Positive And Negative Effects Of Gender Specific Advertising

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Toy stores have always had separate section for the boy toys and the girl toys. Gender-specific marketing has a lot to do with the way people see certain objects. Advertisers produce commercials that reach out to the specific gender that they think is more likely to consume their product. Gender-specific advertising negatively affects consumers, society, and companies.
Gender-specific marketing limits the consumer choice. It affects the consumer in a negative way because it puts items in a category and may limit their way of thinking about that item and can make them choice a different item. When children are in a play setting, two different genders are seen. Girls often play with dolls and boys tend to play with action figures (Fitzgerald …show more content…

It effects girls because usually when someone thinks of a police officer or doctor the person is expected to be a male. Normally, women are not seen playing a strong leadership role and are supposed to be less dominant than men. Unlike females, on the other hand where males are seen more superior out of the two genders. Most professions that require strength are targeted to men. Men are the expected ones in law enforcement fields and it is more accepted by society for them to be a doctor or a police officer. It effects boys because if they wanted to be in a career such as a nurse or caregiver it would be slightly frowned upon because it would be considered a job held by a woman. Donald R. McCreary wrote, “When confronted with males and females deviating from society 's sex-based gender role prescriptions, people tend to respond more negatively to the males ' transgressions”( 517). Males in professions that are targeted to females are assumed to be soft and having women tendencies. This is also the case when it comes to profession of teaching. Society once saw teachers as primarily being a role held by women, not men. Women historically were seen as the teacher and schoolmarms that provided education to youths over the …show more content…

It limits a company’s earnings potential because the market for that specific item would be targeted to only one gender. This makes the profit rate decrease because the target market for that specific item would be only a man or only a woman. By targeting boys in the marketing of mini racecars, hot wheels may have a lower profit rate because its main target is little boys. If the product was a unisex product it would have an abundance of profit coming its way because it is hitting the needs of more than one specific gender. According to Kate Fitzgerald, every toy makers dream is to make a toy that every boy and girl finds irresistible. A “smash” toy can generate a large sum of profits almost overnight and one that can appeal to both genders would be considered a double-whammy (1). For example, board games, puzzles and bubbles which is not gender labeled has a better chance of greater profit potential than a toy like the mini race cars. It would be better for companies to have items like the ones listed above for better sale

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