You Can Do Anything: How Feminism is Affecting Marketing

It’s a relatively common occurrence to analyze how marketing / advertising is affecting feminism and the feminist movement. But we can’t forget that the impact goes both ways: feminism is also affecting marketing.

How, you might ask? It seems impossible… video games and Easy Bake Oven’s marketing plan can’t possibly be affected by the feminist movement. Or can they?

When the feminist movement first started, women definitely weren’t equal to men, but society didn’t preach to them that they were. Today, there isn’t a child in this country that hasn’t heard the line, “You can be anything you want to be” (or some variation of the idea). Although it may not be entirely true (and that’s a different issue to discuss), society is blatantly telling both girls and boys that they can do anything. No one tells a 6 year-old girl that you can do anything… as long as you’re willing to accept a lower salary and keep up with the housework. No, they tell her that if she wants to stay single and become CEO of Google, if she works hard enough, she can. And to the 7 year old boy, if he wants to become a ballerina or a stay-at-home dad, well then by golly he can! And these teachings, this attitude, has created an entire new generation of feminists, both male and female. However, this new generation, these millennials, still don’t actually identify as feminists. Melanie Shreffler, a writer for mediapost.com, summed up the issue quite nicely:

“The problem is that the word “feminist” doesn’t translate across generations. At the basic level, feminism is about gender equality (at home, in the workplace, in society, etc.), and while previous generations of women have had to struggle to be treated as equals, Millennial women have always felt they are equal with men. It wasn’t just Millennial guys who grew up being told they can do anything they put their minds to and be whatever they want; Millennial girls heard that too. Ask any teen girl if she has the right to do anything a guy can do, and she’ll say yes (or “duh!”). Ask her if she can be as good at those things as a guy is, and she’ll say yes. But ask her if she’s a feminist, and she’ll probably say no.“

Taylor Swift, when asked by the Daily Beast, if she was a feminist, replied that she, “Doesn’t really think about things as guys versus girls”.  While Swift doesn’t want to label herself directly as a feminist, this response exemplifies exactly how millennial boys and girls are thinking: not gender differently (as far as careers, hobbies, work, toys, and home lives are concerned). You can do anything.

“Part of the issue is the perception young women have of feminists: man-hating, bra-burning radicals who shed their femininity for the cause”.

The word “feminist” still has this negative “societal” connotation (which I explored a little in my first post) and even though they might be hesitant to label themselves as feminists, that doesn’t make them believe in (or practice) feminism any less. A rose by any other name is still a rose.

So what does this mean to marketers? I mean, that was the title of this post after all. The point is, that in order to market a product successfully, you must first understand your target market. And will anyone ever understand the teenage girl segment? That is most definitely a no, for any generation. They don’t even understand themselves (I know I didn’t). But that’s exactly the point. This new generation, now in their teens, are trying to figure out who they are. These millennials are complex, contradictory, ever-evolving, and feminists. They participate in both dance and little league. They care about what they look like and they play in the mud. They are girly but also one of the guys. And most importantly, “They don’t feel limited by their gender”.

This idea that female millennials are growing up already feeling equal to men, means that the way certain products are marketed are going to (or need to) change. People are beginning to refuse the idea that things should be marketed as “just for girls” or “just for guys”. They have a more internal desire for gender neutralness.

A 2012 study from Smary Pants showed that younger girls were bending gender lines and growing sales for “boy brands”. Being a fan of these “guy brands” and using them almost as much (or sometimes more) than the “manly” target market of these products, many girls claim that they would also like to be considered in their marketing efforts. Video games (and other boy-aimed products) aren’t just for guys anymore. And it’s time that their marketing reflected that, not just for social reasons, but for profits as well. Some companies are overlooking a major potential market segment by not gender-nuetralizing their marketing efforts.

Just because the market doesn’t identify as feminist, doesn’t mean that they aren’t. In fact, by definition as we saw, most millennials actually are. And this is a demographic that  will be monumental in the marketing world, as both boys and girls push back against societal cookie cutter gender roles. Because to them, there should be no difference between men and women. You can do anything.