Exploring Gender Narratives: Femininity and Masculinity in Health and Commercial Advertising in the Philippines

Abstract

Advertising in the Philippines, much like in other cultural contexts, has long been a site where gender roles are constructed, reinforced, and contested. This study explores how femininity and masculinity are portrayed across health and commercial advertising, situating Philippine practices within broader global debates on media, identity, and consumption. Drawing on an explanatory synthesis of existing literature, the study reviews how advertisements continue to depict women as fragmented bodies and men as authoritative voices, while also tracing how local creativity, linguistic strategies, and cultural adaptation complicate these patterns.
Findings suggest that Philippine advertising both reflects and reproduces entrenched stereotypes, positioning women primarily as silent consumers and men as decision-makers. Yet, research also reveals the potential for disruption through originality, localization, multilingual play, and feminist negotiation within production practices. These strategies demonstrate that advertising, while a powerful vehicle of consumerist ideology, can also function as a cultural space where alternative gendered identities are imagined.
By foregrounding feminist critiques, sociological theories of identity, and anthropological perspectives on symbolic systems, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of advertising not merely as a tool for persuasion but as a cultural text that classifies and normalizes gender. It further underscores the need for empirical engagement with Filipino audiences and advertisers, as well as alignment with gender-sensitive policy frameworks. Ultimately, this synthesis argues for more inclusive, creative, and ethically grounded advertising practices that resonate with Filipino cultural realities while advancing gender equity.