Kids' Advertising and Gender Roles

Well-meaning parents who try to get girls interested in army figures (or their sons playing with dolls) will soon realise that certain gender traits appear to be biologically hard-wired from birth. However, the way kids think about gender can still be subtly altered by outside influences.

Though grand parents may traditionally choose blue clothes for boys and pink for girls, sociologists say that children don't actually become aware of their gender until they reach the age of four. It's after this age that children start to identify with their sex and begin copying the behaviour of the role models around them.

This can include imitating the gender-specific actions of parents, friends and family. In an increasingly media-saturated age it can also mean learning behaviours that they see as part of the advertising that surrounds them on radio, TV and the internet.

Gender Stereotyping

Research conducted during the 1980s revealed that when a selection of 4-9-year-olds were shown a series of commercials, even the younger children were able to identify how characters' actions were in part defined by their sex.

Many campaigners claim that studies such as this show how advertising aimed at children can help perpetuate potentially damaging stereotypes and limit their behaviour in later life.

Psychologists have said that that in adverts aimed at children:

Adverts featuring girls were more likely to be set solely in domestic settings while boys were seen playing outside the home.
Boys are often seen taking part in physical activity, while girls were more likely to be passive.
Whatever sex the adverts are aimed at, the voice-over tends to be male.

Body Image

Campaigners say that the way gender is portrayed in adverts can lead to youngsters questioning their body image. They claim that characters on adverts and animated cartoons have the kind of 'perfect bodies' which children could never hope to achieve. For example, action figures aimed at boys have bigger muscles than ever before (a look that a survey of boys believed to be 'healthy') while a survey of models used in advertising to children found nearly half could be categorised as 'malnourished' according to the World Health Organisation.

Selling Sex To Kids

Another way that advertising to children has attracted controversy is by relying on images that are increasingly sexual. For example, the Bratz dolls (which feature in adverts as well as a movie and an animated series) are often seen wearing skimpy clothes that might be more associated with older teens than young children. Psychologists worry that these kind of images could disturb children's sexual development.

Restoring The Balance

Parents might feel overwhelmed by the sheer wealth of adverts that they identify as being stereotypical. They could also be bewildered by the passion their daughter shows for her pink girly play set (or the way their sons play with toy guns). However, it's important to remember that 'parent power' can be a useful way to fight back against the ads. By talking to children about what it really means to be a boy or a girl, they can help children be more critical about advertising and be aware of how destructive stereotypes can be.