Gender role stereotypes and frames used by advertisers between portrayals of women, men, and non-binary individuals in Facebook advertising

The purpose of this study is to investigate the gender role stereotypes and framing effects in online digital advertisements. The literature review provides information about Framing theory and gender role stereotypes of women, men, and non-binary individuals portrayed in online advertisements as a means to push for further research in the field of online digital advertising. The effectiveness of Facebook for businesses will also be discussed in the literature review. Prior completed studies are referenced to show both framing as a theory and gender role stereotypes as broad enough to effect online advertising as it does print or television advertising. The predominant results show that gender role stereotypes in digital advertising have improved over time as the social atmosphere has began to equalize between the genders. Engagement metrics are also studied to determine if engagement (i.e. views) is increased for posts using traditional stereotypes. This leads to the need for further research of these gender role stereotypes and frames in the online medium of advertising to better understand what effects it may have on consumers.