Two teams of researchers (Archer, 1983, and Akert, Chen, & Panter, 1991) performed an archival analysis of portrait art and news and advertising photographs in print and television media. They coded...

Two teams of researchers (Archer, 1983, and Akert, Chen, & Panter, 1991) performed an archival analysis of portrait art and news and advertising photographs in print and television media. They coded the photographs according to the number of images that were devoted to the person’s face. Their results? Over 5 centuries, across cultures, and in different forms of media, men are visually presented in a more close-up style (focusing on the head and face), while women are shown in a more long-shot style (focusing on the body). These researchers interpret their findings as indicating a subtle form of sex-role stereotyping: Men are being portrayed in a stronger style that emphasizes their intellectual achievements, whereas women are being portrayed in a weaker style that emphasizes their total physical appearance.