Reshaping Gender Portrayal, Masculinity, and Empowerment Narratives in Pakistan’s Electronic and Digital Media Commercials

Abstract

Electronic and digital media commercials in Pakistan mirror the traditional social order as well as the cultural transformation that society experiences over the years. The short duration of an advertisement and its repeated, unavoidable broadcast during regular programs makes it an impactful medium because it echoes the viewers’ lived experiences, particularly when it reflects gender representation and power dynamics within the country’s changing socio-cultural environment. The available literature focuses on the stereotypical gender portrayals showing how women are confined to domestic roles while men are depicted in positions of authority in the public sphere, thereby overlooking the subtle transformations that have recently occurred in Pakistani society. To fill this gap, the study adopts the frameworks of Goffman (1979) and Eisend (2010) and examines changes in gender portrayal in television and digital media commercials that to reflect societal transformation through a qualitative content analysis of a purposive sample of 20 advertisements from 2016 to 2023. The findings reveal that although the content of electronic and digital media commercials today supports and reflects a narrative of women's equal rights to healthcare, education, and employment, the social acceptance of narratives concerning their bodily autonomy remains largely contested.