Caring for her: the influence of presumed influence on female consumers’ attitudes towards advertising featuring gender-stereotyped portrayals

ABSTRACT

This study investigates how presumed influence on others affects women's evaluations of advertising featuring gender stereotypes. Previous research has largely overlooked the social context of the reactions to gender stereotypes. Addressing that gap, this study draws on the influence of presumed influence model to proposed that female consumers believe that other women are negatively affected by advertising that contains gender-stereotyped portrayals. This perception is hypothesized to influence ad and brand attitudes as consumers ‘punish’ the brand for hurting others. The results of two experimental studies featuring stereotyped and non-stereotyped advertising portrayals indicate that the hypothesis holds for two types of stereotype components (physical characteristics and role behaviour). This new theoretical perspective to the literature on gender stereotypes in advertising, one that helps to explain why many women dislike gender stereotypes in advertising even though those stereotypes often have limited impact on them personally.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender stereotypes
• female stereotypes
• physical stereotypes
• role behaviour stereotypes
• influence of presumed influence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nina Åkestam

Nina Åkestam is a researcher at the Center for Consumer Marketing at Stockholm School of Economics. Her research focuses on consumer reactions to stereotyped and non-stereotyped advertising portrayals.