Female stereotypes blighting advertising

The 2,000 strong, nationally representative survey was run in June 2017, and found that 77% of women thought the way women are portrayed in ads was very or quite stereotypical – 65% of men thought the same.

The most common stereotypes cited by women were ‘bimbo/footballer’s wife', ‘domestic goddess’ and ‘shopaholic'. The stereotypes cited that were deemed most offensive were ‘bitch', ‘sex-crazed nymphomaniac’ and ‘bimbo'.

The survey also questioned respondents on whether they considered themselves feminists – 46% of women did and 22% of men did. But young women were much more likely to identify themselves as feminists – 69% of 13- to 17-year-olds did and 54% of 18- to 24-year-olds, compared with 43% of 35- to 44-year-olds and 36% of those 65+.

But the blight of advertising stereotypes was not limited to women – 46% of male respondents said they had felt the need to behave in a certain way because of how men are portrayed in ads. The most prolific male stereotypes were ‘unemotional', ‘laddy', and ‘not crying in public'.