass media; the Korean magazine market is dominated by 15 Western-owned companies

(International Herald Tribune, 2004)38

. Cho et al. (1999)39

suggested increasing departure from

traditional Korean culture toward Western consumer cultures as a result of Western values depicted

in media.


These Western magazine conventions are prevalent and endorsed in Korea. Caucasian models

are used in Korean magazine ads as symbols of economic success. This is partly because the OEDC

k

organization lifted restrictions against use of foreign models in Korean ads in recognition of Korea

joining the organization in 1994. Moreover, in order to comply with the convention and gain

“positive association that foreign luxury transnational brands bring”, local Korean magazines also

imitate Western advertising standards and deliberately use Caucasian models (Oh, 2006; p. 27)40

.

Korean models most frequently have Western features and also adopt poses that conform to gender

role portrayal in Western ads (Griffin et al., 1994)41

. Furthermore, although the white population is

essentially non-existent in Korea, Kim and Lennon (2006)42

found that more Caucasian than Korean

models (52.3% vs. 47.7%) were featured in Korean ads in 2001. On the other hand, only 1.9% of US

ads of the same year featured Asian models (Hovland et al, 2005)2. This emphasizes the unequal

power relationships between America and Korea and the prevalence of Western beauty standards in

Korea. According to Kim and Lennon (2006)42

the “common appearance of White female models in

Korean women’s magazine provides strong evidence that the Western cultural ideal of beauty

extends beyond cultural boundaries and influences people in non-Western cultures” (p. 360). The

features of female models in magazine define beauty standards of a culture. Therefore, Western

beauty, ubiquitous in Korean magazines, defines type of beauty endorsed by Korean women.

Hence, compared to Western women, Korean women are exposed to similar gender

stereotype messages in ads that emphasize the importance of achieving beauty standards. A content

analysis of ads in a popular Korean magazine (Ju-Bu-Saeng Hwal) between 1965 and 1989 showed

increasing portrayal of modern Western gender role convention in Korean ads, such as an increase in

the number of women depicted as independent and an increase in the use of sexually appealing

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k Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international organization helping governments

tackle the economic, social and governance challenges of a globalised economy.


female model (Chung, 1990)6. However, this portrayal of women according to Western standards

may not be an accurate reflection of Korean culture.

Neo-Confucianism Contradictions

Contemporary globalization introduces science and modern civilization of the West to

Korean society. The status of Korean women has gone through a dramatic change during the 1900s.

Expansion of educational opportunities for Korean women have led to less confinement in traditional

female roles, as seen in a significant increase in number of women in various professional and

managerial roles (Hovland et al., 2005)2. Korean women are increasingly depicted as independent,

similar to the trend of women in the Western world. However, despite the more Western oriented

society, to say that adoption of Western values means that Korean women experience the world as

Western women do is to overlook the complexity of Korean culture, history, and identity.

Although Korea is transforming from a traditional to modern economic society, Confucian,

Taoist, and Buddhist values (or Neo-Confucianism) are rooted in Korean culture. The portrayal of

independent and sexualized women in magazines contradicts with the Neo-Confucian philosophies.

According to Hofstede (1997)43

, while to be feminine in United States is to be attractive and

nurturing, femininity in Neo-Confucian cultures is also associated with virtue and modesty. Neo-

Confucianism stresses rigid hierarchical order to human relations. Women, being considered lower in

the hierarchy, learn Confucian virtues of subordination and endurance, in order to prepare for their

roles as wives and mothers (Won, 1994)44

. Thus, Korean women are expected to be passive, quiet,

and not sexually active before marriage.

This disparity between traditional family roles and the social opportunities of modern society

causes conflicting roles for Korean women. They are expected to fulfill not only their traditional

responsibilities as subordinate wives, mothers, and daughters-in-law, but as independent and

expressive women in the social world (Choi, 1994)45

. Korean women are active and willing


consumers of the cultural and sexual norms dictated by Western culture, but they would be

considered too reserved to be portrayed explicitly in sexualized ways.

Consequently, Korean women are sexualized in subtle ways. For example, Korean models

often pose in such a way that their breasts can be gazed at in lingerie ads, but never showing their

whole body wearing the lingerie. Compared to Korean models, Western models are more frequently

selected to pose in sexual ways and wear revealing clothes in Korean ads, although the ads are

intended for Korean consumers (Nam, Lee, & Sun, 2007)46

. Moreover, another study reported that of

the 1130 Korean ads examined, the Sensual/Sexy typel appeared more often with Western models

(27.1% Western versus 10.8% Asian), whereas the Cute/Girl-Next Doorm

type more often featured

Asian models (25% Asian versus 15.7% Western) (Frith, Geng & Shaw, 2004)47

. Thus, Sexy is also

made into ‘Cute’ with young and innocent images of Korean models while they pose erotically.

This double bind conflict between sexualized messages in media and Neo-Confucian values

adds additional burden to Korean women, who are already pressured to achieve Western beauty

standards. The incongruity between reality and expectations of Korean women pressures them to be

sexy, yet not sexual. This extra burden can bring about more complicated consequences in Korean

women’s internalization of Western gender stereotyping messages in magazine ads.

Consequences of Internalized Western Gender Stereotypical Messages on Korean Women

Since Korean women readily adopt stereotypical feminine expectations and “internalize a

body image produced by the dominant [Western] culture’s racial ideology” (Kaw, 1993; p. 75)48

,

consequences of such internalization on Western women previously discussed should apply to

Korean women as well. However, due to insufficient research studies on this topic, assumption that

Korean women are being affected the same way as Western women cannot be made. However,

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l Models posing in sexual way and wearing revealing sexy attire

m Models having youthful appearance and wearing casual attire)


because of globalized media, the exposure to gender stereotyping messages between Asian-American

and Korean women should be comparable to some degree. Thus, the best alternative is to consider

the effects of internalized gender stereotypes on Asian-American. For example, a replication of the

swimsuit experiment, Fredrickson et al., (1998)24

, found that self-objectification occurred and led to

impaired cognitive performance in Asian-American women as well (Hebl, 2004)49

.

Consequences of Internalized Racial Stereotype in Addition to Gender Stereotype

“Western cultural ideal for women is ubiquitous and widely accepted among Korean women.

Korean magazines portray and promote Western feminine beauty as ideal and subsequently

pressure Korean women to achieve Western ideal” (Kim & Lennon, 2006; p. 359)42

For Korean women, internalization of Western sexualized messages in Korean magazines is a

“double jeopardy” (Hall , 2005)50

. Asian women have to conform to the ‘patriarchal definitions of

femininity’ as well as to ‘Caucasian standards of beauty’ (Kaw, 1993)48

. This is because achieving

Western beauty ideals promises not only positive rewards of being feminine, but also social status

improvement for Korean women who live in a society where the Western world is highly regarded.

Achievement of Caucasian features is associated with a better chance of “getting a date, securing a

mate, or getting a better job…for racial minorities” (Kaw, 1993; p. 78)48

. However, the white beauty

standards that Korean women are pressured to attain may be physically impossible for Asian bodies.

Consequently, a vast majority of Korean women consider plastic surgery as their way to

achieve Western beauty ideals. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Education and Human

Resources Development in 2002 reported that 71.6% of Korean women wanted to or have undergone

plastic surgery, and that the number is constantly increasing. Park (1996)51

indicated that

epicanthoplasty, or double eye-lid surgery that produces a more Caucasian-like open eyes on Asian

eyes, is the most frequently performed cosmetic surgical procedure in Asia. However, the national

statistics of type of surgery that Korean women undergo are not available. A reasonable alternative is


the result from Kaw (1993)48

, which reported eyelid surgery being the most common procedure

among Asian-American patients in two doctors’ office (M=43%) followed by nasal implants and

nasal tip refinement (M=19%). The study suggested that Asian women primarily seek to alter

through cosmetic surgery their ‘dull’ looking eyes and flat noses, which are markers of their racial

identity. Kaw concluded that Asian women who undergo plastic surgery are “influenced by a gender

ideology that states that beauty should be a primary goal of women. They are conscious that because

they are women, they must conform to certain standards of beauty…but the standard of beauty they

try to achieve through surgery is motivated by a Caucasian racial ideology” (Kaw, 1993; p.78-79)48

.

Therefore, Korean women who internalize gender stereotyping messages experience the

health risks involved in not only disordered eating to achieve the beauty ideal, but also in undergoing

plastic surgeries to achieve the Caucasian beauty ideal. Moreover, detrimental emotional

consequences may also arise as popular culture constantly reinforce Korean women to mutilate

rather than celebrate their natural Asian features (Hall, 1995)50

. Korean women’s looks, compared to

those of Caucasian women, are further away from the beauty ideal perpetuated in mass media, and

thus they may be more susceptible to the effects of low self-esteem and poor body image.

Additionally, elements of Korean collectivistic culture may further dramatize the internalization

effects. Korean culture has an interdependent self construal, or understanding of self as a constituent

of the social context, as opposed to the independent self construal in Western cultures (Markus &

Kitayama, 1991)52

. This may lead to higher tendency of self-objectification in Korean women, since

they are already prone to the concept of seeing others’ opinions of them as an important part of their

identity. Collectivism in Korea also promotes conformity; almost all Korean models are described as

having very specific, uniformed beauty ideals of ‘big eyes with double eyelids, high nose, small and

egg-shaped face, fair skin, long legs, and slender body’ (Jee & Oh, 2006; p.6)53

as opposed to more

varieties in Western cultures. Hence, Korean women who value conformity may be more pressured

to achieve that one and only Western beauty standard in order to fit in and do well in society.


CONCLUSION: Interventions & Future Research

Women across cultures are victims of the portrayal of stereotypical gender roles perpetuated

through mass media culture. Various empirical evidence suggests that women are sexualized in

contemporary magazine ads, that women are prone to internalizing the beauty standards depicted in

ads, and that such internalization can lead to emotional and cognitive consequences, health risks, and

disadvantages in women’s relational and career lives. This paper also explored further consequences

of the internalization of Western beauty ideal as a function of racial stereotypes in addition to gender

stereotypes among Korean women. The consequences may also extend beyond individual to societal

levels, such as increase in rate of sexual violence, or even to national levels, such as the widening

gap between socio-economic classes of women due to the financial investment needed to attain

beauty ideals. Therefore, interventions at all levels are essential to counteract this trend.

Educational interventions such as implementation of media literacy training programs could

be a solution to encourage women to challenge the realism of media’s stereotypical gender portrayal.

The goal of media literacy is to create active interpreters of messages rather than passive viewers as

Gerbner’s Cultivation theory suggested. James Potter, an advocate of the cognitive theory of media

literacy, addressed the importance of media literacy in developing critical viewpoints in cognitive

development; media literacy “helps individuals alter their behavior in a way to empower them to use

the media rather than default to the media using them”(Potter, 2004; p. 271)54

. Media literacy has

been widely credited for reducing risk of alcohol use (Austin and Joshnson, 1997)55

and decreasing

acceptance of violence (Voojis and ven der Voort, 1993)56

. Thus, researchers have recently begun to

explore how critical thinking about gender stereotyping in media through media literacy may help

protect women from endorsing sexualized and thin beauty ideals.

Various studies suggest that media literacy interventions effectively promote media

skepticism among women One study found that college women who were shown a 45-minute


segment of film ‘Slim Hopes’ by Jean Kilbourne (1995)33

, which addresses the tactics used by

advertisers to manipulate images of models, showed increased awareness of the unrealistic depiction

of socio-cultural beauty standards, compared to the control group (Irving & Berel, 2001)57

.

Furthermore, advocacy for media literacy for women have been implemented. For example, ‘The

Girls, Women+ Media Project’ (www.mediaandwomen.org) provides media literacy resources and

education to challenge media’s stereotypical portrayal of women.

However, most of the studies conducted measure only immediate attitude change, but do not

follow-up on long term effects or measure of actual behavioral change that arise through exposure of

media literacy. Some studies have attempted to explore these issues, but effectiveness of results

varies. Wade, Davidson & O’Dead (2003)58

found that the media literacy (‘GO GIRLS! Program)

led to reduction in weight control concerns immediately following the intervention, but the effects

were not sustained when participants were tested on a 3-month follow-up. Furthermore, a study

compared the effectiveness of media-literacy programs, and found that although exposure to media

literacy increase ‘awareness’, it does not decrease ‘internalization’ of stereotypical beauty ideals (no

significant change on negative attitudes towards women’s own body images) (Irving & Berel,

2001)57

. This suggests that a brief media literacy exposure may be insufficient to counteract the

prevailing cultural pressure on stereotypical ideals in mass media culture.

Media literacy for women, although a promising approach, still requires further investigations.

One of the few studies that address the interaction between individual differences and media literacy

effect is Coughlin & Kalodner (2006)59

. The study demonstrates that level of risk for eating disorder

interacts with the effects of media literacy, such that only women with high-risk for disordered

eatingn reported significant decrease in internalization of beauty ideals after exposure to media

literary. Further research on similar approaches would be beneficial to our understanding of the

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

n Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnosis (Mintz et al., 1997)

62 was used to assess cognition and behaviors

associated with eating disorder, to classify participants into high or low risks conditions.


interactions between women’s personality, biological, and socio-cultural factors and types of media

literacy used, in order to increase the efficiency of media literary training programs.

In addition, promotion of extra-curricular activities may be a useful supplement to media

literacy training in educational programs. For example, the relationship between sports participation

and increase in self-esteem has been widely studied. Promotion of sports participation has been

implemented on people with physical disabilities to increase their levels of body self-esteem (Gruber,

1986)60

. Lehman & Koehler (2004)61

explained that the effect is regulated by an increase in

functional body orientation, or the extent to which an individual thinks of his/her body as something

he/she is capable of controlling. This suggests that participation in sports may not only lead to

increase in self-esteem, but also reduce the risk of self-objectification in women. With the mentality

that they are capable of controlling their own bodies, women may be less prone to viewing their

bodies as objects subjective to evaluation of others, and thereby reducing health risks and other

consequences involved in the internalization of beauty ideals in media. Therefore, future research is

needed to investigate the relationship between sports participation and self-objectification in women.

To resist the prevailing media culture, educational intervention alone may not be sufficient.

Family members should play active roles in mediating and advising girls during media consumption

to prevent internalization of sexualized media culture. At the communal level, activists should also

encourage discussions of unrealistic gender role portrayal in media and recommend alternative media

sources. Furthermore, media policies and regulation should be made at institutional, national, and

global levels to counteract gender stereotyping in media that is bringing serious consequences to

women, society, and the world.


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Documents

Gender Stereotyping of Women in Contemporary Magazine Advertisements by Pariya Sripakdeevong (Will) (M.I.T. Psychology of Gender and Race)