الفهرس 
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Abstract
This study investigates whether the representation of women in Egyptian TV commercials differs from or is similar to American and British TV advertisements within the same product. Based on Kress & van Leeuwen’s (2006) social semiotic theory of multimodality, the researcher conducts a representational metafunction analysis including narrative and conceptual processes; an interactive metafunction analysis involving contact, social distance, attitude and visual modality; and a compositional metafunction analysis depending on information value, salience and framing. The data of this study consists of four TV commercials. Data analysis shows that the portrayal of women in Egyptian TV advertisements differs from Western commercials. First, Egyptian commercials for detergents still depict women in domestic settings and relate their success to their ability to do the household chores. On the contrary, American commercials portray women in occupational settings and associate their success with their self-confidence. Second, there is a significant difference in the portrayal of women between the Egyptian and the British advertisements for chocolate. The Egyptian commercial features different women who all choose to enjoy their life without any restrictions imposed on them. The British commercial focuses on one woman who runs through life frantically trying to do all her duties. Finally, analysis also reveals that some Egyptian and Western commercials attempt to break the stereotypical depictions of women through presenting the image of self-determined empowered women who can rise to the challenge.