Body Grammars in advertising to young children

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the representations of body image in advertising addressed to young children. Based on the content analysis of television advertising aimed at young children (5 to 9) in Spain, this work examines the character portrayals in advertising and discusses the implications of such representations in children’s body imaginaries. Results show four condensed clusters that connect depicted body image in advertising with the cultural images of consumption, health, beauty, and youth. With this regard, this study suggests that the prescription of depicted body image in advertising may reinforce the transference and acquisition of discourses that appeal to modern bodily values. Media representations constitute and integrate the social imagery concerning the body as they provide body grammars that make sense of the body, its image, and identity