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From the time of birth, Americans can be obsessed with gendering their children. They put baby girls in pink clothing and baby boys in blue. As babies grow into toddlers, parents make sure their kids are playing with the correct set of toys. These initial impressions of gender identity can confuse children as they grow into teens and adults.
There are even certain types of vehicles associated with genders: Some sedans are called “mom cars” and men drive trucks more often. Average insurance for a Ford Ranger isn’t the cheapest, so men who decide to drive trucks have to deal with higher insurance rates.
We’ll talk about several different activities or items and how they’re tied to gender, along with some of the ways phasing out male stereotypes could help everyone live a more fulfilling life.
Sports and Gender
Boys are often encouraged to play sports. According to the National Federation of State High School Association’s High School Athletics Participation Survey, there were about 1.1 million more boys who play high school sports than girls.
Activity is always a great thing. Exercise is key to a healthy lifestyle, and team sports promote good social skills and bonding techniques. Boys and girls alike can get a lot of positives from the mental and physical health advantages of playing sports, but there are plenty of other options if they prefer something else.
Participating in yoga or other relaxation activities is a great alternative to playing sports. They provide the same healthy habits and social bonding with others. You can sign up for classes at your local gym or recreational center.
These are activities that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The same can’t be said for sports like football or basketball, activities that are very hard on the body and increase the risk of suffering an injury.
Vehicles and the Sexes
Many companies push cars and trucks on boys from a young age. If you flip on the television to children’s programming, many of the commercials are for toys like Hot Wheels and Tonka trucks.
If boys watch TV channels with these advertisements, they might become interested in driving similar vehicles to these toys once they are grown up. The ones who do sometimes form bad habits associated with the hobby. Research shows men drive over the speed limit 50% more often than women do.
Men who are influenced to buy trucks due to marketing and advertising are in for some major expenses. Pickup trucks are very pricey. They have a lot of extra features that add to the price, and their gas mileage isn’t very good compared to a sedan.
Qualities like strength, versatility, and toughness are all directly tied to pickup trucks. In 2014, a survey taken by the NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) said 71% of potential truck buyers cared about versatility the most. Marketing from companies like Ford and Chevrolet through the years has fed into these ties between masculinity and buying a truck.
If you like trucks and other vehicles, continue to enjoy their presence in your life. Your buddies are still masculine while driving a Subaru or a Prius, though. These cars are eco-friendly and have high safety ratings. This means they’re great for dads of all ages. Saving the environment is certainly not gender-specific.
Clothing and Gender
At its core, clothing is supposed to protect humans from the weather. On a more complicated note, clothing helps identify gender. The men’s and women’s departments for clothing have long tied certain garments to specific genders.
This encourages men and women to shop in their gender-labeled department, but there’s nothing that should be stopping them from checking out the other side of the store.
Fashion attitudes have changed for the better in recent years, but there are still a lot of outdated opinions on certain types of clothing. When men shop for clothing, items like suits, ties, and dress slacks are some of the most common products you’ll see on shelves. For women, you see much more variety.
Women can wear anything from a blouse to a dress to work and people are okay with it. High heels, tennis shoes, and sandals are also acceptable attire in many work places for women. Not many would argue with the idea that women have a wider range of clothing choices than men do.
Men, Women, and Entertainment
Television and film have always been strictly gendered for decades. That’s why advertisements that are run during certain times and specific shows target one demographic. Daytime soap operas and talk shows are defined as female entertainment. This means women’s products like makeup, clothing, and hair care are shown during the commercials.
Some sports leagues are shown to be more popular with men than women, such as basketball. This means during an NBA basketball broadcast, you might see advertisements for men’s hair loss and vitality products like testosterone for middle-aged men. These ads shouldn’t discourage women from watching basketball, though.
Mental Health Among the Sexes
We’ve arrived at one of the most important discussions of all. The CDC said in 2019 that women were much more likely to have received mental health treatment in the past year than men. This is probably because having issues like anxiety or depression are still sadly tied to traits like weakness.
Having mental health problems can lead to physical health consequences. Weight loss, self-harm, and even suicide can come from ignoring mental health problems. Men who ignore their mental health may have issues in these other areas of their lives. They need to be aware if their emotional state is having an adverse effect on their bodies.
It is vital that men are encouraged to talk about their feelings and seek help, even if the first conversation is awkward or stressful. This is a small price to pay to avoid more severe, life-or-death consequences. Trying to find other men who’ve gone to therapy might be a good starting point in feeling comfortable with the topic.
As more people experiment with new interests and hobbies, companies who advertise to one gender over the other will start to see it would be just as effective to market to everyone. We already see some of these changes happening in 2022, and it looks like they might continue to happen in the future.
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Shawn Laib writes and researches for the car insurance comparison site, QuoteInspector.com. He wants to help people of all genders enjoy the driving experience.
This content is brought to you by Anne Davis.
The post Cars and More: Phasing Out Male Stereotypes appeared first on The Good Men Project.