2 research outputs found
The electronic media as a technological marketing tool for the subordination of women in Zimbabwe: the case of adverts on ZTV and SABC 1, 2 and 3
The study examines the significance of the electronic media in maintaining
and perpetuating gender inequality. In the wake of various conventions
and declarations that advocate for a dignified portrayal of women in the
mass media, advertisements continue to portray women in images that
inhibit their potential in the extradomestic sphere. In the marketing of
goods and services, advertisements perpetuate stereotypes of women. In
that view a close look at the role of the mass media in the subordination
of women becomes germane especially in the analysis of women`s
positioning in today`s world. Content analysis was used as a method of
inquiry for this study. One hundred and ten advertisements were recorded
from television channels ZTV, SABC 1, 2 and 3 in Zimbabwe. Coded data
was recorded using descriptive statistics. The study shows that people
in the media business do not practice what they profess in relation to the
representation of women in the media. Through technology, advertising
continues to portray women as objects to be used as means to particular
ends. There are some deep seated attitudes of individuals and organisations
that continue to thwart efforts to improve the representation of women in
the media. The study recommends the need for intensive, gender sensitive
training for media professionals so that they desist from using stereotyped
and unbalanced images of women in the marketing of goods and service