Gender portrayals on television : the representation of males and females in Lebanese commercials

Abstract

In the current rise of Womens Rights organizations and NGOs in the Arab world in general and Lebanon in particular, the need for gender equality and rejection of any kind of objectification, abuse or discrimination is being called for. For that reason, it is important to shed light on the stereotypical portrayals of males and females in Lebanese TV commercials, because these commercials portray how men and women are differentiated. Because of the influence media has on the image of Lebanese men and women, studying gender portrayals in Lebanese television advertising is a significant issue that has not been under examination from academics and scholars in Lebanon. Through the method of content analysis, gender portrayals were examined by watching, describing and analyzing Lebanese commercials displayed on Lebanese local channels. Results found that there is a significant relationship between the images TV advertisements are presenting, and gender stereotypes. Therefore, this thesis aims to draw a descriptive image of how media producers are portraying women and men through Lebanese television commercials. Thus, at the end of my thesis, I shall demonstrate that Lebanese media depend on gender stereotypes to depict the image of Lebanese males and females.