Feminist Media Studies and the Portrayal of Women in Nigerian Television Advertising

This study applies feminist media theory to analyse the portrayal of women in Nigerian television advertising, examining how advertising representations reflect and reproduce gender ideologies in the contemporary Nigerian context. Television advertising constitutes one of the most pervasive sites of gender representation in Nigerian culture, with its images, narratives, and symbolic codes communicating powerful messages about femininity, women's roles, and their relationship to consumption, work, and family. This study combines quantitative content analysis of 300 television advertisements broadcast in primetime on Channels TV, NTA, and Africa Magic between 2021 and 2023 with qualitative semiotic analysis of 30 purposively selected advertisements. A coding instrument assesses product category, female character roles, occupational representation, appearance standards, autonomy and agency depiction, and sexual objectification indicators. The theoretical framework integrates Mulvey's gaze theory with African feminist standpoint perspectives. Findings reveal that women appear in 76 percent of sampled advertisements but are predominantly positioned in domestic and nurturing roles (68 percent of female portrayals). Professional and leadership roles for women appear significantly less frequently than for male characters. Appearance standards for women in advertisements are consistently narrower than for male characters. A distinct class of advertisements, primarily for domestic products, uses women's appearance and sexuality as props for male attention, consistent with objectification theory. Recent advertisements by female-owned Nigerian brands show measurably more diverse and empowering female portrayals. The study contributes an original African feminist analysis of Nigerian advertising and recommends gender auditing of advertising content as industry self-regulation.

Keywords: feminist media studies, women, television advertising, Nigeria, gender representation.