“Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus” or The Result of Gendered Marketing?
In marketing, products are usually divided based on the binary categories of genders. For example, if you walk down the toy aisle at Target or Toys “R” Us, you can easily identify which section has toys for girls and which are for boys based on the colors. But the question is: Is it true that all girls like pink and vice versa for boys? Or is it something that we have been told since the day we were born, that we have to act and have preference according to our gender?
According to Jo Paoletti, the author of “Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys from the Girls in America,” girls’ preference for pink is learned, not innate; all babies actually prefer blue. Similarly, boys developed an aversion to the pink toy along the same timeline as the society continues to tell them to do so. Specified toys for boys and girls limit the potential that children can develop by playing with a variety of toys and activities. In specific, toy play impacts childhood development. For example, dolls bring out nurturing skills and empathy; building blocks develop spatial skills; and reading maps and hitting targets with balls increases cognitive skills.
The further question would be: What is the role that gender segmentation in marketing plays in childhood development? Are we being manipulated by the way brands divide categories based on gender? The simple answer is: Brands make more money. On a practical level, narrow demographic groups mean more versions of the same toy. According to Studies by University of Central Florida, and Consumer Reports, categorizing products into gender costs women money to buy products that they do not need. Examples of brands that target customers based on gender are: Honda’s pink car, Bic’s “Pens for Her”, or Halloween costumes female version being “slutty” or “sexy”.
Let’s go back to the kids toys’ problem. By categorizing toys based on gender, brands indirectly satisfy parents’ desire for gender conformity. Children are also outcasted and bullied because they choose to not live up to the gender stereotype. One severe case is the case of a child attempts suicide after being bullied at school for being a fan of my little pony. Indeed, gendered toy marketing tells kids who they should be, how they should behave, and what they should be interested in.
Those gendered product affirms the gender binary by reminding us constantly that gender is important. It makes everyone who doesn’t fit into it is invisible or problematic. Since the very young ages, kids are taught to follow and continue the gender inequality. Being limited to develop their full potential, gendered toys also limit their career choices. Based on the toys that they play, girls are supposed to be become nurses while men should become engineers and physicists.
The truth is: the old myth “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” turns out to be wrong. In fact, women and men are not that different. The old myth believes that women love the search whilst men love the kill. In terms of shopping, women thrive on the complex sensory experience while men want the easy in, easy out method as they don’t interested in the “why consumption.” But the truth is, you can’t pick up a brain and say ‘that’s a girls brain, or that’s a boys brain’ in the same way you can with the skeleton. They look the same.
According to the meta-analysis 2005 in American Psychologist, 78% of the magnitude of gender differences were in the small or close-to-zero range. Another research conducted by the Washington University in St. Louis that used 122 attributes from more than 13,000 individuals concluded that instead of dividing into two groups, men and women overlapped. Even stereotypical traits, like assertiveness or valuing close friendships, fell along a continuum. That means any differences are tiny and are the result of environment not biology. A women’s brain may therefore become ‘wired’ for multi-tasking simply because society expects that of her. It is also because he brain adapts in the same way as a muscle gets larger with extra use.
A take for action is needed. Despite many attempts fighting for gender equality, there are still many products that are gender-specific marketed. Share your opinion!
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