Asian Females in an Advertising Context: Exploring Skin Tone Tension

Abstract

While the explosive literature on the portrayal of women in advertising has established a multitude of salient issues (e.g., sexual objectification), the skin tone of Asian models in ads and associated cultural underpinnings has not yet been examined. However, given the obsession in various Asian countries with skin whitening for women, it has the potential to be salient in Asian cultures in the United States. The current exploratory study examines the possibility of “skin tone tension” occurring in a diverse Asian sample in the United States and compares Caucasian to Asian reactions to a model's skin tone in a print ad. The results reflect cultural frameworks and provide a preliminary evidentiary starting point for further examination of this issue in various Asian cultures within the United States. Toward that end, extant theory is discussed and a new research agenda to extend such is proposed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We acknowledge the support of Dr. Kathryn LaTour, Kelly Bennett, and Lin Zhang for their help in the completion of this research.

Notes

^{1 1}The common Chinese proverb Yi Bai Zhe San Chou (fair skin can hide facial flaws) is used.

²All Ponds episodes together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXQSkE9J4N8.

³ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BNmqGF5Xmc.

⁴ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoC8Jjw2Ugg.

⁵ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUu2q7GK2kk&feature=related.

This article was accepted by Claude Martin and James Leigh, previous editors of the Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising.