Positive Advertising Take Down Stereotypes in Girls

To write about the management of gender equality is to confront the conventions that are granted to people according to their sex within our society, therefore, one might think that this perception of the "correct behaviors" for both boys and girls are untouchable and unchangeable aspects.

However, advertising as a means that evidence these actions, is increasingly aware of its role in the creation or reinforcement of stereotypes of its advertisements in favor of the affective, physical, and intellectual development of consumers, especially if they are considering the great influence that the media have on vulnerable populations such as childhood and adolescence.

Digital natives, who tend to increasingly value advertising messages with a gender equality approach, have a lot to do with the turnaround of this less sexist and more egalitarian advertising. This perception has prompted the development of various initiatives that reward and highlight the efforts of non-sexist campaigns such as those of the company SheKnowsMedia.com, a digital platform for media and advertising companies, which delivers The #Femvertising Awards to highlight brands that challenge gender norms by creating messages and images that empower women.

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#LikeAGirl, An Expression of Pride and Acknowledgment of Something Wonderful

An example of companies that are serious about gender equality is Procter & Gamble who, during the Super Bowl 2015 broadcast, presented a commercial, in which they asked "What does it mean to do something like a girl?" It was a study to show the perception that adults and children have about doing something "like a girl." Through the "Like a Girl" campaign, the Always brand raises awareness about the impact of words on the formation of self-esteem in pre-adolescent and adolescent girls, transforming the dismissive tone of the phrase "doing things like girls" into a tool for them to feel proud and confident of doing things as what they are "like girls," and turn that expression into strength and talent.

The positive effect of the campaign was overwhelming. According to research by the same company before the campaign, only 16% of girls between the ages of 16 and 24 had a positive association with the phrase "like a girl" while after seeing the spot, 76% of the girls between that the same age range agreed that they would never again consider the phrase "like girls" as an insult.

Advertising fulfills its role of informing and/or persuading a receiver, but it also transmits a series of values ​​in its statements before which it is not only a passive issuer. It must reflect the real values ​​of women and project imaginations with which they really identify, betting on gender equality.