Exploring Gender Stereotypes, The Cartoon Video Way
“Gender stereotypes.” In and of itself, that topic can be a big downer, can’t it?
When simply saying those two words makes pretty much anyone, male or female, squirm (and think “uh, oh, here we go again…”), it makes It difficult to continue to objectively explore and discuss the issues. But, as a society and as marketers, we need to do just that – and work toward the elusive goal of eliminating them over time (and that may well be beyond our lifetimes).
The “gender” area in my favorite bookstore (Powells in Portland, Oregon, if you must know) was a bit alienating when I perused the shelves last summer. There were LOTS of academic-looking tomes, plenty of older titles (mid-1990s seemed to be the average publish date), and quite a few books on sexuality that weren’t quite the gender discussion I was seeking. But, when I cross-referenced to psychology and sociology, I found a much more recent and lively discussion.
Here’s the thing: If it takes so much effort for an already interested and determined person like me to dig around in the gender stereotype discussion, where does that leave people who feel like they’ve got other priorities (like marketers)? That leaves you ignoring it for just a bit longer, I’m sure.
With that in mind, I took notice of this Italian-made men vs women “stereotypes” cartoon video (looks to be a year or so old). There’s something about the YouTube video format, the necessary brevity of that form and the use of really simple illustrations and audio to make a basic point. The discussions on both the Feminist Philosopher (where I first came across this video) and a “sociological images” site (as well as the YouTube comments) were a mixed bag.
Does the imagery make women look worse than men? Is it just crystal clear that men were involved in this and therefore it is sexist? Does something about how we were raised, what business we are in, our life and workforce experiences that predispose us to be outraged by it, or not?
I submit that boiling things down to simple images like this can be a tool for discussion. Who knows if it was a parody or if there were mainly men involved, and, if so, if they’d all recently divorced women who talked too much? The point is – the stereotypes highlighted can be seen as negative by both sexes.
But(!), what if men and women watch it together, possibly laugh – but at least start to talk about how all those things are not actually their experiences?
That may be when the squiggly/flowery/high-pitched talking line of the “woman” and the harsh/straight/low-pitched talking line of the “man” (watch the video to see what the heck I’m talking about) merge to form something a lot more lovely and a lot more accessible to all. Call me crazy.
