Gender in Advertising

Gender is often shown in a specific manner in advertisements. I decided to compare the personalities represented for a young girl and boy in the above advertisement. 

The major difference between the two ads is that they each represent an opposite stereotypical view of traditional gender roles for young girls and boys. For example the first ad portrays young boys as intelligent and seemingly strong with their independence. This is shown through the text stating, "The little scholar", on the ad as well as the boy who is well put together and wearing an Albert Einstein shirt. The second ad portrays girls as social and delicate as well as seemingly unintelligent in comparison with the you boy's ad. This is show with the text on the girl's ad stating, "The social butterfly", which suggests that girls aren't meant for being intellectuals but solely socialites. My perception of Gap certainly changed after viewing the second ad because I felt the views they present of the way little girls should be are very old-fashioned. For example, society as whole in the twenty-first century no longer views gender on a simple binary scale. The way girls are portrayed in the second advertisement is simply no longer acceptable or accurate. Women are increasingly involved in STEM fields and no longer fall into solely nurturing and social occupations. Additionally, gender is no longer viewed as a determining factor as to the way a person should behave and act. Considering this, I found the Gap ad to be disregarding these new views adapted by society, therefore influencing my perspective of  Gap as an old-school and traditionally minded company. I feel that the way girls and boys' clothes are depicted in the ads contradicts the twenty-first century views I mentioned above. For example, the girl in the second advertisement is wearing pink and looks very feminine, whereas the boy is dressed to show young masculinity and intellectual capability with his shirt and clean style. I am not okay with these advertisements. I find them extensively stereotypical and sexist, however, I would not claim that they are offensive. Although the ads present dangerously stereotypical and sexist depictions to young children of how thy should look and act, as well as displaying no diversity and only depicting you girls and boys who are caucasian, they are still morally stable and appropriate for young children to view leading me to believe that they are not offensive. I believe that there are many changes that could be made to prevent gender stereotyping in advertisements, we should not simply accept it as a given. Companies should be more conscious of the image they are presenting to young impressionable children who may not have a concrete understanding of who they are yet. Presenting an image to kids of how they should act and what they should look like taints their ability to be completely authentic. Due to this, companies should consider how they portray children as well as adults in terms of gender, and understand that sometimes their portrayal of gender may change they way people view their product and their values. 

All together, my overall impression of Gap as a company after viewing these ads has drastically shifted. I now view the company as I mentioned before, old-fashioned and sexist. I now believe that Gap uses their ads to target girls and boys by depicting the way they ideally should be. For example, a young boy who wants to be smart, stylish, and sleek is likely to want to wear the clothes sold by Gap due to the "perfect" perception of a boy they have shown him. Overall, I now believe that Gap unjustly targets young girls and boys in the same way that many companies target adults with models, by setting an unrealistic and stereotypical standard of what we should be. Through this expectation, we are denied our right to authenticity and the celebration of uniqueness. 

Picture Source:   Gap Kids. PopSugar, media2.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/
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     68/i/Sexist-Gap-Kids-Ad-Einstein-Name-Spelled-Wrong.png. Accessed 15 Oct.
     2018. Advertisement.