Gender Bias In Advertising

Societal understanding of gender over the years has shaped the way people treat gender roles, stereotype, and humans as a whole. This in no way is helped by media representation. Because gender typically encompasses a great portion of one’s sense of personal identity, the issue arises that improper attitudes toward gender influences people’s own sense of identity, and in many cases, self-worth. Not only is personal morale in danger, but gender bias also affects scientific research; unconscious associations and unquestioned assumptions lead to inaccurate data and harmful conclusions. This gender bias includes the assumptions that: men are more academically-minded, women should be gentle and servile, men must be emotionless to “be a real …show more content…
In it, a woman holds a bar of soap to her nose as a man behind her holds the soap box and looks at her exasperatedly. All colors used in this ad are neutral except for the color of the woman’s blouse which is blue, and the bar of soap and soap box, which are both bright red. Aside from color, the big attention-getter is the slogan at the top of the ad: “Can’t you gals see beyond your nose?” The implications regarding gender are made clear with this opening line. It insinuates that women are typically focused on sensory pleasures, not science or logic associated with things. This implication is made stronger by the language choice of Lever Brothers to use the words “can’t you gals” rather than “can you gals.” It is quite clear by the visuals that the woman filched the soap from the man, proving how crafty woman are and what they’ll do to get what they want. Watch out or she will steal your …show more content…
So what if a gender bias exists in society? So what if the media propagates these stigmas into our culture and consciousness? The reason this is a crucial issue is because it is shown that various associations regarding each gender has negative effects on individuals, particularly when it comes to stereotype threat, or the fear that one possesses of conforming to stereotype. Because of years of gender association shown through television, advertisements, and even public education, the “proper” ways for men and women to behave are cemented into our brains and practically shoved down our throats on a daily basis. Because of this, if a man were to be a stay-at-home-dad or style his hair a certain way, or a woman were to wear baggy clothing or play football, therefore breaking the social construct of gender “norms,” it would make people extremely uncomfortable. These trials are the result of indoctrinating what is “right” and what is “wrong” regarding each gender and how they are expected to act from an early age. In actuality, however, there exists a much stronger gender norm stigma against men than women in this day and age. Why this is the case is not easily explained. E.J. Graff in their article “The M/F Boxes,” discusses this unfortunate and harmful factor. “Boys and men still patrol each other’s masculinity with a Glengarry Glen Ross level of ridicule and violence that can seem, to women, nearly surreal” (698). It is obvious that men are more strictly