NewsBytes: Too Much Brand, Social Gender Pressure
1) Al Ries published a great piece on megabranding (or not) in the latest Advertising Age. The question he explores - do consumers want as much choice as brands seem compelled to give them? One example he shares: Five years ago, a typical Coca-Cola bottler handled 200 SKUs. Today that same bottler has more than 530 SKUs. And is facing the addition of more than 65 new SKUs a year. Raise your hand if you’ve been dying for a Bud-Lite Lime…
2) Does it make you a teeny bit crazy that your daughter likes pink and princesses no matter how much time and effort you put into giving her a gender-balanced upbringing? Brett Berk wrote an interesting piece for Babble on how strong the social pressure is for girls and boys to act their gender. Here’s a quote to which many might be able to relate:
Biology’s reins on our kids’ destinies have certainly slackened. Yet, that doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to figure out how to raise a healthy “boy” or “girl.” Even if you grew up with many of the choices available to kids today, responding to your child’s individual actions and desires can remain challenging: your daughter’s narcissistic obsession with her hairbrush; your son’s maddening drive to turn every object he picks up into a weapon. Things can become confusing for parents when their children exhibit “gender-variant behavior.” When her daughter asked for a pair of frilly Barbie slippers for her fourth birthday, my friend Clarisse responded with a Women’s Studies dissertation, ranting on about how she didn’t approve of Barbie because “she doesn’t look like a real woman.” Her daughter cocked her head. “She isn’t supposed to be a real woman, mommy. She isn’t a woman at all. She’s just a Barbie.”
Can’t you just hear that coming from your daughter or niece? Next door to me, 5-year old Lily carries around pink purses filled with lip gloss and has a variety of My Little Pony toys (oh, the joy - you can braid their manes!), all in the midst of her “guys-guy” father and two “boys-boy” brothers. Fascinating.
August 6th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
A friend of mine emailed to comment on the social gender pressure topic, but needs to remain anonymous so she doesn’t get a major eye rolling from her teenage son. See below:
My very manly almost-18-year-old wasn’t happy with the standard color that blemish cover came in. I let him know, that he could match his skin color if he bought some make-up. Now he wears blem med under his make-up. But I have to buy it for him. And I’m not allowed to tell anyone. Interesting, no?