Representation of motherhood in television advertisements

Abstract

Television is one of the most popular sources of entertainment in the modern world. It is certainly so in Sri Lanka where 80% of households have televisions. Advertising plays a crucial role in the modern world, since they form the life source of television and other forms of mass communication. The representation of motherhood in television advertisements forms the focus area of this paper with the belief that advertising?s image of motherhood could influence the collective consciousness of society in terms of defining motherhood and exerting undue pressure on women. This study attempts to draw a statistical profile of primetime advertising in Sri Lanka and analyze the representation of motherhood in advertisements from a quantitative and qualitative perspective. Advertisements from top advertisers have been chosen for further analysis after monitoring three television channels during August, 2012. Statistical evaluations reveal that in television, advertisements occupy 17%-25% of primetime. A feminist analysis of the content and the ideological baggage of advertisements reveals that they rely on stereotypical portrayals and define womanhood and motherhood in rigid and limited terms. In Sri Lanka, the bulk of advertisements (71%) portray women as mothers and wives. Viewers are bombarded with images of beautiful wives and mothers who enthusiastically fulfill their responsibilities within the domestic sphere. Such stereotypical representations not only reflect sexist understandings about women and men but also reinforce unjust gender ideologies which are already part of the collective consciousness of society. The conclusion of this study is that most advertisements relegate women to traditional gender roles within which women are second-class citizens whose value is relative to their domestic performance and ability to procreate and nurture. Springing from a pool of collective knowledge that is highly sexist, advertising?s image of motherhood contributes to form limited definitions of and strenuous demands from women, trapping them inside rigid concepts of normalcy.