Gender representation in children targeted commercials

The stereotypical representation of gender roles portrayed by media highly influences the viewers. Children are more fascinated by the unreal world portrayed on television, especially commercials. This study examines representation of gender in commercials targeting children in India. Over 100 respondents targeting Indian advertisements are chosen for the study using purposive sampling technique and coded on the basis of nine variables, some of the variables are intact from the traditional content-coding scheme introduced by McArthur and Resko (1975). The findings show that gender stereotypes still exist in Indian television commercials targeted at children. Both men and women are represented in stereotypical roles in advertisements. But comparatively more women are depicted in the stereotypical roles in children targeted advertisements.