Gender Blog by Gus, Bob, Rachel M., and Alexis

Details:

- Woman floating on pillows in a pool

- “Feminine” position

- Pink pillows

- Wearing a dress

- Flowers in the pool

Messages:

- Women need time to relax

- Target is comfortable

Premises:

- Women are always busy working, whether its around the house or at their jobs

o They need time to relax and slow down

Implications:

- Women should go to Target to buy comfortable things such as pillows so they can relax and rest

Questions:

Why is an ad depicting a comfortable woman a good advertisement for Target? Does Target have ads with other women selling different products? If so, how are the women depicted in those ads? If this ad were of a man instead of a woman, how would it be different?

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Details:

- “Dreamy Dress Up for Kids”

o Company doesn’t specify the gender intended

- Girl intended area, boys things in different area of store

- Pink Dress with flowers, ribbons, and sparkles

- There was a woman working in the aisle, not a man

- Little Boy: “I like the blue ones, [to mom] do you like the pink ones?”

- Mostly moms and girls walking through the aisle

Messages:

- The color and design of the dresses impose traditional effemininity upon girls

- You can be a princess if you’re a girl

- You don’t need action figures/”boy” toys, you can dress up!

- If you put on these dresses you will feel pretty and cute

Premises:

- Girls love pink, flowers, ribbons, and sparkles

- Girls like dressing up

- Girls like being princesses

Implications:

- Only girls are going to buy the dresses

- Fairytales and princesses will be a “girl” thing

- Associates pink with girls, blue with boys

o Defines the connotations of colors

- Because blue and pink are separated, it’s not okay for boys to wear the dresses

o Ex: No army patterns on the dresses, just pink and frilly

Questions:

How many boys purchase the dresses? Do any boys purchase the dresses? When did it become okay for only girls to dress up and princesses? What made pink the girl color? Why are flowers and sparkles only associated with girls? Would girls be attracted to that aisle if they didn’t believe that was part of their role as females?