Updated Project Proposal

Simona Borkina

Professor Cacoilo

November 11^th, 2016

         We all know that sex sells, but so does color. I have decided to change my topic from gendered double standards to gendered marketing. For my semester final project, I will be making a video and publishing it to YouTube and I will title it: Gender Spender. Growing up, I was exposed to toys limited to my sex, not because my parents thought me being a girl meant that I was to play dress up and play with my Barbie’s but because they did not know it any other way. They walked into the nearest toy store and bought the items that were clearly marked and meant for girls. As I grew up, I noticed more and more that gender plays a huge role in separating products; not only toys for children but hygiene products, office supplies, power tools, and much, much more. In most cases, products that are aimed at women cost more than the same product for a man. Target is a prime example of a modern company removing gendered labels from their toys and bedding, as well as removing the pink and blue shelves that indicate who the product is aimed at.

            Currently, I am researching the effects that gender-type toys have on children. So far, I have found that “78% of the magnitude of gender differences were in the small or close-to-zero range” (CNN). I also discovered from that same CNN article that parents and the child’s environment are more likely to influence which toy the child picks up rather than the packaging. Various toys provide different developmental skills and it is only logical that both sides get a taste of what the other has to offer. Toys, however, are only a fraction of items that are gendered in the market; pens, earplugs, tissues, and tea are just barely scratching the surface. There are countless amounts of products that are unnecessarily gendered and I will be discussing them. 

            My video will shed light on the toys children are socialized to like, apparel that is geared to a particular gender (i.e., “Daddy’s little princess”), the methods that advertisers use to create commercials that appeal to girls/boys, and the techniques companies use to alter their packaging in order to draw in their intended consumer. I intend on reaching a wide range of viewers in order to encourage people to raise questions and think critically about why companies decide to gender all different types of products.

It frustrates me when I hear stories about a parent not letting their boy play with a Barbie in fear that their child will lean toward homophobic tendencies. I personally feel that a parent should allow their child to choose the types of toys they play with and not impose a certain way of behaving on that child. In addition to children’s toys, seeing a company sell a pen “for Her” is simply appalling to me and through my video I will be voicing my opinions. Not only are gendered items encouraging the sexist society that we are already engulfed in, but they are also leaving adverse lasting impacts on children and young adults.

            I am currently in the brainstorming part of production in terms of deciding what I want to cover in my video. I aim to begin filming and editing my video within the next week to two weeks. I also want to go to a store like Target or K-Mart in order to see first hand the gendering of an array of products on the hangers and shelves. 

 

Some websites and videos that inspired me:
Gendered Marketing 
Ellen's Thoughts on Bic Pens
Man Poses as 'Target' in Order to Troll Those Who Did Not Like Target's Gender-Neutral Move

http://www.jeongmeeyoon.com/
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/24/living/gender-neutral-toys-marketing-feat/

http://time.com/3990442/target-gender-based-signs/