TY - JOUR
T1 - Women’s Attitudes toward Sexual Objectification in Brands
T2 - A Political Ideology Perspective
AU - Torelli, Carlos J.
AU - Guo, Yafei
AU - Cho, Hyewon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Association for Consumer Research. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - Although the issue of gender inequality dominates the public discourse, the country is sharply divided along party lines about its importance and the way to deal with it. In this polarized context, marketers struggle to devise brand communication strategies that will successfully connect with equality-conscious female consumers. By integrating research in political ideology, sexism, and brand communications, this research uncovers the types of sexual appeals that are more likely to resonate with female consumers who endorse a liberal (vs. conservative) ideology. Results of three lab experiments and a secondary data set demonstrate that liberal (vs. conservative) women are more likely to reject brands that are associated with a sexually objectified image of women. Furthermore, this effect is driven by liberal women’s rejection of benevolent sexism. These results are discussed in terms of the contributions to political ideology and brand communications research, as well as the implications for marketers’ communication strategies.
AB - Although the issue of gender inequality dominates the public discourse, the country is sharply divided along party lines about its importance and the way to deal with it. In this polarized context, marketers struggle to devise brand communication strategies that will successfully connect with equality-conscious female consumers. By integrating research in political ideology, sexism, and brand communications, this research uncovers the types of sexual appeals that are more likely to resonate with female consumers who endorse a liberal (vs. conservative) ideology. Results of three lab experiments and a secondary data set demonstrate that liberal (vs. conservative) women are more likely to reject brands that are associated with a sexually objectified image of women. Furthermore, this effect is driven by liberal women’s rejection of benevolent sexism. These results are discussed in terms of the contributions to political ideology and brand communications research, as well as the implications for marketers’ communication strategies.
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U2 - 10.1086/719585
DO - 10.1086/719585
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85131016108
SN - 2378-1815
VL - 7
SP - 371
EP - 381
JO - Journal of the Association for Consumer Research
JF - Journal of the Association for Consumer Research
IS - 3
ER -