Draft 2:
To what extent does advertising
construct our ideas about gender?
How much influence do
children's toy advertisements have on our ideas about gender and how have these
ideas changed over time
Thesis:
Advertisements aimed at children (predominantly those of toys) have a
huge impact in the way we view ideas about gender. Gender stereotypes and what
traits are socially acceptable have been ingrained into our minds from what we
see and learn as children. This is where it all begins.
There are many theories about the way children learn. One
of the most significant theories is the Social Learning Theory (1977) conducted
by Albert Bandura, a Psychologist and Professor at Stanford University. The
theory states that children learn through a process of social observation. Part
of his theory suggested that there are certain models that children learn from.
In terms of this argument there is one that is most relevant and this is the
Symbolic Model. This a character- either real or fictional- that represents
behaviours through television, books, films etc. Bandura states ‘Some forms of modelling are so intrinsically
rewarding that they can hold the attention of people of all ages for extended
periods. This is nowhere better illustrated than in televised modelling. Indeed,
models presented in televised form are so effective in capturing attention that
viewers learn the depicted behaviour regardless of whether or not they are
given extra incentives to do so.’- (Bandura, Grusec, & Menlove 1966:
7). This therefore suggests that children’s advertisements have a massive
influence in the way children will behave due to their observations of the
Symbolic Models featured in these adverts. It is also evident that children are
watching more and more television as time goes on. A text written by Jennifer
J. Pine & Nancy A. Jennings titled ‘The
Effects of Commercials on Children’s Perceptions of Gender Appropriate Toy Use’
(2005) supports this idea. They say ‘over
the past three decades, children’s estimated exposure to television advertising
has doubled from an average of about 2,000 commercials... to more than 40,000 commercials
per year’ (from 1970-1990). The text also states that ‘heavy television viewers are more likely to express opinions and hold
values similar to those represented on television’. Therefore, children are more likely to
quickly pick up and adopt the behaviours they see in advertisements.
Above is an advertisement for Lego, produced in 1981.
The advert appears very gender neutral as it features both boys and girls and
the clothing they are wearing isn’t stereotypical. The background colour is a
neutral brown shade which I feel is quite warm. This sense of warmth is
consistent throughout all of the adverts. Along with the children’s reactions
to the toys they have built, this collectively gives you a sense of happiness,
making parents more likely to buy these toys for their own children so that
they can experience the same thing. The different Lego sets are classed as
‘Universal Building Sets’ which suggests they are designed for both
genders. In terms of the semantics
behind the text featured in these advertisements, it is obvious that Lego are
focusing on the idea of children simply making something, enjoying building
whatever they feel like building and being proud of what they’ve produced. The
adverts don’t contain any stereotypical traits that appeal to either boys or
girls and therefore represent a good Symbolic Model that teaches children that
they can be (or make) whatever they wish. This advert is a great example of
what children’s toy commercials should look like.
In 2012, Lego launched a new line of toys- Lego
Friends. The reason for this strategy was to appeal to more girls as around 90%
of their customers were boys before 2011. The sets in this range involve less
building and more role play. There are sets to build cafés,
beauty salons, bakeries and various other locations which are all based around
the stereotype that females are generally concerned with cooking, cleaning, and
looking pretty. This is a huge contradiction to Lego’s original selling point
of producing a gender neutral toy. There are many differences between the
original advertisement referred to earlier and this one. First and foremost,
the Symbolic Models (female) in the previous one are real children, wearing
gender neutral clothing and looking very happy playing with their Lego toys
whereas the Symbolic Models shown in the image above appear to be very pretty,
slim animated young girls. This is an issue. The newer range of toys represent
a bad image of what young girls should aspire to be like and suggest that they
have to be conscious about how they look, what they do and it teaches them that
they must be very feminine to fit in (most characters wearing skirts). The
colour scheme in the new adverts is pink and purple whereas in the old advert
they’ve used a neutral brown shade. Furthermore, in the image showing the Lego
Friends set, they have included a male figure in the set up, suggesting they
are trying to make the toy a little more gender neutral or trying to make it
seem as though the toys aren’t stereotypical or predominantly aimed as girls
although, the male Lego figure appears to be working the barbeque which is
stereotypically a male activity. They have however shown a female character
mowing the lawn which isn’t stereotypical. These toys convey mixed messages in
terms of ideas about gender but there is clear evidence of the use of
stereotyping as a way to draw in sales and appeal to young girls.
Toy manufactures are now using
gender as a driving force to create more business for themselves. Lego is a perfect example of this.
TOY HISTORY
Gender equality is something that has been a massive
issue for a very long time. Society’s views on gender have evolved significantly
over time and we are now living in a place where women have been socially
accepted as being equal to men (in most cases). A lot has changed over the last
30 years due to women’s right to vote in 1928 as well as The Sex Discrimination
Removal Act 1920, The Equal Pay Act 1970 and The Sex Discrimination Act 1975
which are just a few examples of the key events and legislation that have
bought us to now. However, it is evident through the advertisements shown that although
attitudes about gender have evolved; this isn’t reflected in the media. These
attitudes seem to have stayed the same or even gotten worse in the way that
stereotypes of men and women are now being used more heavily and as a main
focus in some cases. For example, a lot of adverts directed at males in the
present day feature cars, muscle and women as a sexual objects. Women’s advertisements
seem to still focus on looking pretty and cleaning/cooking. Therefore, it is
clear to say that advertisements are not a true indication of attitudes to
gender at the time. Furthermore, as children’s advertisements seem to mimic
themes in adverts directed at adults, this means that they also include
stereotypical features, though not in as extreme ways as the examples given
earlier. This is clearly represented in the Lego example given previously. Therefore,
children will grow up with the idea that these stereotypes are the social norm
and this will shape their ideas about gender roles. They will then carry this
with them as they grow older and this in turn may affect ideas about gender in society
(outside of the media), taking us back to the position we were in many years
ago.
However, research shows that we can quite quickly
change children’s views about things through the media. Alice E. Courtney and
Thomas W. Whipple say that ‘advertisements
using reverse stereotypes affected children’s attitudes, at least in the short
term. This suggests advertising has the power to educate and bring about
change, as well as reinforce the status quo.’ (‘Stereotyping in
Advertisements Viewed by Children’ 1990). An
experiment carried out by Pike and Jennings in 2005 reinforces this. In the
simplest terms, 62 children were shown advertisements featuring toys and were
asked to say at the end when shown the toys; whether they thought they were
aimed at girls, boys or both genders. All of the toys being shown were classed
as gender neutral before the experiment began. Some advertisements were altered
digitally to replace some of the boys faces for girls. These were shown to half
the group as non-traditional adverts and the originals shows to the other half
as traditional adverts. Both groups were a mixture of boys and girls. The
results of the experiment were as follows- ‘children
in the non-traditional condition reported more often than those in the
traditional condition that the toys were for both boys and girls’ (‘The
Effects of Commercials on Children’s Perceptions of Gender Appropriate Toy Use’
2005) This therefore supports the idea that children can be influenced very
easily and so if advertisements simply used fewer stereotypes and looked at
being more gender neutral, this would have a significant effect on children’s
ideas about gender.
CONCLUSION Lego should have thought about the way in which they
could reach out to girls in a way that keeps the toys gender neutral. Rather
than bringing out new lines that follow stereotypes about women they should
have focused on making their adverts more gender neutral and showing that girls
can also play with the original Lego bricks. +
In terms of attitudes towards gender in the present day,
it is evident that we have evolved in the sense that both genders are seen as
more equal to one another due to equal opportunities for women. Many adverts
support these ideas in that they go against stereotypical traits and some even
use this as a central theme. An example of this is the Sport England ‘This Girl
Can’ advertisement which goes against stereotypes of women that suggest they
can’t be into sports and have to have the perfect body. However, the use of
stereotypes is still being used in many adverts, including those aimed at
children.
However, it is evident that not all television adverts
in the 1900’s were like this. Stereotypes in advertisements directed at
children were a common theme due them reflecting the same ideas portrayed in
those for adults. Julia T. Wood, a Professor of Communication Studies at The
University of North Carolina says ‘All
forms of media communicate images of the sexes, many of which perpetuate
unrealistic, stereotypical, and limiting perceptions.’ in her article
‘Gendered media: The Influence of Media on views of Gender’ (1994). These perceptions are that men are the
cultural standard and that women are subordinate. Some common stereotypes of
women suggested in Wood’s article are that they are passive, dependant, pretty
housewives. Common stereotypical features of men include; active, uninvolved in
human relationships, powerful, and the breadwinners. The article: ‘Stereotyping
in Advertisements Viewed by Children’ written a few years before Wood’s- in
1990- supports the idea that children represented in advertisements follow the
same stereotypes as the ones listed earlier. The authors Janet Hoek and Wendy
Sheppard state that ‘products advertised
to girls focused on themes of popularity and beauty, while boy orientated
commercials tended to concentrate on power and speed’.
