"On the cover of a Rolling Stone": a content analysis of gender representation in popular culture between 1967-2004

Abstract

Compared to the large body of research on female gender roles, little research has focused on male gender representation. This study addresses male and female gender representation as portrayed on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. This research studies both male and female gender representation throughout the publication from 1967 to 2004. Using Erving Goffman’s gender displays and Mee-Eun Kang’s body displays, as a guideline from the underlining theme, the data shows that gender displays for females have remained fairly consistent, but body displays have increased. However, men’s gender stereotypes increased when they were in the presence of a woman, and a woman’s gender displays decreased when presented with a man. The findings also indicated a significant increase in body displays for female cover subjects but a significant decrease for males.