Saturday, October 27, 2007
hello advertisers, the 1950s called, they need their commercials back
i really wasn't going to touch this issue. i feel it's played out and overdone. but i couldn't resist beating that dead horse when i heard "boys. what can you say? they're just built different." BARF!
this is 2007. we have a female speaker of the house, a woman running for president, and men all over the country staying home to raise their young. so why do advertisers insist on bombarding us with these sexist ads? They brainwash young girls into thinking that doing laundry is f-u-n and "taking care of my home is a dream, dream, dream." this is not the 1950s. our dreams transcend baking muffins. the message is clear, girls are sweet and nurturing and love to rearrange that furniture. please!
meanwhile, boys are taught to be strong and brave. they learn that boys will be boys and that they are just built different. this encourages independence and creates an industrious spirit where boys are allowed to become scientists, engineers, tractor drivers. eeeh yikes - so maybe all messages aren't positive.
still. why such a strong distinction between toys made for girls and those made for boys? i know some studies show that socialization has little impact on the types of toys boys and girls select at a very young age. research tries to imply that children are too young to be influenced by tonka commercials. my concern isn't that all toys be gender neutral.
my concern is the advertisements. the commercials that overtly suggest that women are born to be in the home while boys are made for the rough and tumble real world. it is not only inaccurate but has potentially dangerous consequences. we all know what happens when date rape is excused because "boys will be boys."
all i ask is that advertisers throw us a bone. put a boy in the kitchen with suzie so they can bake together. let little mikey play trucks with heather. girls like dirt too.
and another thing. must they always be little white kids? are latinos, blacks and asians reserved for the CW network or telemundo? or do advertisers think people of color are too poor to afford toys?
give us a break ok? at least try to make your sexism (and racism) less transparent.
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3 comments:
Tell me about it! What's really upsetting is that most people don't have an inkling that these ads are so wrong. I'm going to make sure Jalen knows this as he grows up, and I take great comfort that he will be surrounded by strong and brave women like you.
I think in your haste you have taken the opposite but equally incorrect view on this. Boys and girls are in point of fact different. A great number of studies have shown that the male and female brains (and physiology) are different in many ways. Females are more nurturing than their male counterparts and males are built for physical labor differently than females. This is a broad generality and exceptions do obviously exist. It's not to say that a man cannot raise his children (and should always do everything to be, and remain, involved) nor does it mean a woman cannot work a very physically demanding job. To ignore the fact females and males are really quite different is to fall prey to the same trap of ignorance that you're clearly showing contempt for.
My secret- I'm disgusted by professionals who cannot write in proper English.
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