Marketing and Gender Stereotyping, Thesis Paper Example

Do you believe sports equipment is marketed more for boys than for girls?  Why do you believe this is the case?  Do you think this marketing influences whether or not girls choose to participate in sports? Why?

It is apparent from the sports equipment advertised in the media and placed in stores that the equipments are marketed more from boys than the girls. The statistics collected indicate that almost 50% of the equipments marketed are for boys, 40 % are universal while only 10% target girls. The marketing incline to one-side influences whether girls choose a sport of not. This is because they do buy equipments for boys and distances themselves from “boy sports”

 Did you find any sports equipment that was marketed specifically for girls (e.g., WNBA endorsed basketball or Mia Hamm soccer shoes?  If so, what did you find?  Do you think there were as many choices of sports equipment marketed for girls as there were for boys? Why is this, the case? 

Marketing in stores, TV shows, magazines and other avenues tend to favor boys. However, there are a few of sports equipments for girls in the stores.  Some of these equipments include dolls and Netball skill builder kits. However, from the look of things, these equipments are fewer than the boy’s equipments that fill the store. The reason for this is owed to stereotyping of active sports as for boys therefore sidelining the demand for girl’s equipments as compared to boys.

What were the images of girls/women in sports magazines?  Do you think this influences whether or not girls choose to participate in sports? Why? 

The sports magazines feature images of both boys and girls in their advertising. The advertising however has some influence and takes after the society’s approach of the passive and the active role as ascribed to either the girls or the boys. Most of the images from the sports magazine feature girls sitting in their adverts. For instance, the dolls marketing shows girls baby sitting the dolls. There are no images showing girls in active sports for instance football or rugby. This influences girls on whether to or not to participate in the sports because they only want to ascribe to the sports they view as their only. They distance themselves from what the images portrays as for boys.

When watching the TV commercials, did you see differences in the types of toys marketed for girls compared to boys?  What differences did you see?  Do you think these differences affect what boys and girls choose to play with (i.e.., girls’ toys v. boys’ toys) and how they play (i.e., passive v. active play)?

Cartoon Network airs commercials before, during and after every program. These differences have an enormous effect on boys and girls and their way of choosing the kind of sport, they engage in. Both girls and boys tend to associate with what they see the society doing. The big difference is that boys products commercialized in the adverts are mostly for active sports. For the girls, the products commercialized for them involve passive sports. A good example is the dolls advertised for the girls, they mostly involve a game of, babysitting the dolls and this is a clear picture of the passive roles. For boys, racing toys are specifically commercialized for them; these involve active sports because they indulge in frequent movements when playing the game. This influences what girls and boys choose to play with because they imitate what they view from the adverts and associate with their gender specific toys. They also play as per what they view from the commercials meaning that girls mostly are passive in the sports while boys imitate the active sports just as the commercials present.