Gender roles are malleable. They are constructed by society and then discarded by society once they have outlived their perceived usefulness. Gender role marketing through advertising is useful because it makes money. It isn't cause and effect - its a self-sustaining feedback loop - higher percentage of girls buy dolls than boys - market dolls to girls more than boys - even higher percentage of girls buy dolls as opposed to boys - continue marketing to girls.

Gender roles are not equivalent to equality of the sixes. Gender roles mean what is "proper" and what isn't "proper" for a person of a certain six to do. They can cut both ways. In some societies women were soldiers, in some men do all of the cooking, in some women control the purse. . . .

sixuality equality discusses whether one six is always disadvantaged or perceived as weaker.

They are separate issues.

Gender roles would exist even if there was true sixually equality, in the same way that class and racial divisions still exist in societies where everyone is "free and equal." They might change, but they'll be still be there.

Regardless as to whether gender roles are "fair," they are a part of every society that has ever existed, and probably will continue to exist as long as societies do, because they are useful to societies. They give them "structure" and "order."

I refuse to do your schoolwork for you :stare:

Actually, I despise women like this. And as far as I can tell, most men do.

Also, I don't see the big deal with women in domestic settings, my grandmother enjoys house work beleive it or not.

I don't think these things have nearly as large an impact compared to something that actually matters....like oh say I dunno.....parent behavior at home?

Yes, the thought pattern of a child is sensitive, but not so sensitive that they're outlook on life will be changed by a commercial.

Here here!

Also, now that I think about it, it does sound like your trying to get us to do your homework for you.....thats a no no :nono:

I was just thinking of that same commercial. And everytime I ask myself why bring in the mother at all?!?! Dad plays with kid, they're both happy campers. Oups, spills salsa. Dad, BEING A DAD, shows the kid how to clean it up. Dads can be fun and responsible --at the same time-- .

This.

I have to say the thing that bothers me most about that commercial is what the hell'er they playing catch with Salsa for?!

Not that I've ever seen that commercial (Don't have TV).

Who knows what's going on in the minds of commercial creators...

Training for the Tortilla Olympics...duh.

Men aren actually portrayed quite frequently in ads selling domestic products.. as the lazy, dumb husband/dad, who somehow cant manage to use a p[aper towel with enough absorbancy!
Good thing mom, with her mothers intuition comes in with the brawny and pwns dad's ass with pockets of super absorbancy!
does it support the notion that women should do domestic work? maybe
does it portray men as people who are too dumb to do domstic work? you decide
though i will say, I stopped doing launtry all together when i was in one relationship, because i "always did it wrong:" (regardless of my doing landry quite successfully for well over a decade prior to)
Did that Idea come from a soap commercial, or an outdated society norm?
Who made who?
Its all laughable anyway.
battle of the sixes, gender roles and all of that.

I think any sort of reaction to a commercial is the wrong one.

Well, unless your reaction is "I'm going to go out and buy this right now!" Then you're pretty much acting as expected.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85HT4Om6JT4

Kinda sums it up.

Oh God, that reminds me of an ad for an oven cleaner where the tagline was "So easy, even a man can do it!" :facepalm:
As a counter anecdote, when my Mum was with my Dad, he pretty much did most of the housework, as she could never do it right. He was in the RAF, and he says because of that he's a super neat freak (my Mum's no slob, but my Dad has to have everything done "just right" - his house is always immaculate).
Are the Forces creating an army of men who are domestic Gods among the usual slobby stereotype of grubby men, or does he have some sort of compulsive need to have everything clean and neat?

The only problem is when these gender roles become an obstacle. Luckily I think the majority of people don't see gender roles as inflexible, and that to deviate from the cultural norm is somehow unnatural, bad, or ultimately makes you less of a woman/man.

Hrm...most TV commercials I see are pretty gender-neutral nowadays except for domestic items, which typically depict men as senseless, worthless sacks of fat flopping through the house barely aware of their surroundings and unable to dig their way out of a wet paper bag without help from their wife. I'm trying to think of examples wherein men are outwardly stereotyped more positively than women and I honestly am drawing a blank. Can anyone think of some recent examples?


So...boring? No thanks.

Really, though, where does this come from? Certainly not TV and movies, which, in my recent experience, typically depict "desirable" women as being smart and spunky (also very physically attractive).


Do the men happen to be talking about the smooth flavor of Lucky Strikes, mustache wax, or transistor radios in these ads?

People who break the stereotype are more popular, i.e. Pink, Prince, MJ,

I was in Target yesterday getting the hubs some jellybeans. (He had outpatient foot surgery and was recuping, and asked for them)
While cutting through the area near the toy section, I thought about Jess's thread. So I went down the aisles.
I noticed that the boys section was filled with toys that involved hand eye coordination, such as helicopters, bows arrows, nerf guns, little creatures that had to be put togtherer and could be put together in countless combinations, machines that made rubbery squiggly bugs, minature functional tools, and an easy bake type oven designed like sort of microwave with a grill. They had action figures and weapons galore. Radiocontrolled dinosaurs. Not one cuddly puppy or baby doll. No sort of nurturing or domestic cleaning implements. No brooms, no mops, no vaccums.
GIrls had pretty clothes, pretty jewelry, a house to furnish, all sorts of cute and cuddly pre put together critters, makeup, babies and dolls, strollers, highchairs, vaccums, a washer dryer and ironing board setup, kitchens complete with plastic fruits, veggies, and meats, cupcake makers, cooking ovens, and not one weapon, No helicopters, no vehicles except the one Beetle Barbie drives in, and it comes without remote control and it's pre put together. No neat little bionlces, no bugmakers, no screwdrivers, wrenches or sockets.

Legos, KInex, and learning toys are on aisles in between.


Now, my daughter and son are eighteen months apart, and teens now. She had a little pink toolbox we made her, and he had a little red one. My son got an easy bake oven that looked like a microwave, and his sister the barbie version. They played with kinex, she built a lawnmower that she called the carpet mower, that could be pushed across the floor, it fluffed up my carpet. The son built a working fishing rod and reel, and baited it with lunchmeat. Out of kinex. She was four, he was three. They made countless cakes, caught bugs, played with remote controlled cars, and fought with lightsabers. They played in the playhouse, with babies and action figures. He dressed up like spiderman, she dressed up in play dresses. She's better at putting things together than he is, and he's a better cook than she is. Does this bother us? Not in the least.
She built lego houses, he built lego houses. It's been my experience that you can market sterotypes to kids, but if you give kids the option to play with whatever toy they choose, they will . And it won't always be a gender specific toy.
If she or he chooses a non tradional gender role, and are happy with it, good for them. We will be proud of them whatever role they choose.

NO time to get deep.

I'll just say tha my kids won't see the glop of teenage style shows until they're 20!

I've noticed this
My son likes action, comedy, educational, and instructional television, So does his father. Shows like COPS, MXC Elimination, NFL Football, Olympics, Tennis. Nova, National Geographic, Master Chef, This Old House, Barbecue University.
My daughter likes instructional, educational and drama, drama, drama. Teen drama, the more, the better. Shows like Smallville, The OP, Gossip Girls, House, Master Chef, Cooking with Lydia, Nat Geo, Globe Trekker, and the ones involving what some celebity wore or ate or dated or divorced or starred in or drove.

So I reckon that Stormy is right, there are intrests to which genders will naturally gravitate.
And I think JagarTharn makes a good point, that popularity is relevant to breaking the role. Perhaps when breaking the percieved role is more commonplace, the novely will have worn off. I think I'd much rather prefer being popular for teh quality of my work than the novelty of of.