Abstract
This study examined the portrayal of gender and diversity in Bangladeshi print and television advertisements. It adopted constructivism and structuralism as the theoretical framework and employed qualitative content analysis and the hermeneutic method to analyze 40 advertisements selected through purposive sampling. Among the selected advertisements, 25 were print and 15 were television. The study identified three major findings from across five themes. First, the study identified a dominant trend in Bangladeshi advertisements, where traditional gender roles are consistently reinforced. Second, gender roles are challenged in some cases of television advertisements. However, when attempting to break away from traditional gender roles and uphold modern gender roles, these advertisements continued to emphasize traditional roles. Third, this study revealed a serious lack of representation of people with disabilities and minorities in advertisements in Bangladesh. This study contributes valuable insights into the dynamics of gender and diversity representation in Bangladeshi advertisements, emphasizing the need for a more inclusive approach.
Keywords: Gender representation, diversity, advertisements in Bangladesh, print advertisements, television commercials
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To cite this article: Muhammad Mahabubul Alam & Mridha Md. Shiblee Noman, Gender, Tradition and Diversity in Contemporary Bangladeshi Advertisements, Bodhi: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 11(2), pp. 1-26, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3126/bodhi.v11i2.101788
