From both the quantitative results and qualitative descriptions, it is clear that stereotypical gender images and roles predominate in children's commercials. A masculinist dominance can be seen in several areas of these commercials. For instance, there was a predominance of male characters and narrators. Also, there was a clearly gendered association of loud music and dark settings with male characters. Finally, male characters were most often shown alone, participating in stereotypically male behaviour (i.e. aggressive, and playing with traditionally male toys). As was predicted by previous studies (CRTC, 1990; Bretl & Cantor, 1988), the narrator of the commercials was highly gendered. In this study, 75.83% of the narrators were male. This corresponded to the gender of the main character, with male main narrators most often occurring with male main characters (71.43%). This is of importance, as the narrator is considered the voice of authority. By selecting predominantly male narrators, advertisers are identifying males as the most deserving of respect. They are working from the assumption that viewers are more likely to believe what they are told by a male voice.
The setting of the commercial was also related to the gender of the main character. Commercials with male main characters, had darker backgrounds, and louder music. This fits into the stereotypical conceptualization of males as being more aggressive (Morra & Smith, 1995). Finally, the behaviour displayed, and the toy played with clearly indicated the continued gendered portrayals in children's advertising. Male characters were significantly more likely to be portrayed as engaging in aggressive behaviour (See Table 5), and they were significantly more likely to play with traditionally male toys (i.e. action figures such as Street Sharks, or imitation tools such as Power Spark Welder) (See Table 7).
Reboot Action Figures provided one potentially hopeful commercial, by including a female character in a commercial for a traditionally male toy. Herein perhaps lies the role model for the new boy. Through the admission of female characters into a typically male setting, an opening may exist for interaction between the genders. It could be argued however, that this represents less of a new, more flexible masculinity, than a "token" inclusion of a female character into an essentially masculinist commercial world.
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