Comments on: Best Buy Assumes All Customers Are Male

By: Traitorfish

Traitorfish — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:58:05 +0000

I’m up in the air as to whether the ad is an example of “masculine is neutral”, or whether the article is an example of “neutral is masculine”. I’m leaning towards the former, obviously, but I can’t but feel that the latter isn’t *entirely* incorrect; even if a tie can be assumed to be masculine, I wouldn’t see a camera as such, especially not in the context of the audience of an electronics retailer. Cameras, are, in fact, one of the electronic products I would’ve considered to be free of the stereotypical association with the “male gadget-geek” demographic.

I also think it’s possible that there isn’t really a female equivalent to the stereotypical male Bad Gifts of ties and socks; the generic female gift is perfume or bath products, which are, to a lot of people, not so much “bad” as “not particularly thoughtful”. (My GF and an old school friend have an understanding that they exchange just such gifts at Christmas, something which I can’t imagine anyone doing in regards to a tie.) It may simply be that our culture lacks the appropriate gender-neutral language for communicating the concept of the generic “bad gift”.

By: Jacki

Jacki — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:12:20 +0000

This is likely the fault of the email marketing team that sends out Best Buy’s emails, NOT best buy. Big corporations pay email marketers to segment and deploy and sometimes create/design their emails. Looks like the box for Sex in their database was either M for some reason or the segment pulled was wrong. I’m just saying, if Best Buy knows about this, they are already asking for a credit or a database udpate asap.

By: Male as the Neutral Default » Sociological Images

Male as the Neutral Default » Sociological Images — Mon, 24 May 2010 16:46:46 +0000

[...] non-default one. For instance, “regular” t-shirts are men’s, Best Buy assumes customers are male, stick figures on signs are generally male, and default avatars tend to be [...]

By: SimWebb

SimWebb — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 22:39:11 +0000

Cuz men (as with white, straight, and middle-class) is what is known as the Unmarked Category. Considered normal, it doesn’t need to be mentioned. It’s worth noting if someone’s black, but if they’re white, their race is much less-frequently pointed out- think of someone describing to you one of their friends who you don’t know. You wouldn’t expect them to mention sexuality or race, especially, unless they were other than straight, white.
Gender and class are a bit different in this context (gender would definitely be mentioned, class rarely) but most of culture, e.g. books, videos, etc. is usually implicitly addressed to the unmarked category unless EXPLICITLY stated otherwise.

By: Who Buys For the Family? » Sociological Images

Who Buys For the Family? » Sociological Images — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:14:10 +0000

[...] A. sent in a Zellers sale flyer that is really interesting in light of the recent post we did on a Best Buy promotion. Whereas the Best Buy promotion was aimed directly at men, you’ll see that this flyer, for a [...]

By: Pink sparkly linkspam (November 16th, 2009) | Geek Feminism Blog

Pink sparkly linkspam (November 16th, 2009) | Geek Feminism Blog — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:09:50 +0000

[...] apps for girls, Best Buy assumes all customers are male, [...]

By: bobsfrankenbeans

bobsfrankenbeans — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:47:03 +0000

[*of* a tie] – whups.

By: bobsfrankenbeans

bobsfrankenbeans — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:46:06 +0000

but… maybe the issue is that they imply that the tie would be a bad gift because she IS a woman, and only men would receive (and not enjoy the gift) or a tie…

By: McT

McT — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:29:35 +0000

http://www.wildties.com/browse/accessories/womens_accessories/womens_neckties

;)
Valid point, just thought I would be winding you up a but with the link :)

I tend to be a dreamer and my vision of equality is, as you said, of the “magical society-free vacuum” type.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:53:24 +0000

Very well said, Cycles.

By: Cycles

Cycles — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:35:54 +0000

Nobody is saying individual women cannot wear neckties, or will not start wearing them later. In a magical society-free vacuum, a necktie would just be another piece of cloth.

But in this world, today, a necktie has a meaning. The advertiser used it to represent an idea that’s generally recognized by most viewers. It’s why they chose that particular image. Necktie means “bad gift.” But it also means “something men wear.”

The next time you walk into a department store, please show me the women’s necktie section. The problem being discussed here isn’t that women don’t wear neckties; it’s that the ad uses a male-coded image to represent a universal idea, and that this particular ad is part of a larger phenomenon where the male identity and experience is treated as the generic default.

By: McT

McT — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:24:53 +0000

Exactly what I was trying to say, you just did it better and simpler :)

By: A

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:46:50 +0000

For a blog that has a lot of articles show casing sexism in the media, shouldn’t they relink back to this post in the future? Saying that one particular item of clothing and a piece of electronics is for men only, that seems rather sexist.

By: Quijotesca

Quijotesca — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:46:40 +0000

Obamama? Wow. Must’ve been some sort of Freudian typo. ;p

By: Quijotesca

Quijotesca — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:45:24 +0000

I just get “Obama wants to give moms money!” a lot. I got “Obamama wants to give women” money twice. What I really hate is fertility clinic ads, though.