Gender is EVERYWHERE ... even in unnecessary places

Media portrayal of gender and the connotations of its portrayal was one of my favorite things that we have discussed in class. However, the advertising portion of the discussion is what got me thinking about not just how women were advertised but also how gendered products are advertised and what connotations they bring. I was amazed at what products were gendered and the certain messages they brought to society’s perception of gender.

A couple of gendered items that I found the most interesting were soap and razors. Dove has the “for men” line of soaps and shampoos/conditioners, which is really the same thing as the “women’s shampoo”- it just has a different scent. Razors were pretty much the same way too- five blades and flexible to move with the curves of the body (just different colors that matched the “gender” of the product). I caught myself wondering why this was so important. Why would we need to create a dichotomy between the same products when each “gender” of the product already had different scents and colors? Why couldn’t they just advertise it as soap or just razors and have the different scents and colors without adding a gender to the product?

Although I feel as if there is no definite reason for this, I believe that it can relate back to Frank’s “Culture of Cool” and most of the readings that we have read this week on gender portrayal. Gender, like most other things, can be seen as a commodity in which almost everyone identifies with (even if your gender identity doesn’t match your biological sex). Like Goffman suggested, we act out what we see because we interpret these messages as guidelines as to how to present ourselves. So if we have these gendered products, we feel the need to buy the product that matches our gender identity (or the identity we wish to have) in order to confirm our statuses in society.

Honestly, I believe that we would all be better off if we just bought the things we wanted without having to fear the ramifications of choosing the wrong “gendered” item. And it would be awesome to see more gender-defying roles on television and advertisements.