Gender Stereotypes

In advertising we see how genders differ from each other and what each gender’s role is supposed to be. Women are perceived to be the housewife that cooks, cleans and takes care of the kids all while looking presentable. Men are shown to be physically fit, dressed in a suit, a business man, hardworking, man of the house, brings home the money. He relaxes as he comes home to dinner. The only interaction he has with his kids is bonding with his son.

In this beer advertisement the husband is telling his wife not to worry because she didn’t burn the beer. The wife is shown in the kitchen holding a pan that has black smoke coming out of it like she has burnt dinner. She is dressed in a button up which is most likely a dress with an apron on. Her hair is done and she has makeup on. The husband is dressed in a suit and has his hair combed back. The husband has his arm around his wife and is comforting her while she is looking up at him and crying. The man is shown as the dominant one because of how he is standing tall and also how the woman is looking up at him. The gender stereotypes are here, from the housewife that can’t do her only job correctly to the dominant businessman comforting his wife.

These are stereotypes that have been around for a long time and sadly they are still present in some ads. Gender stereotyping is very wrong because it is selling those stereotypes, making people believe that that is how they are supposed to be. In reality, men and women are equal and should be shown sharing the house workload. Today more ads are trying to break the gender stereotype.

This commercial shows a husband at home playing with his daughter which is something not typically seen. Usually the only interaction with the kids that a man would have would be with his son. The man is now the stay at home dad and is taking care of the kids and doing the laundry while we can assume that the wife is at work. This helps to show society how men and women are equal and I think more advertisements should depict this.