What do they have in common? --> A focus audience !!
Cars --> bigger, more sensable, wholesome cars are marketted to women and women with families. The smaller sports car are often thought of as being the honey to the bee for men who own them and the women that flock to them. OK< Definately not all women flock to them, but look at all the car shows, mens magazines, television ads that have the girls oggling over the guys TOTALLY RAD car!
Trucks --> MOST ... television ads show some man driving a truck through rough terrain and then getting out at some work station or a building site. VERY masculinized. These are the hardy work trucks that are built "Ford ;)" tough for men and their heavy work loads. Even the 'dirty jobs' host is in on the advertising for the companies. (for those people who don't know what that show is, it is on Discovery channel and it is about this guy that tries all the dirty jobs) Ok, that show is very masculinized as well.
Vans --> Marketted for the family and it almost like that ad slogan that says "tough enough for a man but made for a woman". .... SO i am generalizing here, .... the van allows the housewife (or in some cases, mr. mom) to run the children around to their daily schedules and after school programs.
AND ... take for example the Baritt Jackson car sale, majority of buyers are male and NASCAR! ... i am pretty much very sure that Danica Patrick is the very first woman to race in the NASCAR. Very much an ol' buys club,.. that markets the actual driving as being male dominated and not in anyway a space for women to compete. While i'm sure she has had her fair share of ups and DOWNs and many hurdles to cross, Danica Patrick is 'paving' the way for more women to enter the male dominated world of not only NASCAR, but she is an example for girls everywhere to become more interested in automobiles all together.
~Freddie Mercury~
Monday, March 8, 2010
Weight Training
So following from the idea that sports are gendered, so too is working out in general. An example online is http://www.bodybuilding.com. This is a great site to gain workout tips and routines from, the only issue is that is directed for men. Nearly every picture on this page is of a jacked up guy, and the supplements sold on the site are directed towards men as well. There is a link to a women's section on the site...which is great but also means that the general main site is for men.
The reason I like and visit this site is because it gives a lot more challenging workouts than do workout sites directed towards women. An example of this is http://www.shape.com. The site, as well as the magazine are made "for women". The exercises and tips provided in these are so different from the ones for men. There are tips on how to cut back on calories, elongate the muscles and "tone up with a few simple moves you can do at home", whereas the men's site has tips on how to get lift heavier and get stronger.
It is interesting to see the differences between what men and women are socialized in doing to get the "ideal" look from their workouts.
-BritFan
The reason I like and visit this site is because it gives a lot more challenging workouts than do workout sites directed towards women. An example of this is http://www.shape.com. The site, as well as the magazine are made "for women". The exercises and tips provided in these are so different from the ones for men. There are tips on how to cut back on calories, elongate the muscles and "tone up with a few simple moves you can do at home", whereas the men's site has tips on how to get lift heavier and get stronger.
It is interesting to see the differences between what men and women are socialized in doing to get the "ideal" look from their workouts.
-BritFan
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Designing your room
All of this thinking about what texts are gendered and why. Well i was thinking about where does it all start back to the beginning of a child's life. You find out you are having a boy or a girl what do you do? Paint the room pink or blue accordingly or a 'neutral' colour like yellow or green. What if your having a girl and you paint your room blue? what if her favorite colour is going to be blue? Do you get matching pink furniture to go with all your little girls needs?
SO going back to the beginning I thought I would check out a few of the designer website, for ideas plans and options for decorating. I first started with IKEA personally I love IKEA.. they surprised me. They didn't have a break down of boys rooms and girls rooms ideas on their website. (at least not listed) as you scrolled through the rooms one was ALL PINK Furniture, walls, carpets, chairs EVERYTHING PINK. But they listed it as a children's bedroom.
I then ended up on a Lowe's website to choose wallpaper for your rooms. An easy 1-2-3 step system to choose the right wallpaper for your needs. In the list of choosing styles we see "search by specialty" among about 10 choices of specialty we found boys and girls. Some of the options within these boys and girls "specialties" were pretty 'neutral' colour wise but then you found things in the girls section like "flower power" or in the boys section like "earth explorer" or "get into action". The girls options also portray "leap into action" as opposed to the boys "get into action"? leap is a very delicate word compared to 'GET'. Looking into the two of them the girls leap into action portrayed fun bright colours and the boys portrayed dark colours and army images.
Also when you are selecting a room to which you want to place this border you can select bedroom or boys or girls. Providing you with 3 different layouts of bedrooms.
Some of the earth explorer ones were of tropical places ( i want that in my room now) and a wallpaper border for puppies but of course dinosaurs too. so why is it listed under the boys section?
the more i look at this website the more i wonder where they got their "gendered" ideas from.
(Complete side note: when i clicked a piece of wall paper decoration they showed a sample bedroom where the boys bed was made out of wooden sticks and a latter of wood sticks up to another part of his room).
This website portrays gendered ideas that are portrayed as very specific to a boys or girls bedroom. If the girls bed they provide is pink and you want to put in a dinosaur border/wallpaper. That doesn't match very well. Companies that provide the designing should list things by a subject heading rather then a gendered heading like boys and girls.
List puppies, dinosaurs, flowers and flare separately.
Wow, makes you think....
- Kate Bauer
SO going back to the beginning I thought I would check out a few of the designer website, for ideas plans and options for decorating. I first started with IKEA personally I love IKEA.. they surprised me. They didn't have a break down of boys rooms and girls rooms ideas on their website. (at least not listed) as you scrolled through the rooms one was ALL PINK Furniture, walls, carpets, chairs EVERYTHING PINK. But they listed it as a children's bedroom.
I then ended up on a Lowe's website to choose wallpaper for your rooms. An easy 1-2-3 step system to choose the right wallpaper for your needs. In the list of choosing styles we see "search by specialty" among about 10 choices of specialty we found boys and girls. Some of the options within these boys and girls "specialties" were pretty 'neutral' colour wise but then you found things in the girls section like "flower power" or in the boys section like "earth explorer" or "get into action". The girls options also portray "leap into action" as opposed to the boys "get into action"? leap is a very delicate word compared to 'GET'. Looking into the two of them the girls leap into action portrayed fun bright colours and the boys portrayed dark colours and army images.
Also when you are selecting a room to which you want to place this border you can select bedroom or boys or girls. Providing you with 3 different layouts of bedrooms.
Some of the earth explorer ones were of tropical places ( i want that in my room now) and a wallpaper border for puppies but of course dinosaurs too. so why is it listed under the boys section?
the more i look at this website the more i wonder where they got their "gendered" ideas from.
(Complete side note: when i clicked a piece of wall paper decoration they showed a sample bedroom where the boys bed was made out of wooden sticks and a latter of wood sticks up to another part of his room).
This website portrays gendered ideas that are portrayed as very specific to a boys or girls bedroom. If the girls bed they provide is pink and you want to put in a dinosaur border/wallpaper. That doesn't match very well. Companies that provide the designing should list things by a subject heading rather then a gendered heading like boys and girls.
List puppies, dinosaurs, flowers and flare separately.
Wow, makes you think....
- Kate Bauer
Friday, March 5, 2010
~~Sports Stores~~
Sports Stores~ ... so stores such as Mountain Equipment Co-op www.mec.ca and Foot Locker http://www.footlocker.ca
Are gendered towards men. As said in class the women are not highly sought after because if they are 'too active' they are then thought of as not feminine. This is perpetuating the cycle and not disrupting it. While other sport companies have marketted to the female consumer, they (the woman) some how looses her sex appeal and become somewhat masculinized by the thought of her being active in sports.
The logo for footlocker is a man in a position that says he is somewhat of a leader or in a high position. This emblem is not neutral, but definately based on masculine ideology.
~freddie Mercury~
Are gendered towards men. As said in class the women are not highly sought after because if they are 'too active' they are then thought of as not feminine. This is perpetuating the cycle and not disrupting it. While other sport companies have marketted to the female consumer, they (the woman) some how looses her sex appeal and become somewhat masculinized by the thought of her being active in sports.
The logo for footlocker is a man in a position that says he is somewhat of a leader or in a high position. This emblem is not neutral, but definately based on masculine ideology.
~freddie Mercury~
Home Depot
Nothing says Home Depot like that bright orange store. http://www.homedepot.ca
Home Depot: Directed at men? ... I say yes!
While they show both men and women in the commercials and ads, the overall store is directed towards the male gender. Historically, men were the 'fixers' and "Handy men" around the household. Even the whole name "handy-man" is overty sexualized in the masculine form. Because men are the 'stronger' sex, they must be the ones to do all the labour.
I think even the way the flyers are, are very masculine because of the bright orange colour and the way that they are placed out. ///... are i way off .? ... i found them that way but not necessarily everyone else will see them as that.
~Freddie Mercury~
Home Depot: Directed at men? ... I say yes!
While they show both men and women in the commercials and ads, the overall store is directed towards the male gender. Historically, men were the 'fixers' and "Handy men" around the household. Even the whole name "handy-man" is overty sexualized in the masculine form. Because men are the 'stronger' sex, they must be the ones to do all the labour.
I think even the way the flyers are, are very masculine because of the bright orange colour and the way that they are placed out. ///... are i way off .? ... i found them that way but not necessarily everyone else will see them as that.
~Freddie Mercury~
Beer!
I was at the gym when this commercial for Stella Artois came on, and it was surprising how gendered it was. I always assumed that beer was more marketed to a male demographic but this commercial really made it hit home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKpiYTRNsh8
So within this video, we see the woman is being compared to the Stella glass while she gets ready for an evening out, with the ending saying that they are both "things of beauty".
It was surprising that they tried to gender this in a more subtle way. Molson and Coors commercials are a bit more...blunt with their marketing, always showing men partying with attractive females who are apparently attracted to men drinking that brand of beer. This commercial was almost trying to be more classy.
This commercial reminded me of the "Male gaze" we've been talking about because the beer and the woman were both being looked at through what was supposed to be a male view. Also, at the end of the commercial they were both sort of presented to the man as the thing of beauty. The woman in the commercial as well as the beer were being "prepared" for the man.
I know that there are alcohols marketed towards females as well, but has anyone seen a commercial which is marketed for women, but with commercials done through a "female gaze"?? I couldn't think of any. Interesting anyway!
-BritFan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKpiYTRNsh8
So within this video, we see the woman is being compared to the Stella glass while she gets ready for an evening out, with the ending saying that they are both "things of beauty".
It was surprising that they tried to gender this in a more subtle way. Molson and Coors commercials are a bit more...blunt with their marketing, always showing men partying with attractive females who are apparently attracted to men drinking that brand of beer. This commercial was almost trying to be more classy.
This commercial reminded me of the "Male gaze" we've been talking about because the beer and the woman were both being looked at through what was supposed to be a male view. Also, at the end of the commercial they were both sort of presented to the man as the thing of beauty. The woman in the commercial as well as the beer were being "prepared" for the man.
I know that there are alcohols marketed towards females as well, but has anyone seen a commercial which is marketed for women, but with commercials done through a "female gaze"?? I couldn't think of any. Interesting anyway!
-BritFan
LCBO - Ya the liquor store!
LCBO - gives out the Food & Drink magazine which usually has great! recipes in it. Although i usually have better intentions than action. Which means that i usually go pick up the magazine but don't really get around to making the recipes! ;)
Well.... as it was on the chair beside my couch i looked at the binding on it where it says the title and year and whatnot, i noticed it said "THE ART OF ENTERTAINING"
Which made me think~ ... hmmm .. the art of entertaining .. . this reminds me of those old books and magazines directed towards women to teach them on how to be a good housewife, how to cater to your husband's needs .. and whatever else "how to's" there were in the '50's and around that era.
This magazine i view as being gendered toward women because historically they were the ones to host parties and while those magazine of the '50's "seemed" to have gone away, it is obvious, that they have now taken on a different form.
~~Freddie Mercury~
Well.... as it was on the chair beside my couch i looked at the binding on it where it says the title and year and whatnot, i noticed it said "THE ART OF ENTERTAINING"
Which made me think~ ... hmmm .. the art of entertaining .. . this reminds me of those old books and magazines directed towards women to teach them on how to be a good housewife, how to cater to your husband's needs .. and whatever else "how to's" there were in the '50's and around that era.
This magazine i view as being gendered toward women because historically they were the ones to host parties and while those magazine of the '50's "seemed" to have gone away, it is obvious, that they have now taken on a different form.
~~Freddie Mercury~
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