Advertising, gender, and consumer culture in Bangladesh

Abstract Advertising is one of the media that contributes to cultural diffusion. This paper analyzes whether television advertising can diffuse new cultural practices and reinforce existing ones for female consumers in Bangladesh. Grounded in the “cultivation theory” of George Gerbner and the “respo...

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Main Author: Iqbal Ahmed Chowdhury
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2025-04-01
Series:Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04234-4
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author Iqbal Ahmed Chowdhury
author_facet Iqbal Ahmed Chowdhury
author_sort Iqbal Ahmed Chowdhury
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Advertising is one of the media that contributes to cultural diffusion. This paper analyzes whether television advertising can diffuse new cultural practices and reinforce existing ones for female consumers in Bangladesh. Grounded in the “cultivation theory” of George Gerbner and the “responsive chord theory” of Tony Schwartz, as well as the theories of consumer culture and femvertising, it analyzes prime-time television advertising of the three most-watched Bangladeshi television channels along with data collected from 60 in-depth interviews. The results reveal that Bangladeshi television advertisements often introduce new cultures for women consumers whereby they can challenge existing stereotypical gendered practices including riding bicycles and going out of home alone. In addition, advertisements also reinforce existing gendered cultural practices that inform patriarchal values (particularly in rural areas) in that women’s primary goal is to satisfy family members and stay at home. The study also finds that women living in urban areas tend to challenge the existing patriarchal obligations, while rural women follow these obligations. The paper enhances our understanding of the relationship between advertisements and gendered cultural practices.
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spelling doaj-art-bbf782ac1d644583a84faf324603a4b12025-08-20T02:12:03ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-04-0112111110.1057/s41599-024-04234-4Advertising, gender, and consumer culture in BangladeshIqbal Ahmed Chowdhury0Department of Sociology, Shahjalal University of Science and TechnologyAbstract Advertising is one of the media that contributes to cultural diffusion. This paper analyzes whether television advertising can diffuse new cultural practices and reinforce existing ones for female consumers in Bangladesh. Grounded in the “cultivation theory” of George Gerbner and the “responsive chord theory” of Tony Schwartz, as well as the theories of consumer culture and femvertising, it analyzes prime-time television advertising of the three most-watched Bangladeshi television channels along with data collected from 60 in-depth interviews. The results reveal that Bangladeshi television advertisements often introduce new cultures for women consumers whereby they can challenge existing stereotypical gendered practices including riding bicycles and going out of home alone. In addition, advertisements also reinforce existing gendered cultural practices that inform patriarchal values (particularly in rural areas) in that women’s primary goal is to satisfy family members and stay at home. The study also finds that women living in urban areas tend to challenge the existing patriarchal obligations, while rural women follow these obligations. The paper enhances our understanding of the relationship between advertisements and gendered cultural practices.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04234-4
spellingShingle Iqbal Ahmed Chowdhury
Advertising, gender, and consumer culture in Bangladesh
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
title Advertising, gender, and consumer culture in Bangladesh
title_full Advertising, gender, and consumer culture in Bangladesh
title_fullStr Advertising, gender, and consumer culture in Bangladesh
title_full_unstemmed Advertising, gender, and consumer culture in Bangladesh
title_short Advertising, gender, and consumer culture in Bangladesh
title_sort advertising gender and consumer culture in bangladesh
url https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04234-4
work_keys_str_mv AT iqbalahmedchowdhury advertisinggenderandconsumercultureinbangladesh