Gender In Advertising 

  • 1. The advertisements have different images and are laid out slightly different from one another, the picture switches sides from the left on the boy's ad to the right on the girl's ad. The position and expression of the children in the ad change from a more active or dynamic expression for the boy to a calm expression for the girl. The text and advertising points are also different and appeal to how the child is expected to behave.
  • 2. I personally never had an opinion about the GAP but this ad comparison shows the different expectations the company has for boys and girls. The company is trying to appeal to what it believes are the character traits of the 2 genders at this age regardless of their accuracy.

  • 3. I think that the portrayal of boys and girls is very stereotypical for kids that age. Girls are expected to become social butterflies and be outgoing and friendly while boys are expected to be smart and active with lots of energy at school. The girls are not expected to focus on school and the boys are not expected to become well behaved and social.

  • 4. I think that while I am not personally offended by the ads, they are trying to enforce differing behaviors and traits on people based on nothing more than gender, which is sexist. It thinks that if gap retained the same wording on both advertisements and dressed the children similarly then the ad would no longer be interpreted as sexist. People might not agree with what the ads say but they would not be enforcing different traits for different genders.
  • 5. I think that the stereotyping in ads does come from observable but also stereotypical differences between girls and boys at this age. I think that it is ok to have ads that appeal to different genders but think that the tagline or appeal of the add does not have to change between the ads based on gender stereotypes.


  • Conclusion: 
    • My impression of the GAP is not really changed because of these 2 ads. I never really had an opinion on the company before these ads, however, I now think that the gap s a mostly stereotypical clothing brand. This kind of advertising is common in clothing where men and women are expected to wear different types of clothes based on traits that they are expected to have for better or worse. Overall I can understand why gap did these advertisements the way they did but they are still not the most correct when it comes to gender stereotypes and gender equality.

Image result for gap little scholar


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