What does it mean for an object to be gendered?
Final project for IMS 228
What is gender?
Gender is different from sex, and gender goes beyond being a man or a woman. Below are a few general terms to be familiar with, but visit this website to learn more.
For some, gender is a common and comfortable topic. But not everyone is familiar with the meanings and nuances of gender and identity.
The purpose of this project is to create awareness around the topic of gender and how it exists in society. The goal is to show how things can be gendered, look at why these things have a gender association, and show that these associations are assigned by society and do not necessarily relate to the inherent qualities of the object, action, or person.
I began by interviewing four subjects about their understanding of gender.
Among other questions, I asked these subjects:
What does gender mean to you?
Can you tell me what you know about any stereotypes related to gender?
What do you think it means for an object to be gendered?
I then asked them which gender they most associated with the following things:
Cleaning supplies
Makeup
Finance
Beer
Car products
Baby products
Laundry
Tools
Here are the results:
Overall, these subjects had a basic understanding of gender; they all acknowledged the existence of stereotypes about men and women, but were not able to clearly define gender. All four subjects were also not aware of what it means for an object to be gendered.
Why the associations?
From here, I chose to take a closer look at makeup, cleaning supplies, and tools – three of the categories that all four subjects associated with either just males or just females. Through these interviews and secondary research, three major factors behind these associations became evident: history, marketing, and gender stereotypes.
A TED Talk given by Gaby Barrios proposes an argument for changing the way society thinks about advertising in relation to gender. Barrios is a marketing expert who works to understand consumers around the world in a variety of industries. She explains that it’s easy to design and advertise based on gender, but that this is not the most effective strategy for many reasons as it “is bad for business, and bad for society” (Barrios). There has been a shift from marketing the actual uses of a product, to creating a separation in men and women based on who is more likely to use the product. Only about 5% of the time was gender a useful factor for understanding the consumer, and this held true around the world (Barrios). She argues that we got used to using gender as a defining factor, but we need to find ways to measure other things about consumers – ones that are actually beneficial for both sides.
Some companies are moving away from gender-based marketing strategies while some companies haven’t changed their approach at all. “Though 76% of female and 88% of male marketers believe they avoid gender stereotypes when creating advertising, according to a global survey detailed in a Kantar report, researchers noted that ad targeting is still extremely skewed within specific product categories like baby products, laundry products and household cleaners — where females make up 98% of the targeted audience” (Gesenhues). As consumer behavior changes, the strategies marketers use need to change, too. Household buying is not something that just women do.
It can be easy to market specifically for men or for women as historically, many products have been divided that way. Makeup, for example, gained popularity in the 1920's and 30's with the rise of the film industry (Montell). Beginning with actors and performers, makeup gained popularity with women as they began to acquire their own personal cosmetics. Despite being used by men in ancient cultures all over the world, makeup became a staple of beauty for women and certain men such as actors and rock/punk musicians (Montell).
So many of the stereotypes about gender in our society have been built from our history; our previous notions about the roles of men and women, the way we market and design products – these things have been engrained into everyday life for years. But the world is different today and so awareness becomes a huge factor in ensuing change.
Sharing the message through social media
As a way of raising awareness about the topic of gender, I decided to create a series of infographics to be shared on social media.
Below are ten images formatted for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. This infographic-style series outlines how gender relates to things outside of self-expression by showing how even though we can associate gender with something, it does not mean that thing is meant for only some people and not others.
See the social media story versions below:
Gender is something that impacts all of us, even though it looks different for everyone. Having conversations, being familiar with gender vocab, sharing and asking for gender pronouns, and simply being open to listening to others are great ways to better understand gender and work to create an environment where everyone can feel included and accepted.
Sources
Barrios, Gaby. “Why gender-based marketing is bad for business.” TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, Sept. 2019 www.ted.com/talks/gaby_barrios_why_gender_based_marketing_is_bad_for_business#t-51047. Accessed 20 Oct. 2020.
“Gender and Health.” World Health Organization, www.who.int/health-topics/gender#tab=tab_1. Accessed 20 Oct. 2020.
Gesenhues, Amy. “Are brands behind the times when it comes to gender stereotypes in ads?” Marketing Land, 28 Jan. 2019, marketingland.com/are-brands-behind-the-times-when-it-comes-to-gender-stereotypes-in-ads-255997. Accessed 20 Oct. 2020.
Montell, Amanda. “From 4000 BCE to Today: The Fascinating History of Men and Makeup.” Byrdie, 30 Nov. 2020, www.byrdie.com/history-makeup-gender. Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.
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