THE PORTRAYAL OF ASIAN AMERICANS

IN MAINSTREAM MAGAZINE ADS:

AN UPDATE
By Ki-Yoinig Lee and Swig-Hee }oo
Mass-circulation magazines were analyzed for the frequency and imttire
of advertising portrayals of Asian Americans, along several dimensions
related to the "model tninority" stereotype. Findings icere compared
with those for African Americans ami Hispanics. Despite sotne improvement in the frequency and scope of representation, the presence of Asian
Americans is still limited to narroivli/ defined stereotypical roles.
Logistic regression analyses provided further support for the findings.
Draii'ing on both cultivation and expectancy-violation theory frameworks, the authors suggest that, to the extent that the stereotype is
reflected and reinforced through advertising, biased and undtie expectations may be formed, resulting in negative conseqtiences for the group
members.

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic group in America,

with a 72% increase from 1990 to 2000, a decade in which the total U.S.
population grew only 13%.' In the 2000 U.S. Census, 11,9 million people, or 4.2 % ofthe U.S, population, identilied themselves as being Asian
or Asian in combination with another race, making Asian Americans the
fourth-largest ethnic group in the country, behind whites, Hispanics,
and African Americans.- By 2050, the percentage of Asian Americans is
projected to reach 8%."* This ethnic group forms a desirable market, with
a high average income coupled with an aiinual spending power of over
$200 billion, a high level of education, and exceptional brand loyalty.''
Nevertheless, Asian Americans are not yet considered a major minority
and are typically portrayed as "foreigners" in the media."' Moreover,
compared to other ethnic groups, they have been almost invisible in
mainstream American popular culture." When Asian Americans do
appear in movies and other pop cultural venues, stereotyped or narrowly defined roles are pervasive. For example, Asian women have been
frequently portrayed as passive, exotic, and humble, or at the other
extreme, as oversexualized, treacherous, and evil. Asian men, on the
other hand, are often portrayed as incompetent, asexual, and supremely wise, or as martial arts experts.^
Stereotyping of Asian Americans also occurs in ads. Their portrayals in ads usually reflect the "model minority" stereotype, in which they
I&MC Qiiiirlirl
Vol. 82, No. 3
Autumn 2005
654-671
&2005 AE}MC

654

Ki-Youiin Lei' is a doctoral caiutidale in the Mass Mciiia Ph.D. Program, Michigan State
Uiiiversiti/. Siiiig-Mcc }oo is n itoctaral aimiidate in the Department of Communication
Studies, the Uuii'ersitij of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The authors thank Frederick Fico, as
well as tioo anoin/nwiis reviewers, for their helpful comments.
JOURNALISM & MMS COMMUNIC^fU'^ QUAKTLRIY

are depicted as diligent, hard working, technologically competent, and

mathematically skilled." Although this stereotype may seem complimentary, it can lead to negative consequences for individuals both inside as
well as outside the group." For instance, continued portrayals of Asian
Americans based on the model minority stereotype and repetitive exposure to these images may create undue pressure on Asian Americans to
confirm stereotype-driven expectations, consequently undermining their
performance.'" When failing to meet expectations, Asian Americans may
be more harshly penalized than others," and sutfer lowered self-esteem.
Furthermore, to the extent that Asian Americans are viewed as industrious, hardworking, and serious, they may be prone to experience the
more negative stereotype of being le.ss sociable or "workaholics,"'The current study examines whether the model minority stereotype of Asian Americans is reflected in magazine ads. Unlike previous
studies on Asian Americans, however, it further examines whether the
portrayals of Asian Americans differ from the portrayals of other ethnic
minority groups and, if so, the extent and nature of that difference, by
using logistic regression techniques.

77ic Model Minority StereotypH': More Hann than Good? This

Ltteratlire
study is couched in two theories: cultivation and expectancy-violation,'^
Review
Cultivation theory suggests that audience perceptions toward a group
are influenced by how the group is portrayed in the media.'-' Specifically,
heavy television viewers develop a social reality that reflects the television world because that world is relatively "consistent" and "uniform" in
the images and portrayals it conveys.''' Although the theory was originally proposed to explain the effect of violent primetime television programming, it can be readily applied here, because if Asian Americans are
stereotypically portrayed in a consistent manner in magazine ads, readers should develop perceptions of Asian Americans that mirror the way
they are depicted. Cultivation theory may be particularly applicable
because of the geographical distribution of Asian Americans. They tend
to be heavily concentrated in a few areas of the United States such as
Hawaii, New York, and several cities on the West Coast, such as Los
Angeles and San Francisco."' People in many parts of the country may
have little or no personal interaction with Asian Americans. Lacking such
contact, the audience may be more likely to accept media portrayals of
Asian Americans as a fair and accurate description of the group.'^
Expectancy-violation theory offers a convincing explanation for a
potentially negative effect of the model minority stereotyping of Asian
Americans in ads. This theory suggests that when an individual's characteristics violate stereotype-based expectations, judgments tend to
become more extreme in the direction of the violated expectation,'"
Studies have shown that the violation of a negative stereotypical expectation tends to generate more favorable judgments for the members of a
negatively stereotyped group, while the violation of a positive stereotypical expectation generates more unfavorable judgments for the members
of a positively stereotyped group.''' This so-called "contrast" effect in
Till

PnKTKA>AI

01 AfilAN

A.MLRICANS

judgment has been found for Asian Americans. For example. Ho,
Driscoll, and Loosbrock found that Asian American students who performed poorly on a math test were given sub.stantially lower points than
white students when judges lacked motivation to grade seriously.-" In
addition, the pressure to meet the high expectation to excel in mathematical skills is likely to create the potential for "choking" on the part of
performers, thus affecting performance on the task.^'
Advertising is an influential social agent in the development of
our understanding of social reality, and in particular, perceptions of ethnic groups, both by group members and by others. These perceptions
can be reinforced by repeated exposure to prejudicial and stereotypical
portrayals of a targeted group. To the extent that advertising portrayals
of Asian Americans continue to be consistent and limited in certain
areas, they will contribute to the creation and reinforcement of the
stereotype associated with this group. The model minority stereotype is,
thus, likely to place undue pressure on Asian Americans to conform to
it, as well as possibly encouraging unjust treatment when they fail to
meet the stereotype-based expectations. In .sum, although seemingly
positive, model minority stereotyping of Asian Americans may do more
harm than good.
Previous Research on Portrayals of Asian Americans in
Advertising. Studies of how Asian Americans are portrayed in advertising began only in the 1990s,-- with many reporting that Asian American
representation is sparse and often virtually invisible.-^ When Asian
Americans do appear, they are assigned to narrowly defined roles based
on the model minority stereotype.-"' For example, in both television
commercials and magazine ads, Asian Americans have shown a differential presence in terms of the type of products they endorse.
Specifically, Asian Americans have most often been found as endorsers
of high-tech products and banking/financial services, and less often in
ads for domestic products. Similarly, they have appeared more frequently in technology and business magazines than in general interest and
women's magazines.-" Furthermore, they have frequently been portrayed in business setting.s, but rarely in home settings or social gatherings.-'' This disproportionate portrayal of Asian Americans in terms of
setting has been attributed to the "hard work, no fun" or "all work, no
play" stereotype of Asian Americans.-" Based on this presumption,
Taylor and his colleagues defined a set of variables for the content analysis of minority portrayals in magazine ads, and have demonstrated that
Asian Americans are pictured as hardworking, serious, and technologically savvy, confirming the model minority stereotype.^"
Although there has been relatively consistent support for the
model minority stereotype, research on the frequency of Asian American representation has produced somewhat conflicting results within
and across media.-"* For example, Taylor and Lee reported that Asian
Americans accounted for 4% of the magazine ads analyzed from 1992 to
1993, higher than the proportion of Asian Americans at that time in the
U.S. population (3.3%)."' In a sHtdy of television coinrnercials in 1994,
Taylor and Stern found an even higher representation of Asian
656

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QU.AKTERLY

Americans (8.47(v).'" In contrast, Bowen and Schmid found Asian

Americans present in only 2.5% and 1.8% of magazine ads in 1987 and
1992, respectively. "
Of course, it is also necessary to consider that the presence of ethnic minorities in ads is often minimized by their assignment to token
roles rather than main characters." Tokenism is especially apparent in
ads where minorities are the sole representatives of their ethnic group in
a crowd of otherwise white-only characters."^ This suggests that the frequency overrepresentation of Asian Americans found in some studies
may not reveal the true nature of the portrayals of Asian Americans in
ads.
Several research questions and hypotheses were developed to
examine the stereotypical portrayals of Asian Americans in magazine
ads. First, an attempt was made to address the confusion around the frequency of Asian American representation by posing the following research question:

Research
Questions
and
Hypotheses

RQl: Does the proportion of Asian Americans in magazine ads reflect the actual proportion of Asian Americans in
the U.S. population?
Regarding the prominence of roles, the following research question
was posed:
RQ2: When Asian Americans appear in magazine ads,
what type of role (e.g., primary, secondary, background) are
they most likely to play?
In order for this study to update previous research, the following
hypotheses were formulated, using the framework and variables developed by Taylor and Lee,'- to compare the portrayals of Asian Americans
in magazine ads with those of African Americans and Hispanics, rarely
done in past studies:
HI: Popular technology/business magazines will more
frequently include ads that contain Asian Americans than
nontechnology/nonbusiness magazines (i.e., popular general interest and women's magazines).
H2: Ads for technology-/business-related products/
services will more frequently contain Asian Americans than
ads for nontechnology-/nonbusineRS-related products/servH3: Compared to other minority groups (i.e., African
Americans or Hispanics) when Asian Americans appear in
magazine ads, they are more likely to be portrayed in business settings than other types of settings.
THL PORIRAY.M

Of ASIAN

AMERICANS

57

H4: Compared to other minority groups, when Asian

Americans appear in magazine ads, they are more likely to
be portrayed as coworkers in relation to other models in the
ads.

A content analysis of ads from selected mainstream consumer

magazines was cotiducted. For sampling purposes, a combination of
random and purposive sampling was employed, considering both editorial interest and popularity of the magazines. In consultation with
Acivcrtisiiig Age 300 for 2001 and iUridi's Perhtiicah Directory,^" a sam-

pling frame was developed for each of four consumer magazine categoriesbusiness, technology, women, and general interest. These four
categories were chosen to represent a wide range of readership and editorial interest areas and to test one of the main hypotheses about the relative frequency of Asian American representation across magazines
with different editorial interest areas.
From those publications ranked within the top 10 in terms of circulation in each category, two were randomly chosen, resulting in a total
of eight magazines: (1) Popular Mechanics and PC World to represent
technology magazines; (2) Fortune and Business Week for business magazines; (3) Time and U.S. News & World Report for the general interest
magazines; and (4) Woman's Day and Ladies' Home journal for the

women's magazines. Finally, four months between August 2000 and

August 2001 were randomly selected: October 2000, and February, May,
and August of 2001." All ads from theissuesof the selected months that
were one or more pages long, featuring human models, were included
in the content analysis. This sampling procedure resulted in a total of
1,843 ads.
All ads containing ethnic minorities were coded along several
dimensions including race, role prominence, and the four model minority stereotype-rel a ted variablesmagazine category, product type, ad
setting, and role portrayal. All the major variables were coded for three
ethnic minority groupsAsian Americans, African Americans, and
Hispanics. Asian Americans were defined as persons whose ancestry is
rooted in any Asian country other than those on the Indian subcontinent
and those countries that are referred to as the Middle East.'-' The ads
featuring only white models were counted to provide a baseline for
comparison. White models were also coded for type of endorsed product.
For comparison and consistency purposes, the operational definitions and coding schemes used for this study were based on those developed by Taylor and Lee (see Appendix).'"* Role prominence was analyzed using three categoriesprimary, secondary, and backgroundto
determine whether Asian Americans were depicted in central or peripheral roles.^"
The type of product advertised was initially coded into nine
categories: (1) Technology-based electronics; (2) Telecommunications
products and services (e.g., ISP, cable modem, DSL, ISDN); (3) Banking

658

JOURNAI tbM & M A . S S COM.MU.N(L",inLI,V

and financial services; (4) Automobiles; (5) Food and beverages; (6)
Household products; (7) Fashion and cosmetics products; (8) Nonprofit organization/PSA; and (9) Other. In order to test H2 (about product type), these categories were collapsed into a dichotomous category
of "Tech/Business products/services" [categories (1) through (3)]
and "Nontech/Nonbusiness products/services" [categories (4) through
(9)].
The settings of the ads were analyzed to assess whether minorities
were featured in certain types of settings more often than others. The categories included: (1) Business setting; (2) Home setting; (3) Social setting
outside home; and (4) Outdoor/natural setting. Any artificial settings
and any other settings not listed in the above categories were coded as
(5) Other.
Role portrayal was coded into four categories: (1) Coworker; (2)
Family member; (3) Social circle; and (4) Impersonal relationship. For
role portrayals, coders were instructed to identify the most salient minority model in the ad and analyze the relationship between the model and
others depicted in the ad. Ad settings were recoded to the dichotomous
"Business setting" or "Nonbusiness setting," and role portrayal was to
the dichotomous "Coworker" or "Noncoworker," for logistic regression
analysis.
Two coders independently coded the same 10% of the sample to
test for inter-coder reliability, with reliabilities of all variables exceeding
the .85 standard recommended by Kassarjian for figures not corrected for
chance agreement." After being corrected for chance agreement, the
agreement figures, as measured by Scott's Pi, of all major variables for
Asian Americanspresence of Asian American models, role prominence, product type, ad setting, and role portrayal^were .92, .80, .87, .81,
and .88, respectively. ^Initial analyses were conducted using the difference in proportions
test and the chi-square test. Since the chi-square test does not reveal
which category pairs account for a statistical significance, the difference
in proportions test was also used. The second round of analyses used
logistic regression techniques to assess the degree to which the model
minority stereotype-based portrayals of Asian Americans were present
compared to other minority groups. Logistic regression techniques are
known to avoid problems associated with nonlinearity of the dichotomous outcome variables and the violation of ordinary least-squares
assumptions.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Asian Americans represent
4.2%, of the U.S. population." Of 1,843 sampled magazine ads, 464
(25.2%.) contained at least one minority model and 153 (8.3%,) contained
Asian Americans. African Americans were found in 322 (17.5%), and 47
included Hispanics (2.6%). The remaining ads contained whites only.
The difference between the two proportions of Asian Americans4.2%,
frotn the U.S. Census and 8.3% from this studyis statistically significant at a = .001 (z = 8.77, /) < .001). Further, the number of ads analyzed
ft>r "Tech/Business" and "Nontech/Nonbusiness" magazine categories
Till PoRrnAYALOi AS

Findings
and
Discussions

659

TABLE 1
Representation of Minorities by Roic Prominence. Magazine Category, Product Type.
Ad Setting, and Role Portrayal
Role Prominence
Primary
Secondary
Background
X'=10,50, d,f,=4, p < .05
Magazine Category
Asian Americans
African Americans
Hispanics
Whites
X^=34.03, d.f.=3, p < .001

Asian Americans
(N=153)
73.2%
20.3

African Americans
(N-322)
72.4%
19.6

6.5

8,1

Tech/Business
Magazines
(N= 1,149)
9.7%
15,7

Nontech/Nonbusiness Magazines
(/V-939)
4.5%
15,1

z-score

3,2

1,1

71,4

79.3

6.40*
-8,33*

Product Type

Tech/Business
Products/Services
(N=l,068)
Asian Americans
10,4%
African Americans
15.9
Hispar\ics
2.4
Whites
71.3
X^=32,8], d,f,=3,;) < .001

Nontech / Non business

Prod ucts / Services
(N= 1,020)
4.1%
14.9

Ad Setting

African Americans
(N=322)
40.1%
24,8
20,2

Business
Home
Sociiil

Asian Americans
(,V=153)
62.4%
12.4
12,4

Outdoor
Other
X-=23.72, d,f.=8, p < .001
Role Portrayal

Hispanics
(N=47)
51.]%
38,3
10,6

6,5
6.5

Asian Americans
(N=9^)
Co worker
52,7%
Family member
13.2
Social circle
15.4
Impersonal relation
18.7
X'=6,93, d,f,=6, n,s, at a=.O5

9,14*
,76

z-score
11,07*

1,27

2.1

,91

78,9

-8,02*

7,1
7,8

African Americans
(N=]80)
36.7%
18.3
22.2
22.8

Hispanics
(N=47)
53,2%
23.4
12.8
6.4
4.3

Hispanics
(,V=30)
43.3%
20.0
16,7
20.0

Note: For HI & H2, some ads were counted more than twice since they contained more than two
races. As a result, the Ns are larger than the actual number of ads analyzed,
'p<.001,

were roughly comparable (987 ads vs. 856 ads), excluding the possibility of biased results. In sum, Asian Americans appear to be more frequently represented in magazine ads than their actual proportion In the
United States, thus answering RQl.
660

S COMMUKICJION Qu.iRTFRLV

Table 1 summarizes the results regarding RQ2 about the role that
Asian Americans play in magazine ads. According to the data, when
Asian Americans appear in magazine ads, they are more likely to be
featured in a primary role, suggesting that they are not marginalized.
Rather, they appear in the foreground of ads. A conditional distribution of role prominence for Asian Americans is not contingent on magazine category (x^ = .663, d.f.^2, p > .05; Tech/Business vs. Nontech/Nonbusiness magazines). African Americans show a pattern similar to Asian Americans, while Hispanics exhibit an even split between
a primary role and a secondary and background role combined.
Therefore, the significant differences in relative frequencies of role
prominence across ethnic groups appear to originate from the
Hispanics (%- = 10.50, d.f.=4, p < .05).
Magazine Category and Representation of Asian Americans. HI
predicts that technology and business magazine ads will more frequently contain Asian Americans than general interest and women's
magazine ads. The presence of ethnic groups is contingent on magazine category (x' ^ 34.03, d.f.^3, p < .001), as can be seen in Table 1. As
hypothesized, Asian Americans are more likely to be portrayed in technology and business magazine ads than nontechnology and nonbusiness magazine ads {9.7% vs. 4.5%), and the difference in relative frequencies is statistically significant (2 ^ 9.14, p < .001). African Americans and Hispanics are also represented more often in technology and
business magazines, but the difference is significant only for Hispanics. Whites appear more frequently in general interest and women's
magazines than they do in technology and business magazines.
Product Type and Representation of Asian Americans. Support
for HI, however, does not necessarily substantiate the proposition
that magazine ads reflect the model minority stereotype of Asian
Americans because, although Asian Americans appear in technology
and business magazines, it is possible that the actual ads they are in are
for nontechnology and nonbusiness products/services. While this
assumption is rather unlikely in light of previous studies confirming
the model minority stereotyping in ads, the findings may be confounded if this is the case.
Therefore, a more powerful case for the model minority proposition can be made if data support H2, which states a direct relationship
between the type of advertised product and the presence of Asian
American models. Table 1 data show that the difference in relative frequencies for Asian Americans is significant (z ^ 11.07, p < .001). This
indicates that ads for technology and business-related products/services do indeed feature Asian Americans more frequently as endorsers,
compared to ads for nontechnology and nonbusiness-related products/services. A significant chi-square value indicates that the presence of ethnic groups does depend upon the type of product advertised d' = 32.81, d.f.=3, /; < .001).
It is worth noting that for Hispanics, this relationship is not
significant, contrasting with the significant result found for Hispanics
for magazine category in Table 1. Even though Hispanics may more
T'Hf PORTRA>-\I. IT AflAN AMLKICANS

DOI

TABLE 2
Logistic Regression Equations Predicting Effects of Asian Americtins nnd Hispanics
on Magazine Category, Product Type, Ad Setting, ami Role Portrayal
(N - 464 for Model 1, 2, ami 3; N - 220 for Model 4}
Dependant Variables
Model 2:
Mtxlel 3:
Proditct Type
Ad Setting

Model 1:
Magazine Category
Indt'pt'ndent
Variiibics

SE

Odds

SE

.092

.120

Riitio

Odds
Ratio

SE

-.609-'"

.125

Model 4;
Role Portrayal
Odds
Ratio

SE

Odds
Ratio

Intercept

.176

.121

Asian
American

.723"

.216

2.060

.892*'* .216

2.439 1.062*** .207

2.839

.613*

.278

1.846

Hispanic

.934'

.374

2.545

.124

1.132

1.655

.388

.41X)

1.474

Model
Chi-square

18.403"*

.322

18.160-'*

.504

.319

29.604'*'

-.831'*' .186

6.210*

A/oftvb = coefficient, SE = standard error, ' f x .05, *'p< .01, * " ; i < .001.
Independent variables: Asian American: coded 1 if Asian American, 0 othervi'isc; African American: cixied 1 if
African American, 0 othenvLso; Hispanic: ctxied 1 if Hiispanic, 0 otherwise. African Americans were the reference
group.
Dependenl variables: Magazine Category: coded 1 it Tech/Business magazine, 0 otherwise; Pnjduct Type: ctxied
lif Tech/Business product/service, 0 otherwise; Ad Setting: cmled 1 if Business setting, 0 otherwise; Role
Portrayal: axied 1 if Coworker. 0 otherwise.

frequently appear in technology and business magazines than in other

magazine categories, they still do not necessarily endorse technology or
business products/services. As with Hispanics, the presence of African
Americans does not show a significant variation across product types.
The nonsignificant differences for both African Americans and
Hispanics provide further evidence that the model minority stereotype
of Asian Americans is reflected in their portrayals in magazine ads.
Ad Setting and Representation of Asian Americans. H3 predicted

that Asian Americans are more likely to appear in business settings, but
less likely to appear in other types of settings (e.g., home, social, outdoor
settings), reflecting their "hard work, no fun" stereotype. The data in
Table 1 support this hypothesis. Of ads portraying Asian Americans,
62.4% occur in business settings. Interestingly, both social and home settings, respectively, account for 12.4% of the ads featuring Asian
Americans, a stark contrast to Taylor and Lee's finding of only 4.1% of
ads featuring Asian Americans in each of these settings.^'' This suggests
that the representation of Asian Americans is broadening to include
greater diversify in settings.
Compared to other minority groups, however, the presence of
Asian Americans in social and home settings is still relatively low. The
"hard work, no fun" stereotype attached to Asian Americans may have
led others to believe that this group lacks social skills and is less family-

662

I ISM 6- MA-if CuMMLH^ICATIOfJ QtlARTERi)

oriented, consequently leading to less frequent presence of Asian

Americans in social and home settings.
Role Portrayal and Representation of Asian Americans. H4, predicting that Asian Americans are most likely to be portrayed as coworkers, is inherenfly related to H3. The findings for role portrayal in Table 1
support the prediction. Among the 91 ads featuring two or more characters including Asian American models, 48 depicted Asian Americans as
coworkers (52.7%). The differences in relative frequencies across ethnic
groups are not statistically significant at a = .05. However, a comparison
with other groups provides partial support for the proposition that magazine ads reflect the "hard work, no fun" or "all work, no play" stereotype of Asian Americans: they are portrayed as family members in 13.2%
of cases as opposed to 18.3% for African Americans and 20% for
Hispanics. Asian Americans are also less frequently depicted as friends
(15.4%) than African Americans (22.2%) and Hispanics (16.7%).
The prevailing presence of Asian Americans as coworkers supports
the proposition that magazine ads reflect the stereotype associated with
this minority group. The nonsignificant chi-square value might have
been caused by the small sample size in each ethnic group, warranting a
need for further investigation with a larger sample size.
Logistic Regression Analysis Results. Table 2 summarizes the
results of a series of logistic regression analyses. For each model in Table
2, the dependent variable is the logarithm of the odds that a minority
model will be portrayed in a particular way (e.g., particular magazine
category, product), divided by the odds that the model will not be portrayed that way. The reference group is African Americans for all models. Logistic regression was used in order to provide a more rigorous
understanding of the portrayals of Asian Americans in relation to other
minority groups. The effect of each independent variable is expressed in
terms of the impact of being a given minority on the log odds of the
dependent variable. Odds ratios are also presented for case of interpretation.
The results from the logistic regression analyses are es.sentiaily consistent with the results from the preceding chi-square and difference in
proportions tests, providing further support for the hypotheses. All models are statistically significant at a = .05. Model 1 in Table 2 shows that,
compared to African Americans, Asian Americans are more likely to
appear in technology and business magazines. Specifically, by being an
Asian American, the log odds of being portrayed in technology and business magazine ads increase by .723, compared to African Americans. In
other words, the odds of Asian Americans being present in technology
and business magazine ads are over 2 times greater than they are for
African Americans. Hispanics are also more likely to appear in technology and business magazine ads, but Hispanics and African Americans are
not significantly different from each other in terms of their likelihood
of being employed as endorsers for technology and business
products/services (Model 2 in Table 2). The odds of Asian Americans
endorsing such products/services, however, are 2.4 times higher than
those of African Americans.

THE PoRTRAYALoh ASIAN

AMFRICAN^

663

Models 3 and 4 show how being from a different minority group

affects the likelihood that minority models will be depicted in business
settings or as coworkers. Asian American.s are indeed more likely than
African Americans to appear in business settings and be portrayed as
coworkers. The likelihood of being depicted in business settings or cast
as coworkers for Asian Americans is respectively 2.8 and 1.8 times
greater than for African Americans. Again, African Americans and
Hispanics are not significantly different from each other in their probability of being depicted in business settings and being cast as coworkers.
Overall, the results from the logistic regression analyses confirm the
notion that magazine ads reflect the model minority stereotype of Asian
Americans.

Conclusion
Research on cultivation effects suggests the possible impact that
and
stereotypical portrayals of minority groups in the media may have on
Implications people's beliefs and attitudes toward these groups. Once reinforced and

entrenched by continued media portrayals, these stereotypes can guide

our expectations and color our interpretations of minority group members' behaviors and traits. The representation of minority groups in the
media is also indicative of how the host culture and minority groups
themselves perceive these groups' legitimacy in society.-*'
Overall, this study provides further support for the findings of
research by Taylor and Lee,"^ which concluded that magazine ads reflect
the commonly held model minority stereotype of Asian Americans as
hardworking, intelligent, and highly skilled in math and science. In
addition, with the aid of logistic regression, this study offers a new
avenue to pursue by detailing how portrayals of Asian Americans differ
from those of other minority groups.
The frequency of Asian American representation in magazine ads
was higher than its actual percentage in the U.S. population, and Asian
Americans are now more frequently portrayed in nonstereotypical
areas than they once were. For example, we witnessed the growth of
Asian American presence in ads whose settings are nonbusiness in
nature, such as home and social settings.
Scrutiny of the data, however, suggests that, compared with other
minority groups, the portrayals of Asian Americans are still limited in
narrowly defined roles. In general, the presence of Asian Americans was
still salient in the areas where the model minority stereotype applied.
Specifically, Asian Americans more frequently appeared in technology
and business product categories, and were assigned to roles where
greater emphasis is placed on work ethic (i.e., business settings and
coworkers) than other minorities. These results indicate that despite the
increase in Asian American presence in terms of frequency and setting,
ads continue to perpetuate the model minority stereotype.
The narrow scope of Asian American portrayals may have several
harmful implications. First, Asian Americans who are not particularly
adept in technology and business areas could suffer lowered self-esteem
when they do not reach the expected achievement level anticipated by

664

SM & M.I.SS CUMMUNICATUW QllARTFRl.Y

Second, continued stereotypical portrayals might place undue

pressure on Asian Americans to conform to the stereotype, and they
might incur unjust treatment when they fail to meet the stereotype-based
expectations. In addition, the seemingly positive characteristics associated with the model minority stereotype may in fact contribute to negative
stereotyping in the other direction. For example, to the extent that Asian
Americans are viewed as industrious, hardworking, and serious, they
may also be regarded as less socially skilled and as workaholics.*"* This
suspicion was supported by the results of the logistic regression, indicating Asian Americans are less likely to appear in social and family settings, and are less often featured as friends and family members than
African Americans and Hispanics.
To circumvent these possible problems, advertisers should be more
attentive when featuring Asian American models in ads by including
more of them in a variety of nonbusiness/nontechnology product categories, settings, and relationships. This heightened sensitivity in portraying Asian Americans would be beneficial to both the advertising industry and society as a whole. For advertisers, greater inclusion of Asian
Americans in those areas with which they have not been typically associated can provide an effective means of reaching out to this promising,
but previously neglected, market segment. Research suggests that members of minority groups favorably evaluate ads featuring models of their
own race."'''' Thus, Asian Americans will react positively to ads including
models with whom they can easily identify, and these positive reactions
may, in turn, translate into more positive brand attitudes. For society as
a whole, nonstereotypical portrayals of Asian Americans will not only
provide a fair description of this minority group, but also contribute to
the assimilation process of its members into mainstream culture by signaling to them that they are not treated as a stereotyped minority, but as
legitimate members of society.
While the study's primary focus was on Asian Americans, it is necessary to point out that representation of Hispanics was severely limited.
Although Hispanics currently account for 12.5% of the U.S. population,^
only 2.6% of the sample analyzed in this study contained Hispanic models (47 out of 1,843 ads). This paucity of Hispanic representation in the
media is a serious matter, for it is indicative of this ethnic group lacking
equal access to the symbolic cultural resources commonly available to
the host culture. If also sends a subtle signal to the group members that
they are not fully accepted by the host culture, thereby delaying the
assimilation process of the group members into society."' Greater inclusion of Hispanics in ads appears necessary.

This study has several limitations and implications. First, the

analysis is limited to magazines. It would be interesting to investigate and Future
whether the findings of this study can be replicated with other media.
Study
especially television. Currently, Taylor and Stern's study,"*- which analyzed commercials broadcast in 1994, is the only study of this kind.
Clearly, more research is needed to replicate and update their findings in
TllL POUTRAfM. or AsiAS AAtl.aiCANi

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the context of television commercials. Second, the findings of this study

warrant empirical research to corroborate the suspected linkages
between stereotyped portrayals in ads and perceptions of Asian
Americans held both by Asian Americans and by others, and an examination of those perceptions and consequent behaviors. For example,
research involving a longitudinal study or an experimental design
should be conducted to assess whether violating the positive stereotypes of Asian Americans actually leads to undue treatment of those
who fail to confirm the stereotype-based expectancy. Finally, future
research can benefit from incorporating gender as a variable since some
research suggests that media images of Asian Americans differ by gender in terms of both frequency and nature of portrayal."
Appendix and Notes follow.

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APPENDIX
(Adapted from Taylor and Lee'^'')
Operational Definitions for Variables Analyzed
Role Prominence
(1) Primary Role: A character who is very important to the advertising theme or layout,
shown in the foreground or shown holding the product.
(2) Secondary Role: A character who is of average importance to the advertising theme
or layout. Generally, such characters are not spotlighted in the ad and do not hold the
product, but are not difficult to find in the ad while casually looking at it.
(3) Background Role: A character who is difficult to find in an ad (i.e., not likely to be
noticed by a reader glancing at the ad) and is not important to its theme or layout.
Product Type
(1) Technology-based electronics: computer hardware/software, semiconductors, hitech home electronics such as HDTV, hi-fi stereos, and DVD players
(2) Telecommunications products/services: Internet-based products/services (e.g., ISP,
ISDN, DSL, cable modetn), wireless lechnology-bascd applications and products (e.g.,
mobile phones/services)
(3) Banking and financial services: various financial consulting services including mutual fund and asset management
(4) Automobiles
(5) Food and beverages
(6) Household products: personal hygiene products such as toothpaste, soap and home
cleaning products, detergents
(7) Fashion and cosmetics products
(8) Nonprofit organization/PSA
(9) Other: any other products/services that do not fit into one of the above categories
(e.g, media services, drugs, sporting goods)
Ad Setting
(1) Business setting: factories, sales or office rooms and retail settings
(2) Home setting: a residence, room, garage, and driveway
(3) Social setting outside home: restaurants, bars, movie theaters, concert, and cars
where people interact with one another for social purposes
(4) Outdoor/natural setting; forests, rivers, oceans, fields, streets, and public places
(5) Other: artificial settings and any other settings not listed above
Role Portrayal
(1) Coworker: two or more people depicted as coworkers. Colleagues in the satne profession or occupation.
(2) Family member: husband and wife, a parent(s) with a child (children), a grandparent(s) with a child (children).
(3) Social circle: two or more people who appear as friends or any other people depicted in a social setting.
(4) Impersonal relationship: no apparent relationship between the characters.

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NOTES
1. Jessica S. Barns and Claudette E. Bennett, The Asian Population:
2000: Census 2000 Brief (Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, 2002),
available at <http: / / www.census.gov/prod /2002pubs/c2kbr01-16.
pdf>, retrieved 1 May 2004.
2. Barns and Bennett, The Asian Population: 2000: Census 2000 Brief
3. U.S. Census Bureau, Census Btireau Projects Tripling of Hispanic and
Asian Populations in 50 Years (Washington, DC: U.S Census Bureau,
2004), available at <http://www.ccnsus.gov/Press-Release/www/
releases/archives/population/001720.html>, retrieved 1 May 2004.
4. Brad Edmondson, "Asian Americans 2001," American Demographics 19 (February 1997): 16-17.
5. Satomi Fruichi, Carrie La Ferle, Wei-Na Lee, and Marye C. Tharp,
"Asian Americans: In Search of the American Dream," in Marketing and
Consumer Identity in Multicultural America, ed. Marye C. Tharp
(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2001), 243-81.
6. Carolyn Martindale, "Only in Glimpses: Portrayal of America's
Largest Minority Groups by The New York Times, 1934-1994," in Facing
Difference: Race, Gender, and Mass Media, ed. Shirley Biagi and Marilyn

Kern-Foxworth (Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 1997), 89-94;

Dana E. Mastro and Bradley S. Greenberg, "The Portrayal of Racial
Minorities on Prime Television," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic

Media 44 (fall 2000): 690-703; Charles R. Taylor and Ju Yung Lee, "Not in
Vogue: Portrayals of Asian Americans in Magazine Advertising,"
journal of Public Policy and Marketing 13 (fall 1994): 239-45.
7. Fruichi et al., "Asian Americans"; Teresa A. Mok, "Getting the
Message: Media Images and Stereotypes and Their Effects on Asian
Americans," Cultural Diversity and Mental Heallh 4 (3,1998): 185-202.
8. Judy Cohen, "White Consumers Response to Asian Models in
Advertising," Journal of Consumer Marketing 9 (2, 1992): 17-27; Nejdet
Delener and James P. Neelankavil, "Informational Sources and Media
Use: A Comparison Between Asian and Hispanic Subcultures," Journal
of Advertising Ret^earch 30 (July/June 1990): 45-52; Taylor and Lee, "Not
in Vogue"; Charles R. Taylor, Ju Yung Lee, and Barbara B. Stern,
"Portrayals of African, Hispanic, and Asian Americans in Magazine
Advertising," American Behavioral Scientist 38 (February 1995): 608-621;
Charles R. Taylor and Barbara B. Stern, "Asian Americans: Television
Advertising and the 'Model Minority' Stereotype," Journal of Advertising
26 (summer 1997): 47-61.
9. Lee Jussim, "Social Reality and Social Problems: The Role of
Expectancies," journal of Social Issues 46 (summer 1990): 9-34; Taylor and
Lee, "Not in Vogue."
10. Sapna Cheryan and Galen V. Bodenhausen, "When Positive
Stereotypes Threaten Intellectual Performance: The Psychological Hazards of "Model Minority" Status," Psychological Science 11 (September
2000): 399-402.
11. Colin P. Ho, Denise M. Driscoll, and Danielle H. Loosbrock,
"Great Expectations: The Negative Consequences of Falling Short,"
OOP

jauRNAi.iM & MASS COMMUNICATION

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journal of Applied Social Psychology 28 (19,1998): 1743-1759.

12. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."
13. It is worth mentioning that the main purpose of this study is to
examine the presence and extent of stereotypical portrayals of Asian
Americans in magazine ads, rather than testing any formal hypothesis of
either cultivation or expectancy theory. These theories were mainly introduced as a theoretical foundation to establish the significance of the
study and indicate potential ramifications of stereotypical portrayals of
Asian Americans in magazine ads. In this regard, this study shares a
common goal with many content analysis studiesdoing a "reality
check" and serving as a springboard for further surveys or experiments,
as described in Daniel Riffe, Stephen Lacy, and Frederick G. Fico,
Analyzing Media Messages: Using Quantitative Content Analysis in Research

(Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1998).

14. George Gerbner, Larry Gross, Michael Morgan, and Nancy
Signorieili, "The Mainstreaming of America: Violence Profile No. 11,"
journal of Communication 30 (summer 1980): 10-29; Michael Morgan and
James Shanahan, "Two Decades of Cultivation Research: An Appraisal
and Meta-Analysis," Communication Yearbook 20 (1997): 1-45.
15. Gerbner et al., "The Mainstreaming of America"; Morgan and
Shanahan, "Two Decades of Cultivation Research."
16. Harry H.L. Kitano and Roger Daniels, Asian Americans: Emerging
Minorities, 2d ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995); Barns and
Bennett, The Asian Population: 2000: Census 2000 Brief
17. Ronald J. Faber, Thomas C. O'Guinn, and Timothy P. Meyer,
"Televised Portrayals of Hispanics: A Comparison of Ethnic
Perceptions," International journal of Intercultural Relations 11 (1987): 155-

69; Taylor and Stern, "Asian Americans."

18. Lee Jussim, "Self-fulfilling Prophecy: A Theoretical and Integrative View," Psychological Reviexv 93 (October 1986): 429-45; Jussim, "Social
Reality and Social Problems"; Lee Jussim, Lerita M. Coleman, and
Lauren Lerch, "The Nature of Stereotypes: A Comparison and
Integration of Three Theories," journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
52 (March 1987): 536-46.
19. Linda A. Jackson, Linda A. Sullivan, and Carole N. Hodge,
"Stereotype Effects of Attributions, Predictions, and Evaluations: No
Two Social Judgments Are Quite Alike," journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 65 Ouly 1993): 69-84; Jussim, Coleman, and Lerch, "The
Nature of Stereotypes."
20. Ho, Driscoll, and Loosbrock, "Great Expectations."
21. Cheryan and Bodenhausen, "When Positive Stereotypes Threaten
Intellectual Performance."
22. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue"; Clint C. Wilson II and Felix
Gutierrez, Race, Multicutturatism, iind the Media: From Mass to Class

Connintnication, 2d ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995).

23. Lawrence Bowen and Jill Schmid, "Minority Presence and Portrayal in Mainstream Magazine Advertising: An Update," journalism &
Mass Communication Quarterly 74 (spring 1997): 134-46; Scott Coltrane
and Melinda Messineo, "The Perpetuation of Subtle Prejudice: Race and
THL PORJRAYAl OF ASIAN AMI'RICANS

669

Gender Imagery in 1990s Television Advertising," Sex Rotes 42 (March

2000): 363-89.
24. Mariko Morimoto and Carrie La Ferle, "Representation of Asian
Americans in Magazine Advertisements," in Proceedings of the Conference
of the American Acadetny of Advertising, ed. Avery M. Abernethy (Auburn
AL: AAA, 2002): 138-47; Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue"; Taylor, Lee, and
Stern, "Portrayals of African, Hispanic, and Asian Americans"; Taylor
and Stern, "Asian Americans."
25. Morimoto and La Ferie, "Representation of Asian Americans";
Taylor and Lee, "Not In Vogue"; Taylor, Lee, and Stern, "Portrayals of
African, Hispanic, and Asian Americans."
26. Morimoto and La Ferle, "Representation of Asian Americans";
Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue"; Taylor and Stern, "Asian Americans."
27. Taylor, Lee, and Stern, "Portrayals of African, Hispanic, and Asian
Americans."
28. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue"; Taylor, Lee, and Stern, "Portrayals
of African, Hispanic, and Asian Americans"; Taylor and Stern, "Asian
Americans."
29. Morimoto and La Ferle, "Representation of Asian Americans";
Taylor and Stern, "Asian Americans."
30. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."
31. Taylor and Stern, "Asian Americans."
32. Bowen and Schmid, "Minority Presence and Portraval."
33. Robert E. Wilkes and Humberto Valencia, "Hispanics and Blacks in
Television Commercials," Journal of Advertising 18 (spring 1989): 19-25.
34. Juila M. Bristor, Renee Gravois Lee, and Michelle R. Hunt, "Race
and Ideology: African American Images in Television Advertising,"
journal ofPtihlic Policy and Marketing 14 (spring 1995): 48-60.
35. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."
36. Creig R. Endicott, "The Advertising Age 300," Advertising Age, 23
September 2002, S2-S10; R. R. Bower Company, lllrich's Periodicals
Directory (New Providence, NJ: R.R. Bowker, 2001).
37. Publications after September 2001 were deliberately avoided
because 9/11 might have influenced the sample to be unrepresentative.
38. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."
39. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."
40. Taylor and Lee's 1994 study used the terms, major, minor, and background instead.
41. Harold H. Kassarjian, "The Negro and American Advertising 19461965." Journal of Marketing Research 6 (February 1969): 29-39.
42. The authors acknowledge the difficulty and potential confounding
that could occur when coding race, caused by the growing multi-racial
population. One comfort, however, can be found in the fact that this study
achieved acceptable inter-coder reliability with respect to the race variable: Scott's PIS were .91, .89, .74, and .92 for the presence of whites,
African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans, respectively. The
authors believe that with respect to the potential impact of stereotypical
portrayals of minorities in the media, how the minority member is "perceived" by an average person is more important than his/her actual
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genetic race. This is based on the authors' stance that as far as the discussion of media effects is concerned, race is more of a social construction
than biology.
43. Barns and Bennett, The Asian Population: 2000: Census 2000 Brief
44. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."
45. Morimoto and La Ferle, "Representation of Asian Americans."
46. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."
47. Morimoto and La Ferle, "Representation of Asian Americans";
Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."
48. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."
49. Mary Jane Schlinger and Joseph T. Plummer, "Advertising in Black
and White," Journal of Marketing Research 9 (May 1972): 149-53; Tommy E.
Whittler, "The Effects of Actors' Race in Commercial Advertising: Review
and Extension," journal of Advertising 20 (spring 1991): 54-60.
50. Betsy Guzman, The Hispanic Population: Cettsus 2000 Bn't'/" (Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, 2001), available at <http://www.
census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-3.pdf>, retrieved 1 May 2004.
51. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."
52. Taylor and Stern, "Asian Americans."
53. Mok, "Getting the Message"; Taylor and Stern, "Asian Americans."
54. Taylor and Lee, "Not in Vogue."

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