Really? Gender stereotyping? We're still doing that?
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
What, you can't even buy TROUSERS now without finding a bad sexist joke on the washing instructions?
I am morbidly fascinated by the ways in which women and men are stereotyped by companies trying to flog their pointlessly gendered wares. Fin and I are thinking of getting a new car (our current car is too small for Smidgen, it makes a very ominous noise if you go over 40 miles an hour and bits of trim fall off at random on motorways. All valid reasons for a replacement, I feel). So I was on the What Car website looking at estate cars. The fact that my entire being is appalled by the very thought of buying an estate car - for my husband and my dog, URGH - is a whole other can of worms, but suffice to say I was already depressed enough before I noticed a little pink link inviting me to check out the "Female Verdict". One regrettable click later and I found myself on What Car's sister site, evecars.com. Because of course women need a separate car website all of their own. How are we meant to absorb information if it's not wrapped up in a pretty pink package? It's, like, totally hard!
Evecars seems to trade on the assumption that if you talk about cars like they're sexy beasts, women won't notice that they are, in fact, cars. The particular model I was looking at was described as "almost as smooth as 007"; its "sassy styling really stands out in a crowd". Erm, great. Any, you know, actual information about the car? Other than the fact it's "one of the cutest in its class"? I thought I was buying an estate car, not Justin Bieber?
The category descriptions are even worse. On and on, cliché after cliché. Easy to park! Great for the school run! You'll look fabulous! In fairness, there is an executive car category - "going to work is great!" - but whatever you do, don't try and drive to work in an MPV. That's "Mum's Taxi". No executives allowed.
Okay, fine, I'm probably overreacting. A lot of women might find the idea of walking into a car showroom intimidating or confusing (I certainly would), and might welcome a resource that talks about the different options in a simple, light-hearted way without descending into Top Gear territory (gah, the horror). But this relentless division of us all down neat little gender lines - women and men, girls and boys, pink and blue, even for something supposedly neutral like buying earplugs - is it really necessary?
I suppose my fear is that by endorsing the idea that women need only take a superficial interest in supposedly "manly" things (and vice versa), it encourages a particular brand of silly faux-helplessness. "Oh, gosh, I have no idea how many miles per gallon it does, that's for boys. But look at my sassy pink cup holder!" "Change a tyre? Well, I was hoping you might help me with that [cue hair twizzling and much batting of lashes]." One of the many reasons I'm grateful for knowing Fin is that he will always call me out when I lapse into daft lassie territory; I know I'm bright, he knows I'm bright, and allowing me to pretend I'm anything else is just irritating.
Having said that, I still have no clue how to change a tyre. Frankly, I'm not so hot on the washing and ironing, either.
Does anyone else get frustrated by this stuff?
{Images: 1. Emma Barnett/The Telegraph 2. Rion Sabean}
14 boats moored
We bought a new car at the end of last year, I say we, but I actually bought it without my other half ever having seen it. I think my dad was most shocked that I hadn't got a man's opinion on it but I'd done my research and my husband is hardly Jeremy Clarkson (thank God).
ReplyDeleteThe thing that frustrates me is that a lot of the so-called 'man things' - finances, cars, etc - are clearly household things that I think both people should be involved in.
As someone who has apparently given up on most ironing (a MAN takes it away and returns it two days later, ironed to perfection!)I too, dear daughter, get fed up with all the "gender" crap. I once caused trouble in a class (what you, I hear you ask?) when I was doing a post-grad admin course. We were being asked what we would do to organise events for the wives of executives at a conference. You know where this is going... I listened in amazement as suggestions of visits to posh shops,flower arrangement class etc etc. I was not averse to either of these in general, but why assume all the executives were men??? I brought this up after someone suggested a fashion show and was sharply reprimanded by the wee eejit lecturer. He got very red in the face and shouted at me "I bet you are a failed model who wasn't allowed to take part in a fashion show!"! That was the point I left his crummy crass and never returned - seemed I failed the next exam - wonder why??
ReplyDeleteThat is just... wow, there are no words. My Mum goes on hockey tours with my step-dad once a year and is always subjected to 'ladies day' - events and trips planned by the organisers to keep the wives/girlfriends/children of the players entertained whilst they hit each other with hockey sticks. Sometimes they're great - guided tours around galleries, fun activities. But sometimes it's just described as 'time to shop and gossip!' I mean, for goodness sake - just because the husbands/boyfriends of these women play sport does not mean that they're all WAGs!
DeleteOh it's all awful. My boyfriend's colleague is opening a new cafe/bar in a yummy mummy area of an English town and he said the other day that they'd really like "a woman or a gay man" as the General Manager because they're targetting woman with kids and a female manager "will be more caring and better with kids". Definitely. Because that's what all women and all gay men are like.
ReplyDeleteI really really tried to be calm and offer a logical response, but after he'd left my poor boyfriend got an earful about gender stereotyping. Why do we still have to listen to this shite in 2012?
Claire
I cannot believe that clothing label. Is it real? Aidan & I were walking on the beach the other day and we saw a whole family together. The mum & the daughter were dressed entirely in pink and the daughter had a pink bike & pink helmet. The father & little boy were dressed entirely in blue and a blue bike & blue helmet. I turned Aidan and said "REALLY??" & then we noticed how many other families were doing the exact same thing. Mums & daughters entirely dressed in pink.
ReplyDeleteWrapping something up in pink is a sure fire way of making me NOT INTERESTED .
Tom and I attempted to buy a car from a dealership - we didn't, for a number of reasons, one of them being that whenever I asked a question the dealer just turned to my husband to answer it. Really? I'm invisable?
ReplyDeleteWhat do we think about the pink lego, then?
Esme, pink girl Lego makes me rageful. I actually had a long debate with a Lego spokesdude on Twitter when they released it, after I tweeted that I was a little girl who liked pink but still wanted to build a SPACESHIP. He argued that girls can still use the "boy" lego, but that there was a market for hairdresser Lego etc. I asked why, in that case, they felt the need to bother assigning gender to Lego at all, why not just have the rockets and the hairdressers and let everyone play with what they feel drawn to? He did not reply to this question.
DeleteK x
Esme, we bought a new car last year and they were exactly the same. The salesman actually was great but the manager wanted to close our sale and wouldn't address me at all up until the point I stood up and announced we would take our business elsewhere. He then came chasing after us as we left the showroom and ended up giving us a really good deal but I was pretty enraged by the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteArgh! Sigh. Grrr.
ReplyDeleteThis stuff pisses me off so much I no longer have any coherent responses to it left. Just grunts of disapproval.
That clothing label is just... wow. Really? Bloody hell.
Grrrr, oh yes.
ReplyDeleteI am SO SICK of lazy manufacturers thinking that any old crap will appeal to women - so long as they make it in pink. Personally I hate pink - I find it twee and nauseating, probably precisely because it's shoved down my throat so often.
Oh dear. I don't need a pink website. I like cars, even though I don't drive yet (the benefit/downside of living in London) so I would want to know about that stuff, just like I want to know how to fix my own bike. I am glad you don't want to fall into acting like a "daft lassie" - when I see women I know are smart doing that it makes me surprisingly angry.
ReplyDeleteOh my. Do yourself a favour and don't read the comments on that Telegraph article.
ReplyDeleteI'm really aggravated by this car-buying stuff. Not too long ago, I heard a report about how women were getting better deals on cars than men. (Actually, it's right here.)
We try to take 1 step forward, and then get pushed a step back, it seems. Grrr.
Yes! This drives me NUTS. I know as much about cars as G (that is to say, not much) and am equally intelligent and able to learn and understand things. And I can change a tyre in the rain by the side of an A-road, if I need to (although I can't say it was fun). Don't patronise me, car-people.
ReplyDeleteK x
Don't think I've ever seen so daft as that washing label. the whole joke is a total waste of time because if it was my husband he wouldn't even know there is such a thing as a washing label.(Yes he is from the stone age in anything domestic but so brilliant in every other way I blame his parents!!!) I wouldn't buy that item of clothing however good they would look on principle. I'm so fed up with pink for girls it's never been a favourite of mine and according to Qi it use to be worn by boys until the last century and girls in blue. As for cars all anyone needs is what suits your family so why don't people in the car industry understand that and stop the stupid patronising c*** that pours out of them.
ReplyDelete