The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course List)
The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course List)
7th Edition
ISBN: 9781305503076
Author: Earl R. Babbie
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Chapter 13, Problem 1RQE
Summary Introduction

Introduction:

Goffman revealed a subtle side message in many advertisements that implied that women were less important, seen as helpers or additions, rather than the main character. She noticed that men were almost always bigger in ads, and their heads were higher up in the image, implying a higher status.

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(This question calls for a subjective answer. This is an example of an appropriate response.)

Advertisements are used to sell products and services. Goffman analyzed ads and found another message alongside the commercial one. She found that men were almost always depicted in higher status jobs, such as doctors, while women were in support roles, like nurse or admiring mother. She also found that the person who is of higher status also has the highest head in the ads, and even if a woman has higher status in an ad, it was obviously because the man had a lower status job, like a janitor. I found several iPad ads that showed a family with the father in the middle, and his head highest in the image. Even an ad with a group of people with their hands in the center as if agreeing on a plan featured the heads of men higher than women. Goffman’s research showed this was not due to the biological trend of men being taller than women, the pattern continued even in contexts where the people should be of similar stature.

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Chapter 13 Solutions

The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course List)

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