Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Gender-Neutral Advertising
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Gender Neutral
Advertising
Student ID#10043199 – Coms 369 L02
As a young girl, I loved to play with Barbie dolls and toy
kitchen sets. I collected teddy bears and I loved to dress up in princess
clothes. As I got older, I was more interested in sports such as softball and
basketball. My princess dresses were traded in for jeans, and I grew more
interested in construction and Lego sets. I enjoyed playing with Hot Wheels
race tracks, but these were toys that my brother or male cousins had and that
I had never owned. In all the toy catalogues I had seen, young boys were
playing with sports equipment and cars. The Nerf guns or super soaker water
guns that I enjoyed playing with were never advertised in the hands of a young
girl. I felt as though my love of these toys was not normal. I slowly
started to become interested in cooking and baking, as I believed that this was
expected of me. The toys I started to ask for at Christmas would reflect this.
Now society trends towards being
more accepting of what is not considered the norm. While others judge young
boys who show a more gentle and nurturing side, even going so far as to make
assumptions and label them as homosexual, others see this as a more natural
portrayal of real men. According to a 2012 article in The Daily Mail, the number of stay at home dads in the USA has
doubled in the past decade (para. 2). More young children, including young boys, are
seeing their fathers cooking and cleaning. These men are the role models for
their young sons, and knowing they are also cooking makes it more acceptable
for young boys to want to cook.
A young girl in New Jersey has
recently started a petition that urges Hasbro to create a gender-neutral
version of the Easy Bake Oven. Her younger brother aspires to be a chef and
wants the toy oven. He has, however, been discouraged by the female targeted
advertising. His sister feels that he should be allowed to be himself, instead
of being forced to play with boy’s toys and games. The oven itself is pink in
colour, which follows the socially constructed ideology that pink is a woman’s
colour. As well, advertisements feature only young girls playing with the toys.
Approximately 10 years ago there was a boy-targeted version of the oven called
the ‘Queasy Bake Cookerator’. This toy oven encouraged young boys to cook, but
did make it seem unnatural. They promoted gross-out foods such as ‘crud cakes’
and ‘sludge shakes’. This does not allow the boys to feel comfortable with
traditional baking.
A 2009 article in The
Huffington Post estimated that more than 30,000 single mothers in the US
military have been deployed to either Afghanistan or Iraq (para. 1). Although
women have been enlisting in the army since the 1940s, being a solider has
primarily been seen as a man’s job. As more women enlist in the military, young
girls are seeing images of strong women; women who are fighting for their
country, and using guns. There are also women in the workforce, and they are no
longer expected to be the primary keepers of the house. They are not expected to
cook food for their husbands and family, and to clean the house. These chores
are now shared amongst the members of the household.
Young girls are discouraged from participating in games that
encourage the use of guns. Nerf gun advertisements are targeted towards boys,
and the packaging of these toys features images of young men. They are not
shown as being capable of fighting or showing strength equal to that of a boy.
They are not being encouraged to be providers for their family. The toy
advertisements targeted towards girls show them cooking, cleaning and caring
for the children. They are reinforcing the expectation that women should be
housewives, and not primary providers.
Children’s toys should be advertised in a gender-neutral
manner. Young boys should be encouraged to cook, and young girls should be
encouraged to be strong and to stand up for themselves. A toy store in Sweden has recently been
featured in the media for their gender-neutral advertising. Their recent
Christmas catalogue features young boys ironing and vacuuming. Young girls are
shown playing with guns and cars. In the 21st century women are no
longer expected to cook for their husbands. They are now actively employed in
the workforce. Women are well-educated, and also seen in positions that are
superior to men. They are no longer expected to be in the kitchen or the
primary caregiver for their children. Young boys should be encouraged to take
care of the children, and they should also be taught how to cook. With the
women of the household joining the workforce, the men need to be capable of
cooking as well as cleaning their homes. If they didn’t learn these skills,
they would starve and could potentially live in unhealthy conditions. With men
and women being considered equal, children should be taught about this
equality. They should not be forced into perceived gender specific norms that
society no longer adheres to. If a young boy enjoys baking, he should not be
judged, and young girls should not be stopped from learning about cars and
playing with them. We need to be more open-minded and to allow children to be
themselves.
For More
Information:
Farberov,
S. (2012). Number of stay-at-home dads has DOUBLED in past decade as
'man-cession' bites. In Daily Mail. Retrieved
from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2160638/Mr-Mom-generation-Number-stay-home-dad-DOUBLED-past-decade-amid-changing-attitudes-ongoing-man-cession.html
Glantz, A.
(2009). Report: 30,000 Single Mothers Deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan. In The Huffington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-glantz/report-30000-single-mothe_b_322185.html
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