Background & Gender Stereotypes
The personal care market is a multibillion-dollar industry that has made its money by gendering its products. By doing so, a company can sell twice as many products per household. Advertisers exploit gender norms and stereotypes that have been ingrained in most anyone from early childhood and use these stereotypes to increase their profits. In our society, we have been told that women have to be gentle, caring, and to have their bodies well kept. Men, on the other hand, are told to be strong, brave, and hold their emotions in. In his book, "The Effect of Brand Gender on Brand Equity," entrepreneur Theo Lieven writes that consumers prefer brands with pronounced gender identity. (1) Companies play off of this information and sell near-identical products for sometimes drastically different prices depending on the target gender.
Companies use the high standards placed on women by society and specifically target them in an attempt to sell their products. Because women have such high standards placed on them by society, the male personal care market has remained untouched until recently. Although some companies continue to separate their products by gender, many companies have begun ad campaigns targeting men such as old spice and others have begun to go gender-neutral. Both have their advantages and disadvantages which will be discussed later on.
