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Portraying of Latin American Women in Falabella’s Instagram: Stereotypes and Sexual Objectification Theory

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Communication and Applied Technologies

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 318))

Abstract

This study examines the portrayals of women by the department store brand Falabella on Instagram. Falabella is one of the largest retailers in Latin America with shops in several countries. The study compared how women are portrayed in four countries based on sexual objectification theory (physical presentation, body display, sexually suggestive poses, and feminine touch) and stereotypes of women (women in traditional and non-traditional roles). Using a content analysis method, this study examines 400 Instagram posts. The results show a preponderance in the use of teenage white models. In terms of sexual objectification theory, the physical presentation of skinny bodies is the most used, along with the display of fully clothed bodies. No predominance of sexually suggestive poses and feminine touches is evident. The predominant traditional stereotype was decorative object and the non-traditional was performing activities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Marta Mensa

  2. Universidad de Lima, Lima, Peru

    Lizardo Vargas-Bianchi

Authors
  1. Marta Mensa
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  2. Lizardo Vargas-Bianchi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marta Mensa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Paulo Carlos López-López

  2. Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia

    Daniel Barredo

  3. Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Cuenca, Ecuador

    Ángel Torres-Toukoumidis

  4. Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Cuenca, Ecuador

    Andrea De-Santis

  5. Universidad Militar de Nueva Granada, Bogotá, Colombia

    Óscar Avilés

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© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Mensa, M., Vargas-Bianchi, L. (2023). Portraying of Latin American Women in Falabella’s Instagram: Stereotypes and Sexual Objectification Theory. In: López-López, P.C., Barredo, D., Torres-Toukoumidis, Á., De-Santis, A., Avilés, Ó. (eds) Communication and Applied Technologies. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 318. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-6347-6_19

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