Stereotypes may actually have some general statistical accuracy. The trouble is that the stereotype converts a statistical tendency to absolute certainty. We react as though we expect all members of the stereotype to be that way all the time or most of the time.
Feminist Frequency - Toy Ads and Learning Gender
This episode shows some examples of how toy ads for kids perpetuate traditional gender roles. I’ve found that these roles, while intensely unhealthy for all genders, are still somewhat beneficial for the boys (“men must be strong” is an example of a gender expectation that’s both unhealthy and beneficial).
She does mention that there’s a lot of science behind decisions in advertising - in other words, they make what kids of each gender will react to, but I worry that this implies that girls are wired to want glitter and boys are wired to want to destroy things.
I’m not going to say that evolutionarily, we aren’t different, or that traditional gender roles don’t reflect something of our predispositions to be, for example, more competitive or more cooperative. But I will say that gendered ads certainly perpetuate the worst of gender stereotypes and as Fem Freq says, limit us in our capacity to BECOME MORE.
