The problem with banning ‘harmful gender stereotypes’
by Will Jones, Faith and Politics:
The ban on ‘harmful gender stereotypes’ in advertising comes into force today. According to guidance issued last December by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), part of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), such stereotypes need to be banned because they are lowering viewers’ self-esteem, which is limiting ‘their aspirations and ability to progress in key aspects of their personal and professional lives’.
What kind of thing does the ASA have in mind? Examples given in the guidance include an ad showing ‘a man being adventurous juxtaposed with a woman being delicate or dainty,’ and an ad implying that a person’s ‘physique is a significant reason for them not being successful, for example in their romantic or social lives’.
A ban on depicting such images of men and women does seem to smack of social engineering. After all, men do often like to be adventurous and women often are delicate and dainty – and many men and women find such features appealing in themselves and attractive in one another. It feels a little like trying to ban human nature, trying to outlaw natural desire.
It also means that instead advertisers will have to depict other, perhaps less typical and alluring scenarios, say with well-built women impressing dainty men. Each to their own, for sure – but is it really reasonable or liberal to ban the one but not the other, purely because one is deemed to be a ‘stereotype’? What is the difference here really between a stereotype and what many people happen to do and like? Is romance a stereotype? From the writings of many feminists you would certainly get that impression.
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