Pointlessly Gendered Products I normally try to avoid any content posted on the Buzz Feed website because it is a site that I have classified as unhealthy for my information diet. This concept, which I learned from Clay Johnsons book The Information Diet, is essentially like avoiding eating at Five Guys if you want your blood vessels to remain unclogged, but with information sources. The saying you are what you eat, is very similar to the concept that you are what you read. Buzz Feed is traditionally littered with pointless articles, however every once in an extended while there is a diamond in the rough. One of these sparkly stones appeared as the article titled “23 Gendered Products that Will Make You Say “WTF?” Upon review of this article I could not help but laugh at the utter hilarity of some of the products. It seems beyond comprehensible why some items are made specifically for a particular genders. Beyond this comical first look one may come to the realization that unnecessarily gendered products is just an everyday reminder of society’s gender binary. The content of the article revealed products from numerous countries, such as the United States, Germany and from the author Tahlia Pritchard’s home country of Australia. The globalization of gender based consumer products expands to a wide range of industries. The industries providing these constant reminders that men and women are different are primarily the food, health and fitness industries, but also oddly include the home organization and tool industries. I have had exposure to some of these products as a consumer and observer of what gender specific products others seem to buy. Companies making these various products capitalize on consumers who wouldn’t dare to bu... ... middle of paper ... ... black packaging that depicts a man ever so chivalrously allowing a women to enter the protection of his manbrella. These products, while seemingly innocent, are constant reinforces of gender stereotypes. A choice between the Dude Wipes brand and the Playtex Wipe is not just about splitting consumers into male and female buyers. This process bears implications of what it means to fall under the category of the male box and the female box. These products reinforce the gender related characteristics that our society has labeled as masculine and feminine. Men are not to show compassion or empathy, and women are not to be tough, or in charge. Beyond the inappropriate societal reinforcement of gender norms, the products targeted at women are often more expensive then similar products aimed at a male consumer. In a world of blue and pink packaging, women loose every time.
The Dick’s Sporting Goods commercial was ranked number 9 in the most effective commericals. The commercial shows the different struggles that athletes in training face for the USA Olympics. The audience for this commercial is intended for both genders. Although the stereotype is that sports are usually for males, this commercial has a fair representation of both male and female athletes. Many of the female athletes shown are training in hard sports such as boxing and lifting weights. This commercial also included disabled male and female athletes which can also serve to be another audience. This commercial was promoting Dick’s Sporting Good athletic attire. The advertiser did not include an unequal representation of genders, also the commercial didn’t use gender stereotypes to please the audience.
(Essig, April 22, 2013) In the article Feminist Consumerism and Fat Activists, feminist consumerism is defined as “a phenomenon with the potential to partially disrupt gender norms” (Johnston & Taylor, 2008) Relating to the structural functionalist approach, Dove’s expansion of a broader culture constructs the ideology of consumerism and
There is a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, and for this paper to be 1,200 words, it is apparent that analytical skills will be put to the test. The ad chosen approaches the line that is gender identity, with a woman in mid-action, representing a liner for athletic woman. With gender identity comes the talk of tomboys and sissies, and being ladylike or manly. Evolutionarily speaking, men have been strong and the leaders; while women have been the child bearers and with low social status. In the last one hundred years, these ideas have been challenged. From women 's suffrage to a Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton running for president, our country has taken huge strides for equality. With that being said, some aspects
Advertisements in Life magazine showed women mainly in ways were they were responsible for kitchen duties and taking care of their husbands. In the early 1950’s, there were recurring ads of women with refrigerators. In an advertisement from 1950, a woman is dressed like a typical housewife standing next to the refrigerator showing all the features it entails. It gives off the message that during this period of the 1950’s, society saw women as the face of the kitchen and a majority of the duties as a housewife took place there. Another advertisement from 1950, gives a clear indication of gender roles. In the advertisement for a refrigerator, the women and her daughter are shown organizing their refrigerator, and the man is shown as carrying in the refrigerator. The advertisement expresses that women are more fit for domestic work and that men are more for the labor tedious work that a woman cannot do. In an advertisement from 1953 to sell health insurance, the man who is selling health insurance puts a picture of himself and his...
They want to show a “sparkling version” of the product and that implicates that, “if you buy the one, you are on the way to realizing the other” (26). So the portrayal of gender is essential in advertisement when it is trying to catch the viewer’s attention, since gender norms can be considered as a form of silent language in the society. Simply put, it can be said that gender roles are “a language which needs no complex translation by the viewer, just transmission through the image” (Capener 3) and therefore it is important for the advertiser to utilize the imagined gender roles within the advertisement
While it can be said with relative certainty that not all men in the 1960s were male-chauvinists, Milton Bradley designed an artistic cover for their board game which suited what they saw as the social norms of the time. In an attempt to market to the masses, they employed subtle advertising tactics meant to subconsciously gain approval from the greatest number of potential buyers: white, middle-class males. Even though this image does not necessarily reflect how the designers and marketing experts at Milton Bradley felt about women, it does reflect their feelings regarding the buyers themselves.
When America became an industrialized country, women began to loose their importance. Since many products could be bought cheaply, there was no longer any need for women to make things such as butter, yarn and other household items. ...
“Ultimately, women have become dependent on men” to perform simple tasks and for resources necessary for survival and reproduction (Lorber, 1994). The two sex-based body types—man and woman—have led to corresponding gender roles and characteristics, which are different lifestyles where certain behaviors are expected based on one’s gender.
It is evident that in society how the media is playing a major role in influencing the formation of gender stereotypes in the minds of children and adults. Effortlessly a person might come across a TV show or an article which is targeted toward a specific race and ethnicity by depicting stereotypes of others. While surfing the internet, I came across an article on a blog known as Elite Daily. Elite Daily is known as a sexist blog targeted towards young men. The site used gender stereotypes in order to put men on a pedestal. Many of their published articles are based on stereotypes such as men love sports and sex, while women love to sit home and clean. The article I am particularly referring to is called “Things Every 20-something needs to Realize” which was published early august 2013. This specific article is identical to many on articles on Elite Daily that is designed to exalt men and degrade women. The article was written in order to bring awareness to 20 year olds about how they should approach life. It was unfunny, judgmental and hateful. The article was so banal and misogynistic that its approval surprised many. The article had quotes such as “Ladies: your teeth are for chewing, and we don’t like to be chewed...........if you can get her into bed before date 3, then you’ll get bored with her by week 2” (p2). The article was clearly stereotypically developed by a male in order to influence the perception of the reader. While I was in search of a similar but different article to the latter I came across an article called “The Top 10 Things I (Apparently) Still Need To Remind Myself at 30 Years of Age” on a blog known as 20 something’s. 20 nothings is a feminine blog designed to uplift women by giving them daily advices to ...
Sexy, attractive, dependent, traditional…successful, smart, determined, independent; why must a woman choose, why can they not be a woman of all these characteristics? Dalbey and duCille explain how women are objectified starting at a young age of playing with dolls and attending pageants. This objectification continues into advertisements, Kilbourne, Bailey, and Powers all argue why women are portrayed as objects of sex which ultimately dehumanizes women. The reliance on a man is a constant issue women are faced with, along with the notion that men are to be the breadwinners. What if a single woman making half a million dollars as a doctor is out buying a new vehicle; does a dealer have the right to ask “shouldn’t you ask a man permission
From the Mid Century of the 1900’s to today, women have strived to be noticed and respected by society; and to be a part of a world with little confidence and many insecurities leads to wanting more and stepping out of the box that society builds to keep traditions alive.
As early as the nineteen fifties women were identified and targeted as a market. In a consumer culture the most important things are consumers. Advertisers convinced homemakers that in order to be a “good” wife and mother you must have their products and appliances to keep a clean and perfect home. The irony of this ploy is that consumers must have money to buy, and so trying to improve their quality as homemakers, off into the workforce women went. This paradox left women ...
I’m not 100% sure this is deliberate, but you can definitely tell that gender is an important factor in how they run their businesses. Every single age was affected by gender, from babies to elderly people. From my understanding, this would be on the institutional level of the gender structure. As stated in the excerpt, “…institutional domains where explicit regulations regarding resource distribution and material goods are gender specific” (Risman, pg. 433). These material goods are being marketed in different ways and for different prices to each gender. Gender is a large part of our society and culture. It dictates how items are marketed towards both genders, and places us into gender roles whether we like it or
I have examined and analyzed the COVERGIRL™ NatureLuxe advertisement that uses common feminine stereotypes. In this advertisement, COVERGIRL™, which runs in Seventeen magazines, targets women through their choices of colors, fonts, and images used. Certain stereotypes are used; such as, those who are more feminine tend to prefer lighter, happier colors, such as pink. Also, the use of a celebrity, who many young women look to as an icon, assists in the advertisement of the COVERGIRL™ product. COVERGIRL™, more than likely, is able to successfully market their lip-gloss product in the United States by using common gender stereotypes to show femininity and how those, mainly women, should be presented in today’s society.
As part of my experiment with broaching normative gender images, I decided to visit the perfume counter at my local Sears and inquire about purchasing a bottle for myself instead of a woman. Although a minor interaction, I believed browsing for perfume was something generally associated with females alone. Sears, as a store, is something I have always associated with women myself. This belief is a direct result of a childhood where I was dragged around by my mother when she went shopping at the mall.