In the Pages of Ms.: Sex Role Portrayals of Women in Advertising

Abstract

The stated advertising policy of Ms. magazine precludes the acceptance of advertisements for products that are “harmful” or advertisements that are insulting to women. This study employs manifest and latent content analysis to assess the extent to which Ms. advertising, over the first 15 full years of its publication has carried out this policy. The findings suggest that a substantial proportion of Ms. advertising promotes products generally considered “harmful.” Also, while the portrayal of women as subordinate to men or as merely decorative has decreased over time, Ms. advertising has increasingly portrayed women as alluring sex objects. Possible reasons for the trends revealed here are discussed.