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~
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I think that, for the most part, you are correct. Women don't neccesarily look at tools or lumber or things like that (except for my mom), but what they would look at would be the kitchen appliances or home decorating stuff. I mean, they make tools that are pink just for women... yeah, because that's all women care about, the colour.
ReplyDeleteKeekers
I dunno, I think it's gendered in different ways. When I clicked on it, there was an ad for a Martha Stewart table set. I think when it comes to home renovations, men are positioned as the "handy men" while women are the "decorators." Thus men invent and establish foundations while women adorn.
ReplyDeleteMacho Muffin
I agree more with Macho Muffin in that this is gendered very complexly. I wouldn't say its necessarily masculine or feminine, as I don't regard orange to be a 'male' or 'female' colour and the overall aesthetic of the site is relatively gender neutral. I do agree though that society genders home renovations, with men as fixers and women as decorators, and perhaps Home Depot does this as well but I can't really see this on the site. I think that because Home Depot features both aspects of home improvement, with paint colours, bathroom fixtures, and curtains in addition to wood and tools, its hard to place it into a category.
ReplyDeleteAubrey B.
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ReplyDeleteFreddie, I agree very much that Home Depot is greatly gendered.
ReplyDeleteI went to the home depot store in thunder bay, as I had never actually been in one (awful, I know) and realized that it is like Mecca for all things that I will never require.
I did notice while wandering around, that anything considered "heavy labour" such as the actual building of the house (and such, tools, lumber, wire, piping, etc.) was laid out in a very typically masculine way. That is, when we think back to the examination of how the brain works in stories (I think we talked about it briefly in Soap Opera week) the male brain likes to follow a linear track-- idea is played into at Home Depot. You get your cart, walk through the store, pick up your tools, then your wiring and pipe, then lastly your lumber, pay at the end of the store (without having to walk back through, I may point out) and exit the other end. A classic "get your shit and get out" point of view.
However, when it comes to things concerning decorating (that is: lighting, wallpaper, paint, fixtures, etc.) it is laid out in a much more "feminine" way, if we follow the above mentioned logic. The feminine scape, as discussed in class, is more circular, more of a spiral, and not a line-- the areas in home depot for all of your "decorating needs" play to this by having large open spaces with pretty, neatly organized units of wallpaper, and paint, the lighting area is warm (and not just because of the billion light-bulbs) and inviting. Definitely feminized i.m.o..
What do you think about this analysis? Am I way off, or looking to deep?
Until this time, I never realized that short of your typical "mens clothes" "womens clothes" labels, a store could be completely gendered without actually gendering its self.
*who
It would seem logical that a hardware store would cater to a male client, since home improvement is generally deemed a 'man's job'. Your analysis of home depot's layout is really perceptive. Although this is unrelated to hardware stores I can't help but think further about men and women's clothing stores, which was briefly mentioned above. The store american apparel came to mind, because although they have a women's and men's section they also have clothing that is neither, and instead deemed unisex. This is very rare. Which leads me to think about your more typical clothing store. When you enter one such clothing store there is usually a clear divide between the men's section and the women's section, to such a degree that unless I'm there shopping with or for a man I feel uncomfortable perusing the men's section. I wonder what makes me (cause I can only speak from experience) feel like I've broken some unspoken law. It's interesting that in a hardware store without labeling something as the men's or women's section they persist to exists.
ReplyDeleteGesundheit
*Who --> Is this your name? I'm guessing so? .. i just wanted to say i like your idea of the lay out in home depot. I have never thought of it like that. The paint section and bathroom displays seem to have a more sporadic or perhaps circular set up to them.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting point!
~Freddie Mercury