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04/25/2006

Gender Stereotypes in Advertisements

Gender stereotyping refers to stereotyped images of males and females. Images of males and females are sometimes difficult to see as stereotypes because they are strongly connected with deep beliefs about the roles of males and females in our society. Many people find it disturbing when these roles are questioned. But others, above all women, get really cross when being constantly portrayed holding a mop or a broom.

It is a fact that advertisements are a clear image of society and it is here where women clean, cook, they always play the role of mothers (where are the fathers?), they are concerned about their body and ageing, etc. On the other hand, men are the ones who practise adventure sports, they are  the ones who drive any kind of vehicle (does this imply women do not know how to drive?), the ones drinking beer while watching football creating a male-bounding (this means a group of women cannot drink beer?). There are endless examples like these ones, just switch the TV on!

In fact, things are changing or at least this is what is said but why not breaking with the gender stereotypes too? I hope to see one day a father taking care of his kids while having an afternoon snack advertising some kind of milk or sausages!      

 

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Comments

Do you really agree what you are saying? Don't you think nowadays we can find other sort of adverts on Tv? Your approach to the question strikes me as incorrect, because you can find a lot of adverts which if they had been made for women all of you had raised hell about them. For instance, the new one from Schweppes where you can watch a famous spanish actor taking of his clothes and getting competely nude.

I know a lot of adverts which have been removed from the telly after some rights-women-protecting organizations said they denigrate the woman image showing part of the body.

I think as a great number of questions, we have passed from one side to the other one too quickly and as far as I'm concerned, we are doing the same mistakes we refused before.

Posted by: Jordi Gago | 04/26/2006

Hi there!

I know you were gonna be the first one writing, you are always there, thanks!I knew this issue would be particularly controversial, specially for men! I love it!

Thanks Good things are changing and we have the opportunity to see a guy naked in a commercial! Can you tell me how many naked women you see in ads? I think the proportion is not at all well-balanced, don't you think so?

Thanks God again for letting us the right to have a women's right association to protect our image as equal to men so much undervalued throughout history! I think we deserved it!

Jordi, if I have to be honest, you are right and things are changing, thanks God for that again, but take a look at some ads and you will see that stereotypes are still there. There you go an instance: Yesterday night I was watching TV and I came to watch for the first time an ad that stroke me. There was a man, he was drawing a draft of some kind of invention. Wow, it happened to be the smallest vacuum cleaner in the world! Great for him! You know what...he was not using the vacuum cleaner (as usually women are portrayed) but he was the one who had the sharp mind, the inventor. Do you want more instances? Yesterday night too, I watched the new ad for Vodafone...it was the girl who had a new cellular and did not know how it worked, so she had to ask a boy coming up how it worked! It hurts!!!!

The plain truth is that things are changing (it was high time after so much time) but there are still things which still stereotype us! I am not talking just about women, men are stereotyped too and I know for sure not all of you agree with some kinds of ads. I only see the women's side because I am part of it! You are right when you say things are changing but you can't deny stereotypes are still there!

Posted by: Bea | 04/26/2006

I'm not always over here, but you are lucky today i'm just getting home after a night of work, and I've decided to check my mails before going to bed.

For sure the stereotypes are there. Do you really think they any time go away? Unfortunately I don't believe it.

I agree with you when you say that the stereotypes touch both gender as equal, you only have to watch an ad about beer where there are three/four men in front of the tv, watching a soccer match of course, and shouting, eating unhealthy food and drinking a lot (in fact the ad is about a beer barrel). And there are a lot of men who are not worried about this in their whole lifetime.

As I told you before, it'll be difficult to change this kind of thoughts.

Cross your fingers.

Posted by: Jordi Gago | 04/26/2006

Hi there once again!

I did not mean you are all the time on the Internet but that you are always cooperating! Sorry if there's been a misunderstanding (that's maybe because you have not slept yet!)

You are certainly right! I don't want stereotypes to fade away because in fact, men and women are different so in some way or another, we need those stereotypes. It is true that all commercials are targeted at a special group of people and so they tend to display this specific group's habits but instead of showing men around a table watching soccer and drinking a beer, they can advertise beer like Cruzcampo's Ad (Ants dancing in a beach refreshment stall and both boys and girls having a good time.)

I think all these things are really difficult to change because it's part of society and I don't mean to change them but in some cases, some commercials aren't very tactful! (that's my personal opinion)

Posted by: Bea | 04/26/2006

Hello! I'm over here again.

Have you watched an advert from, I don't remember the brand, a hamburger company where they ridicule a guy about his penis size? Incredible, everytime I watch the ad everytime I cannot believe it.

This shows I meant with my other posts. We cannot rise hell about some adverts when they ridicule the women and don't do anything when they concern men.

Sometimes seem it's time to revenge, and this is no good.

Posted by: Jordi Gago | 05/03/2006

Hi there!

Nice comment and I definitely agree with you!

What about the one launched in Argentina having to do with next WorldCup where women are portrayed nearly naked in the streets and the slogan says something like this : "When the WorldCup comes, you will only have eyes for what is important." Then you see a carriage full of men sit with their sports newpaper in their hands and a group of women gets in but they can't avert their eyes from the newspaper!

I watched it yesterday and i do really think this ad won't be launched in Spain, otherwise It would be the beginning of the end! :-)

Posted by: Bea | 05/03/2006

Yes I watched it with my wife when we were having dinner and our reaction was to look at each other face to face with our mouths wide open.... Unbelievable.

Posted by: Jordi Gago | 05/05/2006

Hi people!!

Could I talk with you...? You seem to be really alone... (I'm joking). Please, forgive me about havn't write here for a long time. I really think this is a very usefull tool but I had no internet at home... anyway there are excuses! I'm sorry.

Going through the subject I absolutely agree with you. Things are changing but not as fast as we wish... There is still a lot of work to do. I think tere's one thing we usually forget about this. There are many people who enjoy the male/female chauvinist advs. I have some friends who like to see this kind of advs and overalls the jokes!! Don't you ever laughed with a joke about this?? Of course would not laugh if we are talking seriously but I have to recognize I do find funny some of them (I can't remember one to write down...). There are some things that we demand but many people like.

Posted by: Esther García Marín | 05/09/2006

Hi there!

I think Jordi will agree in letting you in!lol!

Of course, I've had a good laugh at some stereotyped jokes but as I told Jordi the other day, one thing is stereotyped jokes (which I don't care because they are both-sided) and another one is everything related to ads, which are a reflection of what's going on in society (and which I think they are still one-sided).

Posted by: Bea | 05/09/2006

Hello!

This wekend I was watching TV when my sister asked me: What are you watching?? then I realised I was watching ads and looking for the advs you were talking about... I didn't see many stereotiped ads, that time there were a long variety of them, but you made me watch TV with another point of view!! And that's great!

Posted by: Esther García Marín | 05/15/2006

The whole world of ads is really interesting! When I was at uni a teacher told me that the whole world was stereotyped even ads and I happened to realise she was right! Do you think that boys play with lorries and girls with dolls because of genetics or because our parents gave us these toys depending on being a girl or a boy? Think about it!

Posted by: Bea | 05/17/2006

I like your last question. As you know, I'm just a father at the moment, and I've been able to notice, although I've never tryed to lead my daughter to any gender direction, she always chooses all that things which are related with traditional female habits, like dusting, taking care of her dolls,... I mean she is now all the time copyng whatever thing her mother and me are doing but whether I try to play football with her in the corridor and at the same time she can choose to feed her doll, don't hesitate she'll choose the doll.

She has lots of toys of both genders but she likes spending all the time sweeping the flat with a small broom. And I can asure you neither her mum or me have lead her to any choice.

Maybe genetics has something to say. What do you think about?

Posted by: Jordi Gago | 05/25/2006