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What Makes a Man? A Quantitative Content Analysis of Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity in
Prime-Time Television Commercials
A thesis submitted to the
Graduate School
of the University of Cincinnati
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
in the Department of Communication
of the College of Arts and Sciences
by
Steve Ingham
B.A. Saginaw Valley State University
May 2015
Committee Chair: Nancy Jennings PhD
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Abstract
This research will analyze the efficacy of Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity in prime-time television commercials. There are many tenets of masculinity, of which Doyle highlights five.
Through this quantitative content analysis I will analyze the portrayals of men and how they embody Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity.
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Acknowledgments
I want to thank my adviser, Dr. Nancy Jennings, and my committee, Drs. Melissa Lewis
Hobart and John Lynch, for being patient and supportive throughout this writing process. I would like to thank Boluwatife Oriowo for being so helpful and patient as we coded these commercials.
Finally, I would like to thank my fellow students for being supportive throughout this process.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction………………..……………………………………………….…….…7
Chapter 2: Literature Review………..…………….…………..………...………….…………..9
Chapter 3: Methods……………..…………………….…………………………….…………22
Chapter 4: Results…………………………………….……………….………………....……34
Chapter 5: Discussion, Limitations and Future Research, Implications….….………………..46
References…………………………………………………………………..…………………53
Appendix: Codebook……………………………..……….………………..………………….62
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List of Tables
Table 1: Intercoder Reliability of Sample……………………………………………………32
Table 2: Frequency of Characters.....…………………………….….……………………….35
Table 3: Frequency of Sex(es) of Characters…………………………………..…………….36
Table 4: Frequency of Age………………………………………….………………………..37
Table 5: Frequency of Race………………………...………………………………………..38
Table 6: Frequency of Variables for “Don’t be Feminine” Tenet…………………………...39
Table 7: Frequency of Variables for “Be Successful” Tenet…………………………….…..41
Table 8: Frequency of Variables for “Be Aggressive” Tenet………………………………..42
Table 9: Frequency of Variables for “Be Sexual” Tenet…………………………………….44
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Gender portrayals and representations in the media have been studied for many years (Allan
& Coltrane, 1996; Bartsch et al., 2000; Collins, 2011; Cunningham et al., 2004; Emeksiz, 2013).
There have been extensive studies on how representations of women in television and other
media impacts real women’s perceptions of themselves and others (Butsch, 2003; Collins, 2011;
Emeksiz, 2013). However, there has been limited research on men on television. This study will
further our understanding of how masculinity is portrayed in television, specifically television
commercials. This study will contribute to the field by the depiction of masculinity through the
lens of a model new to media studies: J. A. Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity Model (1995).
In order to understand how Doyle’s tenets impact masculinity, I will first discuss the
importance of the Feminist movement. The Feminist Movement has raised awareness and
influenced how we understand portrayals of women. In the 1950s television commercials
focused on women needing cleaning and childcare products (Allan & Coltrane, 1996). Today,
more women are shown in professional roles, changing how businesses advertise their products
to men and women alike.
While there has been a focus on the depiction of women in the media (Gottschalk & Smith,
2013; North, 2016; Signorielli, 2001), what has received less attention has been the portrayal of
men and masculinity. In the late 1970s, women were shown less often in television commercials than men (Gerbner & Signorielli, 1979). In 2011, the same held true. “…it is noteworthy that the disparity in portrayals of males and females has persisted over decades, during which the rules of women in society have broadly expanded” (Collins, 2011, p. 292).
While women have been studied extensively in television commercials, there is a dearth of
research on the portrayals of men. What little research that has been done finds that men are still 8
being portrayed, often, as being unable or unwilling to take care of the house and the children
(Butsch, 2003; Hanke, 1998).
Moreover, of those commercials that show men as the primary caretaker, these depictions are
limited to commercials showing a single father (Kaufman, 1999). This research will further our
understanding of how men are portrayed in television commercials.
I will use Doyle’s five tenets of masculinity to understand how masculinity is portrayed in
television commercials in prime-time television on broadcast channels. Doyle’s tenets are (1) don’t be feminine, (2) be successful, (3) be self-reliant, (4) be sexual [wanting sex, having sex, talking about sex] and (5) be aggressive. These tenets will inform my hypotheses.
There has been research conducted on all five of these tenets, although no research has combined all of them in one comprehensive study. Moreover, Doyle’s tenets have not been used as applied to media content. Therefore, this research will add to the field and serve as the root of a line of research I will continue to pursue.
I will review relevant literature in chapter 2. Specifically, I will discuss Cultivation Theory,
Social Learning Theory, research on advertising and television, and research on masculinity. I will then discuss my methods in chapter 3. I will present the results from my quantitative content analysis in chapter 4. I will then discuss the results, some limitations and implications of my study. I will finish with the conclusion drawn from this analysis.
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Chapter 2: Literature Review
Mass media have been a major focus of research in communication. While a range of studies
have examined masculinity, television, and advertisements, I have not identified any specific
study in Communication deploying Five Tenets, and then review studies of advertising and
television commercials as they relate to depictions of masculinity. After reviewing the literature
and identifying from that the justification for my project, this chapter will close with the
hypotheses for this thesis.
Masculinity
Masculinity has been defined in a variety of ways, but perhaps its most consistently assigned
attribute is hegemony or power (Ahmed & Wahab, 2014; Anderson, 2002; Connell, 1987, 1995,
2000; Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005; Smith et al., 2010; Gramsci, 1971; Herrett-Skjellum &
Allen, 1996). Hegemonic masculinity is the idea that the basic tenets of masculinity inform the rules, norms and values of society (Connell, 1987, 1995, 2000). Hegemonic masculinity is prevalent in our society. When a man and a woman go out on a date, it is traditionally and culturally expected for the man to pick up the check, regardless of how large his income. A man who cannot pay for the check is seen as less than masculine by the woman, but also by other men nearby. A man who makes more money and has more money to spend is seen as more masculine than a man who cannot pay for the check.
Physical characteristics have been linked to masculinity, particularly in the realm of sports
(Anderson, 2002; Cunningham & Sartore, 2008; Messner, 1989). Strength, size, and physical power play an integral role in the success of an athlete (Connell, 1987; Connell &
Messerschmidt, 2005; Messner, 1989). Athletes who are bigger and stronger are more masculine than weak athletes (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005). In Australia, an Iron Man is someone who 10
wins the Iron Man Competition, an event including swimming, biking and running along
Australia’s coast. The “Iron Man” epitomizes masculinity because of his physical dominance
over other athletes (Connell, 1987).
Just as physical characteristics contribute to the definition of masculinity in sports, non-
physical characteristics shape the social construction of masculinity, particularly for those who
do not have physical prowess, (Connell, 2000). Similarly, non-physical characteristics can help a
man who is not physically imposing maintain their masculinity.
Non-physical characteristics describe the inner thoughts and capabilities of a person.
Courage, toughness, autonomy, aggression (Donaldson, 1993); prestige and honor (Messner,
1989); political, sexual, monetary, and social advantage (Connell, 2000) have been used to
explain how one’s non-physical characteristics can portray masculinity.
Non-physical characteristics become particularly important in defining masculinity within environments where men encounter other men (Anderson, 2002; Osborne & Wagner, 2007;
Stombler, Wharton, & Yeung, 2006). In his research on homosexual/heterosexual relations in the
workplace, portrayals of masculinity by those who identify has homosexual impact others who
identify as heterosexual. How a man communicates courage, determination, intelligence, honor,
and toughness can go far in determining whether one is masculine within said environment. In
their research, R. W. Connell explains that heterosexual members of a board of directors are
more willing to accept a homosexual member if the homosexual member stays within the
boundaries of a “normal” member (Connell, 1987). If the homosexual male member sticks to the
prescribed behaviors of a heterosexual male member, such as intelligence, proper dress for their
gender, determination, toughness, and business savvy, then the heterosexual male members will
not discriminate against the homosexual male member. If the homosexual male member 11
blatantly displays their homosexuality by displaying “feminine” behaviors such as wearing
makeup, excessively expressing emotions, or making excessive physical contact, then they are
more likely to receive discrimination from the heterosexual male members.
Non-physical characteristics also helped determine masculinity within corporate business and the workplace. Showing aggression, intelligence, determination, and a willingness to fight for what one believes in can get one ahead in business (Blackstone, McLaughlin, & Uggen, 2012;
Connell, 2000; Schippers, 2007). Women who go outside of their gender norms by being dominant and forceful in the corporate business arena are perceived to be forsaking their femininity and taking on the characteristics of masculinity (Blackstone, McLaughlin, & Uggen,
2012). Men who continue to subjugate women and communicate dominance in the workplace are perceived to continue their masculinity.
However, it is not enough to demonstrate one trait; it is the compounding factor of multiple masculine traits that leads to a more “pure” form of masculinity (Akyuz & Sayan-Cengiz, 2016;
Cleland, 2016; Dixson et al., 2016). Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity are different because they incorporate various understandings of masculinity. Doyle’s model suggests that individuals can have more masculinity (be richer) than someone else and is based on a capital system
(Cunningham et al., 2013) (Doyle, 1995).
Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity
Doyle (1995) identifies five tenets of masculinity, arguing that they represent five ways one can own capital in masculinity. Those five tenets are (1) don’t be feminine, (2) be successful, (3) be aggressive, (4) be sexual, and (5) be self-reliant. Doyle’s work on the five tenets was purely
descriptive. He did not evaluate them or make claims as to whether they should truly represent
masculinity. According to Doyle, these are the extant hegemonic norms defining masculinity. 12
Even though a man may not fulfill all five tenets at any one time, he must be able to perform any of those tenets at a moment’s notice. A masculine man ought to be able to perform the appropriate tenet of masculinity for any given context. For example, in a physical altercation, a man is not required to “be sexual”, but he must be able to “be aggressive.” After the physical altercation, a man no longer needs to “be aggressive” and needs to perform one of the other four tenets as appropriate maintain his masculinity.
Don’t be feminine: It is important to note that Doyle’s first tenet infers a binary between masculinity and femininity. If one is not feminine then one must be masculine. To understand this tenet, one must understand femininity. Julia T. Wood (2013) highlights what it means to be feminine using five cultural expectations. She begins with the notion that appearances still matter. The clothes a woman wears, her hairstyle, how much makeup she wears, and her sexual behaviors are key to determining femininity.
The second aspect of femininity is that of being sensitive and caring. A true woman must be able to have empathy and sympathy for others always. She is responsible for taking care of children as well as “her man” and even his extended when necessary (Sack, 1991).
The third cultural expectation outlined by Wood is that of being a superwoman. Being a superwoman includes doing everything, including maintaining the house, taking care of the children and being a successful employee (Sack, 1991).
The final cultural expectation, per Wood, is that femininity is changing (Smith & Kimmel,
2005; Wood, 2013). Smith & Kimmel’s and Wood’s concept is that femininity is changing along with masculinity. There is no ideal woman anymore because women’s roles have changed so much. 13
So, what does it mean to be not feminine? It means that men must exhibit the opposite of
these cultural expectations. Men must not worry about their appearance, cannot be caring and
sensitive, will receive and demand positive and preferential treatment without even asking for it,
and do not have to do it all to be considered masculine.
Be successful: The second ideal by Doyle is that of being successful. Success is measured by
personal decisions, such as establishing professional contacts and “avoiding troublesome peers”
(Wiebold & Spiller, 2016, p. 4). Kirkwood (2016) provides four measures of success, the most
pertinent for this analysis is financial success. A traditional man was successful if they owned
nice things, including nice cars, houses, boats, and women. In television commercials, success is
portrayed as drinking the finest alcohol, wearing nice suits, having bikini-clad women at your side, owning a nice house, or owning a nice car. Most of these ideals are associated with money over happiness.
Other scholars have analyzed success when it comes to masculinity. Netchaeva, Kouchaki and Sheppard (2015) conducted studies where men entered an occupational negotiation situation with either a male or female manager. The authors found that, when men negotiated with a female manager, they chose to keep more money for themselves than when negotiating with a male manager (p. 1251). The men also negotiated more aggressively with a woman than with a man. The authors point out that the results might be explained by men implicitly feeling as if female managers break stereotypical gender roles and should therefore be punished for it
(Netchaeva, Kouchaki & Sheppard, 2015, p. 1253).
Strier et al. studied men in various working environments and financial statuses.
Our study also shows that despite deplorable working conditions and low remuneration, and regardless of their troubled working trajectories, participants, despite ethnic and cultural differences, construe work as central to their lives. Waged work means order, maturity and responsibility, a crucial component of male identity and psychological well-being. For many 14
men in the study, paid work is juxtaposed against menacing shadows of poverty and unemployment (2014).
Men see work as central to masculinity, despite how much they are being paid. Being unemployed is a direct hit against masculinity because they are being unsuccessful. Success is a major tenet of masculinity.
Be aggressive: The third conceptualization of Doyle’s masculinity is to be aggressive. There are three forms of aggression Doyle emphasizes: non-physical aggression, physical aggression, and sexual aggression.
The first form of aggression outlined by Doyle is that of non-physical aggression. This type of aggression includes emotional and mental aggression, including name-calling and gossip
(Miller, 2016). When a man cannot beat another man up or chooses not to, but they still want domination over another man (see The Benchwarmers Gus versus Stephen for an example), they use mental and emotional tactics to put the other man down. Calling someone stupid, making fun of the deficiencies that they have no control over (balding, bed-wetting, small penis), the first man can cause distress and unhappiness to the other man (Flannery et al., 2016, p. 1047).
The second form of aggression is physical aggression. This can be seen in two forms: 1) between men and 2) between a man and a woman (Doyle, 1995). When a man strikes another man, he is showing his physical dominance. A man who wins a fight is more masculine than the man who loses the fight. Hochstetler, Copes and Forsyth (2014) explain this concept further:
In discussing their motives and rationales for violence, participants often used language that indicated themes of masculinity or manhood. For these men verifying character through fighting was ‘doing masculinity’. The men seemed aware that others witnessed and judged their actions; consequently, bystanders would hold them accountable for their response to insults and they might have significant regret if they failed to fight. By upholding cultural expectations of when (and who) to fight, the men could demonstrate that they were appropriately stalwart and strong (p. 506).
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It is important to note that winning the fight is not the most important aspect of physical
aggression; the willingness to fight key to masculinity. Masculinity can be gained by both men in
a fight. The man who wins will be more masculine than the man who loses, but both men will
have gained masculinity capital.
In a fight between a man and a woman, masculinity can only be lost (Doyle, 1995). A man is
supposed to maintain control over his woman. If she gets out of control, he is responsible for
putting her back in line. If a woman wins the fight, then the man is less masculine. If he wins that
fight, then he is exactly as masculine as he is supposed to be. Because the average man is
physically stronger than the average woman, the man uses that advantage to physically attack the
woman. Along with the biological advantage, men are taught as children to be aggressive (e.g.
football, wrestling) whereas women are taught to be sensitive and caring (e.g. playing with dolls,
playing house), shying away from aggression. Fear of further aggression leads many women to
not report the abuse, causing even more harm to come to them.
Sexual aggression follows the idea that men should be in charge when it comes to sex,
including the relationship leading up to sex (Doyle, 1995). Per Doyle, men should initiate sexual
actions, including kissing, touching for arousal and sexual intercourse.
Be sexual: The fourth notion of masculinity from Doyle is that of being sexual. This tenet requires further exploration. Men are not expected to be sexual objects; instead they are expected to want and have as much as sex possible (Doyle, 1995). Men are expected to have multiple partners and lose their virginity at a young age (Armstrong et al., 2014). In fact, for most men, losing their virginity is a major step in becoming a man (Doyle, 1995). Men are expected to get women naturally and not by paying them: it is less masculine to pay for sex then to “earn” it 16
(Doyle, 1995). A man who convinces a virgin woman to sleep with him is being extremely
successful with the concept of “being sexual” (Doyle, 1995).
Be self-reliant: The final tenet of Doyle’s masculinity is that of being self-reliant. Women are
expected to be reliant upon men. Men are supposed to be self-reliant, particularly in regards to income and finances (Doyle, 1995). Other aspects of self-reliance include emotions, where a man is supposed to be in control and able to help himself with all emotional problems (Doyle, 1995).
When a man cannot control his emotions and either cries or loses his temper, he is not self-reliant
(Doyle, 1995). When a man sees someone for help, particularly a psychiatrist or psychologist,
then he is not self-reliant (Doyle, 1995).
This becomes particularly problematic when it comes to health. Men who are completely
self-reliant and do not seek medical treatment or advice often have negative consequences on
their health (Burns & Mahalik, 2006). Men who are experiencing poor health are wary about
sharing that information with someone who will judge them (Mahalik & Rochlen, 2006).
African-American men who identified strongly with masculinity were more likely to delay blood pressure and cholesterol screenings (Hammond et al., 2010). Men with cancer who refused to share their feelings and attitudes toward their health were more likely to experience negative effects on both their physical and mental health (Hammond et al., 2010). In all, masculinity has a direct effect on men’s health because of the belief that men need to be completely self-reliant.
While independence is a positive aspect, being completely on one’s own leads to negative health.
Advertising
Research on advertising has explored several avenues, including its structure and its impact
on memory and gender. Scholars have focused on the impact of advertising on how we view
ourselves and each other (Bratu, 2013; Grohmann, 2009; Eisend, 2010). Eisend states that gender 17
stereotyping and the understanding thereof come from society itself, not from television.
However, television reflects society. “…gender stereotyping in advertising depends on
developments related to gender equality in society rather than the other way around” (Eisend,
2010, p. 436).
A commercial tells a story (Signorielli, 2001). “This storytelling function of television is extremely important because these stories teach viewers about the intricacies of the world and its peoples” (Signorielli, 2001, p. 342). There is a protagonist (usually the main character) who faces a problem. Television shows and movies have hours to tell a story; TV commercials have mere seconds to tell the story of how a character uses their product or service to benefit their lives. The solution is the product/service being advertised. A commercial demonstrates that someone needs the product to lead a successful and happy life. For the commercial to be effective, they must make the viewers invested in the character. A character who causes the viewer to be invested will most likely lead to higher success of the product/ service being advertised.
We generally watch a story unfold through a central protagonist and find ourselves affected through our identification with that character. For the duration of the narrative we get the pleasure of experiencing the world as someone else – someone who often embodies idealized aspects of our own personalities.
Television provides examples of specific portrayals of masculinity. In their analysis of Old
Spice’s Smell Like a Man, Man campaign, Kluch (2015) revealed that traditional masculinity
(physical strength, muscularity) were more important than other characteristics.
Both Isaiah Mustafa and Terry Crews had muscular physiques, leading both men and women to believe that masculinity relies upon physical representations. Mustafa portrayed a modern form of masculinity where he understood how women feel, but in a way that makes women want him instead of the man next to the woman (Kluch, 2015). 18
Even though Mustafa understood women, he still had a significant amount of muscle mass.
“Pope et al. (2000, p. 1300-1301) report that men want, and also believe that women would prefer, a [male] body with at least 27 lb more muscle than they actually had” (Harrison, 2008).
Mustafa, and other men on TV, portray traditional masculine characteristics, such as physical size and muscularity.
If a man is set up to be the depiction of masculinity, such as Terry Crews, then a man who is watching might believe in the narrative and believe that message represents real life. A man who believes Terry Crews is the real-life representative of masculinity will, probably, view themselves as less than masculine. Despite these commercials playing up the farce of masculinity, the chosen representations can cause problems with real-world understandings of masculinity.
Television Commercials
“Television is the central and most pervasive mass medium in the American culture. Over the years, it has come to play a distinctive and historically unprecedented role as our nation’s most common, constant, and vivid learning environment” (Signorielli, 2001, p. 341). TV has become pervasive, and, by extension, TV commercials.
Television commercials provide an easy and streamlined method of getting a message from the creator of a product to the consumer (Reid & King, 2003). “It [television] also produces the most powerful communication effects—it attracts the most attention, it produces the most memory, it generates the most positive feelings and it moves more people to act” (Reid & King,
2003, p. 19). When people are motivated to act after watching a television commercial it usually leads to higher product sales, as most commercials are advertisements for a product or service. 19
Television commercials impact how men understand their masculinity. Garst & Bodenhausen
(1997) point out that men’s gender role attitudes are influenced by men they see in mass media.
Men who portray traditional masculinity influence men to continue to embody traditional
masculinity. Vokey, Tefft & Tysiaczny (2013) highlight that “[a]s suggested by previous
qualitative studies (White & Gillet, 1994), our quantitative study confirmed that, often,
advertisements in magazines targeted at men depict hyper-masculinity ideology” (Vokey, Tefft
& Tysiaczny, 2013, p. 572). Hyper-masculinity is portrayed in television advertisements which
leads to men learning from those portrayals. Men who watch TV will embody hyper-masculine ideals.
Other scholars have researched sexuality in advertising and on television. “Confirming earlier findings (e.g. Ward & Rivadeneyra, 1999), both heavier TV exposure and deeper viewer involvement were consistently correlated with attitudes that sexual relationships are recreationally oriented, that men are sex-driven, and that women are sexual objects” (Ward,
2002). The more a man watches television the more he will see men as being sexually dominant and women sexually submissive.
Taylor (2005) points out that
Individuals who viewed such content [sexual] and who perceived the television content they viewed as more realistic, however, were influence by it. Those who perceive sexual content on television to be realistic were swayed in the direction of endorsing more permissive attitudes towards sex, becoming more accepting of sexual intercourse and oral sex in relationships characterized by less mutual commitment. Beliefs about female sexual activity were also found to be influenced by depictions of sexual talk; for those who perceive such content to be realistic, watching television content featuring talk about sex led to the belief that relatively more female peers are sexually active (p. 135).
Boys learn masculinity from television as well (Plummer, 2013; Ward, Merriwether &
Caruthers, 2006). Boys learn how to engage with women in relationship situations and they
understand women’s sexuality. Women also learn about their own sexuality from television 20
(Ward, Merriwether & Caruthers, 2006). Women learn about what men expect from them as far as what they look like and how they act. This directly impacts masculinity and how men interact with women in the real world.
Memory is vitally important when it comes to television commercials. If a consumer cannot remember the product or the commercial, then they are unlikely to buy the product. Children can recall and accurately share television content shortly after viewing the commercial (Maher, Hu &
Kolbe, 2006, 30). Individual commercials presented first in a block of commercials were recalled better by participants (Terry, 2005). Sanchez further highlights that consumers remember television commercials regardless of their disposition toward the advertiser or the content (2016, p. 1097).
In the 1980s, Pollay (1986) emphasized that
Advertising is without doubt a formative influence within our culture, even though we do not yet know its exact effects. Given its pervasive and persuasive character, it is hard to argue otherwise. The proliferation and the intrusion of various media into the everyday lives of the citizenry make advertising environmental in nature, persistently encountered, and involuntarily experienced by the entire population (p. 18).
Television has an incredible impact on society and consumers. Analyzing television commercials will further our understanding of how exactly commercials impact society and the consumers of the advertisements. This quantitative content analysis will narrow scholars’ understanding of the representation of masculinity in television commercials.
I will use a statistical analysis of five hypotheses to understand how masculinity it portrayed in everyday television commercials. Hypotheses 1, 2 and 5 parallel Doyle’s tenets, in that they hypothesize the same thing Doyle believes. Hypotheses 3 and 4 are the inverse of Doyle’s tenets.
Because of the older population watching prime-time television (Soat, 2015) as well as socially 21
conservative nature of television commercials, I hypothesize that aggression and sexuality will
not be consistently present in prime-time television commercials.
H1: Men are more likely to engage in behaviors and interactions that portray them as being “not
feminine”
H2: Men are more likely to engage in behaviors and interactions that portray them as being
“successful”
H3: Men are less likely to engage in behaviors and interactions that portray them as being
“aggressive”
H4: Men are less likely to engage in behaviors and interactions that portray them as being
“sexual”
H5: Men are more likely to engage in behaviors and interactions that portray them as being “self-
reliant”
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Chapter 3: Methods
The present study adopts a quantitative approach to studying the content of television commercials. Specifically, representations of masculinity within TV commercial advertising are germane to this investigation. A quantitative content analysis involves “the classification of parts of a text through the application of a structured, systematic coding scheme from which conclusions can be drawn about the message content” (Rose, Spinks & Canhoto, 2015). This type of analysis allows the researcher to predict and control for certain aspects of the discourses under investigation with a focus on understanding what and how something is being said
(Schreier, 2012). In alignment with extant media research using content analysis, this study included the development and use of a codebook to count how many times something occurs and in what way, allowing for interpretations to be based in statistics. One of the limitations of this analysis is that it lends itself to a close-ended analysis. For example, there may be four women portrayed in an advertisement; however, there is no way of knowing how they are portrayed without further codes to assess other elements such as appearance, age, body type and the like.
This study uses quantitative analysis to not only determine the frequency of depictions of men, but also the way in which masculinity is being portrayed. This means the context will be considered as a means of making sense of the masculine discourses found within the televised advertisements.
Sample
The sample was recorded using Snapstream, a software that allows researchers to record multiple television channels at once dependent on the television networks available. The researchers recorded 1 ½ hours of television, from 7-8:30 PM, November 18th, 2016, on ABC, 23
one of the three channels that was used in the final data. The sample was used to verify the
codebook and establish intercoder reliability before the researchers coded the final data.
Unit if Analysis
There are two units of analysis in this study: the commercial itself and the characters. Every
bit of content that was not the show itself was coded. The researchers did not ignore station
identifications, advertisements for the show or public service announcements in their analysis.
An important facet of this study was the protocol used to establish which and how characters
would be identified. This study focused specifically on men. A follow-up study on women will analyze how women portray masculinity in television commercials. To maintain the focus of this study on men, only men were coded for all categories. If no one was present, the ad was counted
as not containing men, and no characters were coded. A character was only identified for coding
if the researcher and the other coder could completely see the character’s face. Specifically, a
character was coded when more than just a profile was visible, such as visualization of both
nostrils, both eyes and/or both cheeks on the character’s face. For characters with a profile-only or only a portion of the face was visible (such as only the mouth and chin), the character was not coded.
Because of the limited scope of the analysis, as well as time constraints, the researchers coded only men. Every commercial was coded for basic information (length of commercial, sex(es) of characters, etc.), but women were not coded. Women were given an identification number (5001, 5002, etc.) and were given 99s for every code category. This ensured the commercials were accounted for properly without the data being skewed. Groups were coded in the same manner. 24
Men in the commercials or in a scene within the commercial were coded in one of two categories: single or group. If there is only one man in a commercial or in a scene within the commercial, then he is coded as being an individual (1 character). If there is more than one man in a commercial then, for a man to be coded as an individual, he must directly impact the content of the commercial. For example, a fan in the background of a basketball game does not impact the commercial. However, a fan who throws his beer at a player does impact the commercial.
Some commercials showed groups of characters together, sometimes acting together, such as dancing or sitting in a crowd. These characters were coded as a group if they had no impact on the commercial. If the group did not interact with a character, then they were coded as one character. For instance, in the Thanksgiving Day NBC commercial with the portrayal of dancers in the Macy’s Day Parade, the group of dancers, as well as the crowd watching the dancers, were coded as a group because they did not interact with the individual characters in the crowd. A group can consist of only men or men and women. A group of women is not coded for more than the commercial information.
Coding Categories
The codebook used in this quantitative content analysis was inspired from Banjo and
Jennings (2016). While their research focused on race in movies, their method of coding personality attribute variables on a 5-point bipolar adjective scale served as the model for coding character attributes in this study. Furthermore, some characteristics such as physical aggression and ridicule/respect from Banjo and Jennings (2016) were used in this study.
Commercial Attributes
The commercials were coded for the station they were broadcast upon. The station could be one of three: ABC, NBC and CBS. The commercial was then coded for length, including 15 25 seconds or less, greater than 15 seconds to 30 seconds, greater than 30 seconds and 60 seconds, and commercials 60 seconds or longer. The commercials were then identified for the product, service or thing being advertised (e.g. Olay, The List). The commercials were then coded for presence of a voiceover. There are two categories of voiceovers: the voiceover is a disembodied voice in the commercial, usually describing the product or service being offered. A narrator is a disembodied voice that directly interacts with a character in the commercial. Neither the voiceover nor the narrator are characters present in the commercial (for example, the Farmers
Insurance agent who is a character and the voice talking about the product). Along with presence, the narrators and voiceovers were also coded for sex, including men, women, both, unknown or N/A. The final attribute coded for the commercial itself is the ratio of the sexes. A commercial could have no men or women, half men half women, mostly men/some non-men (at least a 2:1 ratio), mostly women/some non-women (at least a 2:1 ratio), all men, all women or unknown. The researcher and coder coded sex based on physical identifiers, including dress, facial hair, voice and cues from other characters.
Demographics of Characters
For each identified character, demographics were coded including the sex of the character
(men, women or uncertain), age (0-17, 18-49, 50+ or unknown/crowd). Race was also determined based on physical characteristics (White/Caucasian, Black/African American, Native
American/Alaskan Eskimo, Middle Eastern, Oriental/Asian Indian, Latin@ or unknown). If there was any doubt as to the race of the character they were coded as unknown. The researcher and the second coder also coded for the animate status of the character (anthropomorphized animal
[GEICO Gecko, a real animal that can talk], nonanthropomorphized super creature [Stack of
Money with Googly Eyes], anthropomorphized super creature [CARFAX Car Fox, a talking 26 puppet], human, and unknown/N/A). Finally, the researcher and second coder coded for parent and/or caretaker status. In situations where there is a parent and child, we established which man or men were the parents/caretakers and which were the children. These men were coded thusly only in situations where the caretaker/child relationship was established. The researcher and second coder did not code a child as a child in a caretaker/child status if they did not have a parent or caretaker with them.
Coding of Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity
Doyle’s tenets are (1) don’t be feminine, (2) be successful, (3) be self-reliant, (4) be sexual and (5) be aggressive. Most of the codes were coded on a 5-point bipolar scale with adjectives serving as opposing anchors, such as feminine/masculine or successful/unsuccessful. There are two exceptions: “Talk about sex” and “Dependent/Independent.” “Talk about sex” was coded on a present/not present (0/1) scale in part because of the rarity of it occurring. When a television commercial has someone talk about sex in any way, it changes the context of the commercial. It did not make sense to code this aspect on a 5-point bipolar scale. In order for a hypothesis or tenet to be supported, there needs to be a substantial difference between each variable used to measure these tenets follows Doyle’s definitions and explanations for each tenet (Doyle, 1995), which are supported by other literature.
Similarly, “Dependent/Independent” did not make sense to code on a 5-point bipolar scale.
“Dependent/Independent” was coded on a present/not present (0/1) scale. Someone is inherently independent unless depicted otherwise. For instance, an adult shopping in a mall is independent.
However, if he asks for help from a manager or an employee, he is dependent because he needed help. It made more sense to code in this manner than try to quantify the amount of time or the extent that someone is independent or dependent. 27
Don’t be feminine. Four variables were coded for Doyle’s first tenet, “Don’t be Feminine,” all coded on a 5-point Likert scale (1=very feminine, 5=very masculine): The first variable is feminine/masculine clothing. A man is wearing feminine clothing if he is wearing frilly clothes, short shorts, a dress or skirt, a belly shirt, tights/leggings; essentially emphasizing the thighs and/or stomach. A man is wearing masculine clothing if he is wearing loose jeans, construction gear, a suit or sports gear relevant to a man’s sport (e.g. football pads, baseball uniform).
The second variable, coded on a 5-point bipolar scale, deals with the attitude toward their appearance. Femininity is based around caring about one’s appearance (Wood, 2013), so a man is coded as feminine if he overtly cares about his appearance within the commercial. This includes fixing one’s hair in a mirror, brushing down his suit or fussing about his outfit. A man is coded as masculine if he overtly ignores his appearance. This means he gets dirty and does nothing about it, or his hair is messed up and he actively does nothing about it. A man is coded as neutral if he does overtly care or does not overtly ignore his appearance. In a commercial, a man just walking down the street in the background would be coded as neutral.
The third variable, coded on a 5-point bipolar scale, is caring for children or not caring for children. Being a caretaker of children is seen as being feminine, so a masculine man would overtly ignore his children, especially when another adult or caretaker is present in the scene.
Caring for children includes nurturing, teaching, feeding, clothing, cleaning up after and playing with a child or children. A man who enacts these behaviors would be coded as being feminine. A man would be coded as masculine if he overtly ignores children or being actively bad at taking care of them (e.g. dressing them in strange clothing, being unable to feed the children).
The fourth variable, coded on a 5-point bipolar scale, is that of taking care of household chores. A household chore includes washing the dishes, cleaning/vacuuming and doing laundry. 28
A man is coded as being feminine if he is doing these chores on his own or if he is told to do
these chores, as that indicates submission. A man is coded as being masculine if he overtly
ignores doing chores.
Be successful. The second of Doyle’s tenets is being successful, all coded on a 5-point Likert
scale (1=very feminine, 5=very masculine): Two variables involving financial status and job authority are used to measure success. The first variable, coded on a 5-point bipolar scale, is financial status (Poor/Rich). Even though there are many definitions of success, a consistent concept is that of financial success. Being rich is being seen as being successful whereas if he is
poor he is not successful. For a man to be coded as poor or rich, it had to be obvious in the
commercial. For example, a character wearing a nice suit is coded as a 4 because he is shown to
have money, but he isn’t being depicted as overtly rich. A man who cannot feed his family or
who is reliant on a product for money is coded as being poor.
The second variable measuring success is that of having job authority. A man is coded as being successful if he is respected at work. For a man to be coded as having or not having job authority, there must be explicit mention in the commercial. A man is coded as having job authority if he is the boss, if he gives orders and others do as he says and/or if he oversees a
project or a group at work. A man is coded as not having job authority if he is the one taking
orders, he is overtly not in charge of any projects or he is just another person in a group.
Be aggressive. The third of Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity is “Be Aggressive.” This
tenet is measured by coding three variables, all coded on a 5-point Likert scale (1=very feminine,
5=very masculine): verbal aggressiveness, physical aggressiveness, and sexual aggressiveness.
Verbal submissiveness/aggressiveness is coded on overt interactions on a 5-point bipolar scale.
A man is submissive is an overt reaction to an aggressor. This includes shying away from the 29
aggressor or running away. A man is being verbally aggressive if his voice is louder than an
average person’s, if he is yelling at someone to instill fear (coded by the reaction of the other
person) or if he is insulting another person.
Physical submissiveness/aggressiveness was coded based on an interaction between two or
more people, at least one being a man. A man is coded as physically submissive if he gets
attacked and does not fight back or if he fears the other person. A man is coded as physically
aggressive if he is intimidating the other person, they attack another person or they use physical
actions to scare someone else (faking a punch).
Sexual submissiveness/aggressiveness was coded in explicit sexual situations. This includes having sex, making out, kissing, touching for the purpose of arousal and/or setting up a romantic scene (lighting candles). A man is coded as submissive if he overtly shies away from contact in a sexual situation, such as letting someone else lead. A man is coded as being sexual aggressive if he takes the lead in the sexual situation. After coding the data for sexual aggression, there were not enough cases to justify this variable. Therefore, the variable “Sexual Aggression” was eliminated from the analysis.
Be sexual. The fourth of Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity is “Be Sexual.” This is different from “be sexually aggressive” because men are not always in situations to be aggressive. This tenet highlights that men need to talk about sex, think about sex, and have sex as much as possible. Three variables are used to code for this tenet. The first variable is “talk about sex,”
Because a man should talk about sex as much as possible (Doyle, 1995), a masculine man would talk about sex all the time. Through the process of validating this code, the researcher and coder realized that talking about sex is extremely rare in a television commercial. Likewise, when a character does talk about sex, the commercial is sexual in nature. Therefore, “talk about sex” is 30
coded as on a present/not present (0/1) scale, where “present” includes the character talking
about sex at any time for any length of time.
The second variable in this group is “think about sex,” coded on a 5-point Likert scale
(1=very feminine, 5=very masculine). The coders this by watching the timer at the bottom of the
screen to determine how long a man is thinking about sex. If a man is in a sexual situation, we
code him as thinking about sex unless he is overtly not thinking about sex (shown in a dream
sequence or in a thought bubble). A man is coded as “very masculine” in the thinking about sex
variable if he thinks about sex for at least 50% of the commercial. A man is coded as very
feminine if he does not think about sex at all.
The third variable in this group is “have sex,” coded on a 5-point Likert scale (1=very
feminine, 5=very masculine). A man is coded as very masculine in having sex if he is depicted in
several sexual situations, with multiple partners or for most the commercial. A man is coded as
very feminine in having sex if he is never depicted in a sexual situation.
Be self-Reliant. This tenet is analyzed using one variable, which is coded on a present/not
present (0/1) scale. A man is self-reliant in a commercial if he is independent, which is coded as
present. If a man is dependent on anything or anyone, he is coded as not present. A man is
assumed to be independent unless otherwise demonstrated. For instance, any man in a
commercial for medicine, financial assistance, physical assistance, emotional/mental assistance or psychological assistance is shown as being dependent. Children can be coded as independent if they are not shown in a parent/caretaker situation. For instance, in a Kohl’s commercial there are a few kids modeling the clothes. Because they are not in a parent/caretaker situation, they are coded as independent. If a child is shown in a parent/caretaker situation, they are coded as dependent. 31
Intercoder Reliability
After creating the codebook, the researcher and second coder and established intercoder reliability. This was done after collecting a sample worth of shows that account for 25% of what the final dataset (based on time: 1.5 hours). We began the coding process by testing the first draft of the codebook on the sample. We found some errors and deleted a couple of variables that were irrelevant to the data and where good intercoder reliability could not be established. The coder and researcher watched the commercials together and established which characters would be coded and which characters would not. There was an overt attempt to eliminate bias in the establishing of characters by ensuring complete agreement between the researcher and the coder on which characters would be coded. Then, the coder and researcher coded all attributes of the commercials and characters independently of each other. Acceptable intercoder reliability (70% agreement) was initially established on 26 of 27 variables (Osborne, 2008, p. 48). One variable was deleted altogether while retraining and recoding occurring for the remaining three variables.
Following retraining and recoding, acceptable intercoder reliability was established (see Table
1).
32
Table 1: Intercoder Reliability of Sample
Percent Agreement N Agreement N Disagreement N Cases
Station ID 100 212 0 212
Commercial ID 97.16981 206 6 212
Length of Ad 100 212 0 212
Presence of Narrator 100 212 0 212
Presence of Voiceover 99.5283 211 1 212
Sex(es) of Person(s) 90.09434 191 21 212
ID Number 99.0566 210 2 212
Talk/Not Talk 93.39623 198 14 212
Animate 97.64151 207 5 212
Age 76.41509 162 50 212
Race 94.33962 200 12 212
Parent/Caretaker 98.11321 208 4 212
Clothing 75.9434 161 51 212
Care for Children 93.39623 198 14 212
Chores 94.33962 200 12 212
Appearance 72.16981 158 59 212
Job Authority 87.73585 186 26 212
Poor-Rich 82.54717 175 37 212
Ridiculed-Respected 78.77358 167 45 212
Verb Agg 88.67925 188 24 212
Phys Agg 91.50943 194 18 212
Sex Agg 98.58491 209 3 212
Talk Sex 90.56604 192 20 212
Think Sex 97.16981 206 6 212
Have Sex 97.16981 206 6 212
Dependent/ 89.62264 190 22 212
Independent 33
The range of percent agreement for intercoder reliability with the variables determining
Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity was 75.9434 (Clothing) to 98.11321 (Parent/Caretaker). The
primary researcher coded the entire dataset while the second coder coded 25% of the dataset
(based on time: 1.5 hours) to establish intercoder reliability on the data to be used.
I conducted a quantitative content analysis on prime-time (7-9 PM EST) television
commercials. I analyzed three television stations (ABC, CBS and NBC) on Monday, February
6th, 2017. I chose this date because there were no major events occurring on this date, such as an
awards show or a sporting event. For instance, if the Super Bowl were to be broadcast, then
commercials would be skewed toward companies that could afford the spots (McCrystal, 2017).
Despite the audience being a little older (Stoat, 2015), this time slot is still popular for people of all ages to consume (“The State of Traditional TV”, 2017).
34
Chapter 4: Results
Out of the 310 total commercials, there were 530 men. There were 212 characters that were
either women, groups, unable to be determined or were not present (no characters in the
commercial).
Length of Advertisements. Length of advertisements was measured by the time meter on the
bottom of the screen whilst watching commercials. Of the 310 advertisements, 53.9% of them
were 15 seconds or less, 42.6% were longer than 15 seconds and shorter than/equal to 30
seconds, 0% were between 30 and 60 seconds and 2.9% were 60 seconds or longer. Ninety-eight
commercials were broadcast on ABC, 107 were broadcast on CBS, and 103 were broadcast on
NBC. Forty-nine percent of the commercials run by ABC were 15 seconds or less, 46.9% were
more than 15 seconds and less than/equal to 30 seconds and 4.1% that were 60 seconds or more.
Fifty-five-point-one percent of commercials run by CBS were 15 seconds or less, 43.9% were
more than 15 seconds and less than/equal to 30 seconds and 0.9% were 60 seconds or more.
Fifty-eight-point-three percent of commercials run by NBC were 15 seconds or less, 37.9% were
more than 15 seconds and less than/equal to 30 seconds and 3.9% that were 60 seconds or more.
Narrator/Voiceover. The narrator was coded if the disembodied voice interacted with one or
more characters in the commercial. Only 1 (0.3%) of the commercials had a narrator, which was
in a Pure Romance commercial on ABC. The narrator asked a question where the woman
responded by nodding her head. The voiceover was coded if there was a disembodied voice that
did not interact with any characters in the commercial. Overall, 79.7% of the commercials used a
voiceover with the following distribution: 84.7% on ABC, 79.4% on CBS and 76.7% on NBC. 35
Overall, 67.9% of television commercials with a voiceover had a male voiceover, 29.3% had
a female voiceover, 1.2% had both a male and female voiceover and 2% had a voiceover whose
sex could not be determined.
Of the 83 commercials on ABC with a voiceover, 67.5%, had a male voiceover, 28.9% had a
female voiceover, 1.2% had both a male and female voiceover and 2.4% had a voiceover whose
sex could not be determined. Of the 84 commercials on CBS with a voiceover, 76.2% had a male
voiceover and 23.8% had a female voiceover. Of the 80 commercials on NBC with a voiceover,
58.6% had a male voiceover, 35% had a female voiceover, 2.5% had both a male and female
voiceover and 3.8% had a voiceover whose sex could not be determined.
Of the 530 men in the 310 television commercials, 37.9% had talking roles. The vast
majority of men were humans (94.3%), 5.3% were anthropomorphized super creatures (e.g. Mr.
Clean), 0.2% were animals (e.g. Curious George), and 0.2% were anthropomorphized animals
(e.g. GEICO gecko).
Table 2: Frequency of Characters
Station Amount of Men Amount of Groups/Non-
Coded Characters
ABC 151 (28.5%) 65 (30.7%)
CBS 180 (34%) 66 (31.1%)
NBC 198 (37.5%) 81 (38.2%)
Sex(es) of Characters. A substantial amount of commercials (including commercials
containing no men) contained an equal amount of men and women (38.1%). CBS broadcast less
commercials with an equal number of men and women compared to commercials that did not 36 have an equal number of men and women than either ABC or NBC (see Table 3). However, the largest disparity between the three channels was the amount of commercials broadcast with mostly women/some non-women by NBC (1.9%) compared to ABC (5.1%) and CBS (6.5%).
CBS also broadcast less commercials with only women than NBC and ABC. They also broadcast more commercials with just men than either ABC or NBC. NBC typically broadcast commercials with actors in them (4.9%) than either ABC (14.3%) or CBS (11.2%). A substantial finding is that all three channels broadcast commercials including either 50/50 men and women or mostly men/some non-men more often than the rest of the categories combined (58.7%).
Table 3: Frequency of Sex(es) of Characters
50/50 Mostly Mostly All Men All Women None
Men/Some Women/Some
non-Men non-Women
ABC 41 (41.8%) 17 (17.3%) 5 (5.1%) 10 (10.2%) 11 (11.2%) 14 (14.3%)
CBS 36 (33.6%) 24 (22.4%) 7 (6.5%) 20 (18.7%) 8 (7.5%) 12 (11.2%)
NBC 41 (39.8%) 23 (22.3%) 2 (1.9%) 18 (17.5%) 14 (13.6%) 5 (4.9%)
Age. Overall, 10.6% of men coded were children aged 0-17, 59.4% were adults aged 18-49,
12.8% were adults aged 50 and above, and 17.2% were unable to be determined. According to the 2015 US Census Estimates (US Census Bureau, 2015), 22.9% of Americans were under the age 18, roughly 43% were aged 18-49 and roughly 34.1% of Americans were aged above 50.
37
Table 4: Frequency of Age
0-17 18-49 50+ Unknown
ABC 24 (15.9%) 66 (43.7%) 9 (6%) 52 (34.4%)
CBS 12 (6.7%) 124 (68.9%) 27 (15%) 17 (9.4%)
NBC 20 (10.1%) 125 (62.8%) 32 (16.1%) 22 (11.1%)
Parent/Caretaker. Few parenting/caretaking situations were noted within the data. Only
13.2% of all men coded were identified as taking part in a parenting/caretaking context. Within
those contexts, 48.6% were parents/caretakers and 51.4% were children with their
parent(s)/caretaker(s) with them.
While there was no substantial difference between the number of parents/caretakers and
children on each station, there are some substantial differences between the amount of
parents/caretakers on ABC (8) and the amount of children (13). On CBS, there were more
parents/caretakers (12) than children (8). NBC had a similar amount of parents/caretakers (14) as
there were children (15).
Race. Of the 530 men coded, there were 142 men on ABC that were able to be coded for race
(28.6%), 169 on CBS (34%), and 186 on NBC (37.4%). Of a total of 497 men coded for race,
69.2% were Caucasian, 18.9% were African-American, 0.4% were Native American/Eskimo,
0.6% were Middle Eastern, 2.5% were Oriental/Asian Indian, 2.3% were Latin@ and 6.2% were
unknown.
38
Table 5: Frequency of Race
WHITE/ AFRICAN NATIVE AMERICAN/ MIDDLE ORIENTAL/ASIAN LATIN@
CAUCASIAN AMERICAN ALASKAN ESKIMO EASTERN INDIAN
ABC 107 (75.4%) 26 (18.3%) 1 (0.7%) 1 (0.7%) 7 (4.9%) 0 (0.0%)
CBS 126 (74.6%) 37 (21.9%) 0 (0.0%) 1 (0.6%) 3 (1.8%) 2 (1.2%)
NBC 134 (72%) 37 (19.9%) 1 (0.5%) 1 (0.5%) 3 (1.6%) 10 (5.4%)
All three stations had similar percentages of White/Caucasian men. CBS had the same
amount of African American men as NBC, despite having less characters that were able to be
coded. The most substantial difference was in the Latin@ category, where CBS only had three
men who were coded as such, while ABC had seven (see Table 5).
Don’t Be Feminine
The variable “Don’t be Feminine” was analyzed by examining four variables measured on a
five-point Likert scale (1 feminine, 5 masculine): Feminine/Masculine Clothing, Performing/Not
Performing Chores, Caring/Not Caring for Children and Caring/Not Caring about Appearance.
The frequencies of each code were measured together to establish an overall variable of
masculine or feminine.
39
Table 6: Frequency of Variables for “Don’t be Feminine” Tenet
Very Feminine Neither Masculine Very
Feminine Masculine
Clothing 0 (0%) 1 (.2%) 294 (58.4%) 62 (12.3%) 146 (29%)
Caring for 6 (20.7%) 10 (34.5%) 10 (34.5%) 0 (0%) 3 (10.3%)
Children
Chores 2 (25%) 1 (12.5%) 1 (12.5%) 1 (12.5%) 3 (37.5%)
Caring about 0 (0%) 1 (.2%) 512 (99.4%) 2 (.4%) 0 (0%)
Appearance
The majority of men wore clothes that were neither masculine nor feminine (e.g. t-shirt and jeans). If a character was portrayed in a manner other than neutral, they were portrayed wearing masculine clothing (e.g. suits, construction vests). Less than a third (29%) of the men were portrayed in a very masculine manner. Overall, 41.3% of men were coded as masculine, whereas only .2% of men were coded as feminine.
There were only 29 instances of men in caretaking situations with their children. Sixteen were depicted in a feminine manner, wherein they actively engaged in taking care of the child(ren). The six men depicted in a very feminine manner were primarily single fathers or the only parent in the scene. They were the de facto primary caretaker. The ten men depicted as feminine were primarily with another caretaker as well as the child(ren). These men cared for the child(ren) but had help from the other parent. Three men were portrayed as very masculine, meaning they ignored their child in the caretaking situation. Another character took care of the 40
children in the scene. Despite men trending toward being feminine, there were not enough data
for this variable to be substantially significant.
There were only eight men in a situation involving chores. While the numbers are fairly even
(see Table 6). Two of the three men coded as very masculine were from the same commercial,
wherein both were young boys (around 8 years old) who sat on the couch while their mother
dusted with a cleaning product. There were not enough instances of men in situations where
chores were being taken care of to determine if this variable was significant or not significant.
The final variable measured to determine the variable “Don’t be Feminine” is that of caring
for one’s appearance. The overwhelming majority of men neither actively cared nor actively
ignored their appearance (see Table 6). For most men, their appearance (within the context of the commercial) did not matter. Only one character portrayed signs of caring about their appearance while two actively ignored their poor appearance. There were not enough data for this variable to be substantially significant.
The first hypothesis is that men are more likely to engage in behaviors and interactions that portray them as being not feminine. Even though men wore clothing coded as masculine (41.3%) much more than clothing coded as feminine (.2%), there were not enough measurable data in the variables of Chores, Caring for Children or Appearance to support the first hypothesis.
Therefore, through this quantitative content analysis my first hypothesis lacks sufficient distribution of data.
Be Successful
The variable “Be Successful” was analyzed by exploring two variables: Job Authority and
Poor/Rich. The frequencies of each code were measured together to establish an overall variable of masculine or feminine. 41
Table 7: Frequency of Variables for “Be Successful” Tenet
Very Feminine Neither Masculine Very
Feminine Masculine
Job Authority 3 (1.9%) 1 (.6%) 47 (29.4%) 18 (11.3%) 91 (56.9%)
Poor/Rich 0 (0%) 12 (2.3%) 347 (67.2%) 135 (26.2%) 22 (4.3%)
Job Authority was measured only in situations where the men were in a work environment.
The majority of men depicted in such situations demonstrated clear job authority, with the men being in charge of the work environment (see Table 7). Overall, 68.2% of men were depicted in a masculine manner in the workplace. Only one character (0.6%) was depicted as feminine, while 1.9% were depicted as very feminine, wherein they were completely submissive and subservient in the workplace.
The second variable used to measure the variable of “Be Successful” is that of being poor or rich on a five-point Likert scale. According to Doyle (1995), being poor is not associated with being feminine. Women do not need to be poor in order to be considered feminine. Instead, men are seen as anti-masculine (feminine) if they are poor. Men were coded along this scale if there
was a clear mention or reference to financial status within the commercial. Of the 516 men coded
on this scale, 2.3% were measured as feminine, the majority of which were in commercials for
financial loans. Most men on this scale were measured as neither poor nor rich, with no reference
being made to their financial status.
The second hypothesis is that men are more likely to engage in behaviors and interactions
that portray them as being “successful.” Men were masculine at work (67.2%) more often than
feminine (2.5%), as well as more masculine when it comes to finances (30.5%) compared to 42 feminine (2.3%). Therefore, through this quantitative content analysis the second hypothesis was supported.
Be Aggressive
The variable “Be Aggressive” was analyzed by analyzing two variables measured on a five- point Likert scale (1 feminine, 5 masculine): Verbal Aggression and Physical Aggression.
Table 8: Frequency of Variables for “Be Aggressive” Tenet
Very Feminine Neither Masculine Very
Feminine Masculine
Verbally 1 (.5%) 0 (0%) 165 (79.3%) 38 (18.3%) 4 (1.9%)
Aggressive
Physically 5 (.9%) 1 (.2%) 486 (92.2%) 16 (3.0%) 19 (3.6%)
Aggressive
The first variable used to measure the tenet of “Be Aggressive” is that of being Verbally
Submissive or Aggressive. A character can only be coded on the verbally aggressive scale if they talk. Most of the men in these commercials were portrayed as neither feminine nor masculine.
More aggressive language appeared when the product was a television show being advertised.
The second variable used to measure the variable of “Be Aggressive” is that of being
Physically Submissive or Aggressive. Similar to “Verbally Aggressive,” the majority of men depicted as physically aggressive were in advertisements for television shows. However, when physical aggression was present, the men typically won their fights. This is most likely linked to one of the main characters of the television program taking part in the fight. A commercial for a service or product rarely used physical aggression to sell said service or product. There were four 43 men enacting behaviors coded as verbally aggressive. Two were in a commercial for Kong: Skull
Island, where they screamed and yelled to avoid being attacked. Another was the primary prospector in the Velveeta commercial where the prospector and his assistant are sitting in the aisle of a supermarket, yelling at a manager to go away after throwing a box of Velveeta Shells &
Cheese at him. The fourth character to be verbally aggressive is Captain Obvious in the
Hotels.com commercial where he yells “FINALLY!!!” at the girl he just beat in table hockey.
The third hypothesis is that men are less likely to engage in behaviors and interactions that portray them as being “aggressive.” Men were more verbally aggressive (20.2%) than submissive (0.5%) as well as physically aggressive (6.6%) than submissive (1.1%). Through this quantitative content analysis the third hypothesis was not supported.
Be Sexual
The variable “Be Sexual” was analyzed through two different measurements: the first includes two variables measured on a five-point Likert scale (1 feminine, 5 masculine): Think about Sex and Have Sex (see Table 9). The second measurement is Talk about Sex, which is coded on a present/not present (0/1) scale. Because of the rarity of men overtly mentioning sex in television commercials, as revealed through the initial coding process of the sample, we determined this method to be more effective to measure this variable. Of the 400 men measured on this present/not present (0/1) scale, 99% never mentioned sex at all; 1% mentioned sex at least once within the commercial.
44
Table 9: Frequency of Variables for “Be Sexual” Tenet
Very Feminine Feminine Neither Masculine Very
Masculine
Think about 519 (98.5%) 8 (1.5%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Sex
Have Sex 523 (98.7%) 6 (1.1%) 1 (.2%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
The overwhelming majority of men were very feminine; only 1.5% of men thought about sex
during the commercial. Only 1.3% of men were in a sexual situation, but only briefly. Zero men
were depicted in a masculine manner when it comes to “Be Sexual.”
The fourth hypothesis was that men are less likely engage in behaviors and interactions that
portray them as being “sexual.” Through this quantitative content analysis the fourth hypothesis
was supported.
Be Self-Reliant
The code used to measure the tenet of “Be Self-Reliant” was measured on a present/not
present (0/1) scale of Dependent/Independent. A character was coded as independent unless
overtly mentioned that they were not independent. Men were coded as dependent if they were
children in a parent/caretaker situation, needed financial assistance or needed medical assistance
to lead a normal life. A total of 530 men were coded on this scale. Of those, 483 (91.1%) men
were coded as independent and 47 (8.9%) men were coded as dependent, with the majority being children or needing medical assistance. 45
The fifth hypothesis was that men are more likely to engage in behaviors and interactions that portray them as being “self-reliant.” Through this quantitative content analysis the fifth hypothesis was not supported.
46
Chapter 5: Discussion
The three major broadcast networks analyzed in this study had differences in the depictions of the sexes they showed. Only 20.4% of ABC’s commercials depicted just one sex or the other
(8.2% men, 12.2% women). CBS portrayed just one sex 28% (16.8% men, 11.2% women) of the time. NBC just 30.4% (15.2% men, 15.2% women). The biggest difference came when the commercials depicted a majority of one sex over the other. Seventeen-point-three percent of
ABC’s commercials portrayed mostly men/some non-men, while only 5.1% depicted mostly women/some non-women. Of CBS’s commercials, 20.6% portrayed mostly men/some non-men, while only 6.5% portrayed mostly women/some non-women. The commercials from NBC had a greater disparity: 21.9% depicted mostly men/some non-men, while a mere 1.9% showed mostly women/some non-women.
The disparity between the commercials depicting just one sex is not nearly as severe. ABC broadcast 8.2% of their commercials with just men and 12.2% with just women. CBS broadcast
16.8% of their commercials with just men and 11.2% of their commercials with just women.
NBC broadcast 15.2% of their commercials with just men and 15.2% with just women.
These depictions depend heavily on the commercials being broadcast. While this analysis was not centered on the content of the commercials, a substantial amount of commercials depicting just women focused on makeup and beauty products. Men are unlikely to be depicted in those commercials unless they are background characters used to highlight the beauty of the female model in the commercial.
Of the 530 men in the 310 commercials, only 37.9% had talking roles. However, 79.7% of commercials used a voiceover. Most voiceovers were men (67.9%) rather than women (29.3%), furthering the idea that men are in dominant and in power (Connell, 1987, 2000; Connell & 47
Messerschmidt, 2005). Voiceovers are used in commercials to convince the consumer to buy the
product, assisting the depiction of the service or product in the commercial. Women have not
reached the number of men when it comes to voiceovers, leading women to be taken less
seriously and men to be seen as more authoritative.
One of the biggest takeaways from this analysis was that most men were measured as neither
masculine nor feminine with most of the codes. The only exceptions would be the “Be Sexual”
variables, but even then the men were coded as feminine unless overtly masculine because of
how Doyle described this tenet (Doyle, 1995). However, because of the timeframe in which
Doyle’s tenets were created (1995), my codebook, which followed Doyle’s arguments, may not
have been able to capture masculinity in 21st century television commercials.
Another finding is that adult men tend to not be in childcare situations. Only 29 commercials
depicted a man in a caretaking situation. However, those who were portrayed in these situations
tended to help take care of the children; or at least not overtly ignore caretaking duties. Similarly,
men were rarely shown in situations where chores were being done. Only nine men were portrayed in such situations, with an even spread between those who helped and those who did not.
As expected, men did not pay much attention to their appearance within the context of the commercial. Only three men (.6%) paid any attention to their appearance, with only one doing anything to fix it.
The tenet of “Don’t be Feminine” could not be supported nor not supported through this analysis. The majority if men were portrayed in a manner that was neither overtly feminine nor
masculine (57.3%). However, men were more likely to be shown as more masculine (40%) than
more feminine (7.7%) in their clothing. However, because of the small sample sizes of the 48 variables of Care for Children (29) and Chores (8), as well as the small number of men who were coded as either feminine or masculine in the variable of Care about Appearance (3), the lack of measurable data could not be supported nor not supported.
The tenet of “Be Successful” was supported through this analysis. Men were depicted as authoritative in job situations, as well as being rich more often than being poor. Commercials tend to show people in successful situations by demonstrating their product helps that person become successful. For example, a successful person would be driving a convertible instead of an old, beaten up car.
The tenet of “Be Aggressive” was supported through this analysis. Television commercials tend to shy away from overt aggression, especially toward the audience. The majority of commercials that portray aggression, specifically physical aggression, are commercials for television shows or movies.
The tenet of “Be Sexual” was not supported through this analysis. Television commercials, especially on major networks during prime-time, shy away from showing adults in sexual situations. Commercials tend to be conservative when portraying sex.
The tenet of “Be Self-Reliant” was supported through this analysis. Television commercial demonstrate men in situations where they can take care of themselves. Even in medical commercials, the medical intervention is minimal, such as an allergy prescription. The medicine helps the character, but the character is independent otherwise.
Limitations and Future Research
This analysis furthered the understanding of portrayals of men and masculinity in television commercials. Despite the success of this study, there were some limitations to this project. The primary researcher is a White, straight, lower-middle class man from American Midwest. My 49
second coder is a straight, Black Nigerian man. Neither of us see things from the feminine
perspective, so we might have missed some understandings of masculine portrayals.
The coders come from different cultures, and therefore may have different understandings of
masculinity. Despite attempts to eliminate the effects, further research would benefit from having
multiple genders from the same culture analyze similar commercials. In similar research, people
from all genders, cultures and perspectives should analyze commercials such as these to gain a
broader understanding of portrayals of masculinity.
Another limitation was that the data was collected on a single night (Monday, February 7th,
2017). Further research should analyze commercials from an entire week or even random days throughout a month or year. This would limit the possibility of an anomaly of broadcasting on a specific day.
The data was collected from three major broadcast networks in America. These networks would be wise to play it safe so as to not alienate their broad fan base. Future research should take a broader view of television commercials to further analyze masculinity. Doyle’s Five
Tenets of Masculinity are a useful framework from which to work. These five tenets have been studied extensively in separate studies, but the combination of the five make for a great basis for research. Studying gender-specific television networks, such as Spike TV or Lifetime, to analyze how masculinity is portrayed will flesh out the true efficacy of Doyle’s model.
A limitation of the “Clothing” variable is that all clothes are gendered, despite the supposed neutrality of them. For instance, jeans and a white t-shirt can be considered neutral, but there is a significant difference between men’s jeans and women’s jeans. Similarly, a women’s t-shirt
tends to have shorter sleeves than a men’s t-shirt. I did not make this distinction in my coding 50
scheme nor in my analysis. Future research should make this distinction, which might alter the
data collected.
There were not enough depictions of child caretaking, performing chores and caring about
appearance to provide significant results for the tenet of “Don’t be Feminine.” The limited
amount of men in child caretaking situations is problematic. Only 8 men were depicted in these
situations, which may lead men to believe they do not need to be in those situations in the first
place. More depictions of men in child caretaking situations is needed to understand the scope of
this issue. A qualitative analysis interviewing men and women about the roles of fathers in
television commercials would broaden our understanding of parents on television who are men.
Two major theories help lay the foundation for this research. Cultivation Theory (Gerbner &
Gross, 1976) looks into how consumers are affected by television content. Social Learning
Theory (Bandura, 1977) looks into how humans learn from watching and reproducing others’
behaviors. Both of these theories posit that humans learn by watching others, including their
behaviors and actions. While this research did not analyze television effects on consumers, these theories provide a framework from which to base further research. An analysis on how people of all gender identities are affected by portrayals of masculinity in television commercials would be
helpful to complete understanding on television’s impact.
Implications
Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity were created in the 1990s, but they are still prevalent in television today (Doyle, 1995). Three of Doyle’s Five Tenets (Be Successful, Be Aggressive, Be
Self-Reliant) are still portrayed in television commercials. With the continuance of traditional views of masculinity, men, women and people of all gender identities will believe these 51 depictions are what society expects from them (Gerbner et al, 1979, 1980, 2008; Gerbner &
Gross, 1976; Gerbner & Signorielli, 1979).
The tenet of “Don’t be Feminine” was not supported in this analysis, despite the majority of men wearing masculine clothing. In the small sample from other three variables used to measure this tenet (Caring for Children, Chores, Appearance) demonstrated that men are more masculine than feminine, which can lead to issues of men believing they should act in the same ways as those in the commercial. If the trend revealed in the small amount of data from these tenets, then issues of men ignoring children and chores may be realized in real life. Caring about one’s appearance does have major effects on others, but ignoring one’s child(ren) and refusing to help around the house effects interactions with others.
The tenet of “Be Sexual” was not supported in this analysis. Being “sexual,” according to
Doyle (1995), does not mean men need to be depicted as sex objects. Instead, men need to think about sex, talk about sex, and have sex as much as possible. Men were rarely depicted in sexual situations, which reveals that men are not as sexual as Doyle believed.
Society learns from watching television (Gerbner et al, 1979, 1980, 2008; Gerbner & Gross,
1976; Gerbner & Signorielli, 1979) as well as from watching others (Bandura, 1977; Lu & Hsin-
I Lee, 2016). This raises concerns about the types of messages being communicated on television. If we learn by observation, and television commercials are portraying hegemonic forms of masculinity, then we could potentially learn hegemonic behaviors after watching these commercials. Gerbner and Gross estimated that a third of Americans watch at least four hours of television per day (1976, p. 1). Nielsen ratings have put adult Americans’ viewing at 151 hours per month (5.01 hours per day) (Semuels, 2009). This data was six hours’ worth of television. An average American is only one hour away from regularly viewing the length of this data. The 52
amount of commercials per hour for this research comes to 51.67, leading to roughly 258
commercials portraying men as aggressive, successful, sexual, and self-reliant; 258 opportunities for consumers to watch and learn characteristics of masculinity that may be problematic for men, women and society.
Conclusion
J. A. Doyle’s Five Tenets of Masculinity provide a strong framework from which to analyze the portrayals of masculinity in television commercials (Doyle, 1995). In this analysis, three of
Doyle’s five tenets were supported (Be Successful, Be Aggressive and Be Self-Reliant). One tenet was not supported (Be Sexual) and one tenet lacked sufficient distribution of data to be supported or not supported. While Doyle’s tenets need further research to support or not support them as a whole, this analysis demonstrates that these five major concepts are still prevalent.
53
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62
Appendix
Thesis Codebook
Section 1: Advertisement Attributes Commercial Station ID
1. ABC 2. CBS 3. NBC 4. Other
Commercial ID (1, 2, 3, etc.)
Length of Advertisement: This is coded using the timer function available at the bottom of the screen in the software used to record these commercials
1. Less than/equal to 15 seconds 2. Greater than 15 seconds, less than/equal to 30 seconds 3. Greater than 30 seconds, less than/equal to 60 seconds 4. Greater than 60 seconds
Name of company/product (description of service/product)
Presence of Narrator (Interacts with Characters; disembodied/cannot see the narrator) (Male = 1; Female = 2; Both Male and Female = 3; Unknown Gender = 4; None = 99)
Presence of Voiceover (Does not interact with characters) (Male = 1; Female = 2; Both male and female = 3, Unknown Gender = 4; None = 99)
Sexes of Person(s) in Commercials: This is coded through depictions of sexes including dress, facial hair, hair, behaviors and voice. While I am only coding male behaviors I will also capture the breakdown of sexes in the commercial.
1. 50/50 men and women 2. Mostly men/some non-men 3. Mostly women/some non-women 4. All men 5. All women 99. None/NA
Section 2: Character Attributes Code number for each character (If the commercial only contains women/females then that character will be given a code of 5001, 5002, etc.)
Character descriptor Character Coding: In a commercial I am only coding those characters that are male or a man or portray male characteristics (CARFAX CARFOX will be coded as male). If a character appears more than once in a commercial then we will code the overall characteristics and behaviors of the character. Each man/male in a television commercial will be given an ID number and will be coded. I will be coding for every male in the commercials. The men will be coded by order of appearance. In the case of multiple men appearing at the same time the men will be coded from left to right on the television screen. If left to right is not applicable (men standing in a line behind one another) then the men will be coded from front to back. If both are applicable (men standing in front to back and side to side) then the men will be coded starting on the left and move back. 63
Example: 7 8 9 4 5 6 1 2 3
A group (2 or more characters that do not impact the commercial) will be coded as 99s across the board. They will be given an ID number of 500_. Women will be coded in the same manner. Description of Character
Talking Role = 1, Non Talking Role = 0
DEMOGRAPHICS:
Animate
1. Animal 2. Anthropomorphized Animal 3. Nonanthropomorphized Super Creature 4. Anthropomorphized Super Creature 5. Human 99. N/A
Age of Character: These characters will be coded based on cues in the commercial, including height, voice, look, career, children, parents, grandchildren or any explicit reference to their age
1. 0-17 2. Adult aged 18-49 3. Older adult aged 50+ 99. Unknown/NA or Crowd
Race (These characters will be coded based on physical appearance and racial markers)
1. White/Caucasian 2. African American 3. Native American/Alaskan Eskimo 4. Middle Eastern 5. Oriental/Asian Indian 6. Latin@ 99. Unknown
Parent/Caretaker/Child Status (This will be coded based on explicit reference (Mom, Dad, taking care of children, etc.). A child by themselves is not coded as a child; only in cases of parent/child interactions will the child be coded as 2.
1. Parent/Caretaker 2. Child 99. Neither/NA
CHARACTERISTICS GENDER (per JA Doyle)
***All traits are measured on a 5-point scale unless otherwise noted, with the poles being identified under each description. A score of 5 means that the man fully follows Doyle’s Tenets; a score of 1 means that the man does not fully follow Doyle’s Tenets (I) Don’t be Feminine
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A. Wearing Feminine Clothing-Wearing Masculine Clothing (in a sports context the coder should consider which sport is being played/displayed. In basketball, soccer, lacrosse, and other sports where both genders wear the same clothing, the code should be 3. In sports, such as baseball and football, where only men play, the clothing is coded as 5. In softball or field hockey, where only women play, clothing is coded as 1. (1) Wearing frilly clothes, wearing short shorts, wearing a dress or skirt, wearing tight clothing showing off midriff, wearing tights/leggings, wearing flip flops: in general: emphasizing thighs and stomachs (2) Wearing one item that is feminine (e.g. bra) but the rest of the outfit is masculine (e.g. work boots) (3) Wearing jeans, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt; gender neutral clothing (4) Wearing clothing traditionally identified as male, including a tie, button down shirt, suit jacket, loose dress pants (5) Wearing clothing such as rugged jeans, work gloves, work boots, sports gear, and loose fitting clothing. The clothing will be coded taking into account the context of the commercial (99) NA
B. Caring for Children- Not Caring for Children (1) Nurturing children, feeding children, clothing children, cleaning up after children, taking children to events, playing with children (2) Two or more caretakers where the man takes part in caring, but is not the primary caretaker (3) The male does not actively care for their child nor does he actively ignore his child (example: kid and dad in scene together but the kid doesn’t need caretaking) (4) Male mostly ignores the child or begrudgingly takes care of the child when prompted by the child or by another caretaker/adult (5) Overtly ignoring children, letting other(s) take care of the children, dressing up children in weird/unorthodox clothing (99) NA
C. Doing Household Chores- Not Doing Household chores (1) Cleaning, cooking (not grilling), doing laundry, being told to do household chores (2) Grudgingly does household chores at the request of another (wife telling man to vacuum) (3) Neither doing chores nor actively ignoring chores (example, chores are being done by children but neither parent is needed/requested to do chores) (4) Doing chores poorly and/or trying to ignore chores while focusing on other tasks (5) Overtly ignoring spills, dirty dishes, or laundry; making female do chores, not cooking (unless grilling) (99) NA
D. Overtly Caring about Appearance-Overtly Not Caring about Appearance (1) Spending time fixing hair, grooming, take a bath/extensive shower. (2) Briefly fixes hair or quickly splashes water on face; not much time is spent on appearance (3) Neither spending time on appearance or overtly ignoring appearance (4) Ignoring mild need for grooming. Noticeably but not overtly messy, unkempt, frazzled hair, slightly disheveled appearance (5) Overtly ignoring being dirty, not bathing, messy hair (99) NA
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(II) Being Successful
E. Job Authority (must be in a work situation) (1) Taking orders at work, working in groups where they’re not in charge (2) Mostly following at work or taking orders, but some giving of orders/being dominant (3) Neither taking orders nor giving orders (4) Mostly leading at work or giving orders, but some taking of orders/being subordinate (5) Giving orders at work, overseeing projects (99) NA
F. Being Poor-Being Rich (1) Struggling to eat/work, sleeping in streets, asking for financial help (2) Able to make purchases but need financial assistance (3) Making no purchases or minor purchases, such as basic groceries (4) Wearing a suit, actively planning to make a major purchase, does not need financial assistance (5) Wearing expensive clothes, driving expensive cars, owning a large house, going out to expensive places, buying a new car, wearing a tuxedo (99) NA
(III) Be Aggressive (in order to be coded on a 1-5 scale, the character must explicitly be in a situation to be either submissive or aggressive. If the character is not in that situation, then they are coded as a 99).
G. Verbally Submissive- Verbally Aggressive (Does not have to be an interaction between characters) (1) Being quiet, shy, reserved, when being yelled at become quiet; perceived threat (2) Being mostly quiet, shy reserved when being yelled at but is slightly aggressive toward the original aggressor (3) Neither aggressive nor submissive (4) Mostly using an aggressive tone, yelling/screaming, using derogatory language but an instance of being submissive (e.g. other person yells and they back down) (5) Using derogatory language, yelling/screaming, using an aggressive tone (99) NA
H. Physically Submissive- Physically Aggressive (Does not have to be an interaction between characters) (1) Shying away from aggressor, being scared/frightened, losing in a fight, perceived threat (2) Not backing down right away; aggressive in return to begin with, but gives in eventually; loses, but not right away/draws in a fight (3) No action is taken/no altercation/no aggressive actions (4) Aggressive movements by a character when by themselves/no altercation; A fight where the winner isn’t perfectly clear; entering physical space of another (5) Standing over other person(s), intimidating other person(s), hitting other person(s) (99) NA
I. Sexually Submissive- Sexually Aggressive (Will only be coded in an explicit sexual context (AXE commercial where woman pulls man into bedroom with lust))
(1) Being submissive in a romantic or sexual situation (2) Being mostly submissive; slight aggression but mostly submissive (fights back for a second but becomes submissive after all) (3) Neither submissive nor aggressive (4) Mostly aggressive; perhaps slightly submissive but otherwise aggressive (5) Being the aggressor in a romantic situation, being in charge in a sexual situation (99) NA 66
(IV) Being Sexual
J. Talk about sex (0) Never mention sex/sexual situations, including kissing, touching for arousal, making out, having sex, sexual dream (1) Mention sex at least once, including kissing, touching for arousal, making out, having sex, sexual dream (99) NA
K. Think about sex (coded based on percentage of the commercial) (1) Not overtly imagine sexual situations at all (2) 1-14% of Sexual Thought (3) 15-29% of Sexual Thought (4) 30-49% of Sexual Thought (5) 50%+ of Sexual Thought (99) NA
M. Have sex as much as possible (kissing, making out, touching with intent to arouse [partner’s reaction is important]) (1) Never shown in a sexual manner, shown with zero sex partners (2) Shown briefly with the connotation of sex (brief kiss; connotation of sexual situation without explicit mention or depiction [Viagra commercial]) (3) Shown with long kissing or lust in expression (4) Shown in explicit sexual situations without being the dominant focus of the commercial (5) Depicted in sexual encounters for the entirety of the commercial, shown with multiple sex partners (99) NA
(V) Be Self-Reliant M. Dependent-Independent (coded as independent unless needing something to help one be completely independent [medicinal aid, children in parent/caretaker situation, financial assistance, physical assistance, psychological assistance, emotional assistance, mental/cognitive assistance]) (0) Dependent (1) Independent