Comments on: This Year in Gendered Gift Giving

By: Gender Focus | The Round-Up: Dec. 27, 2010

Gender Focus | The Round-Up: Dec. 27, 2010 — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 20:08:03 +0000

[…] Sociological Images looks at this year’s gendered online gift catalogues, taking on Chapters/Indigo, Amazon, and others. […]

By: Kimunpopular

Kimunpopular — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 20:13:00 +0000

You’ve so missed the point.

By: XXX

XXX — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:30:04 +0000

Women are not allowed to like romance movies, wine, or chocolate. It’s unfemininist.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:12:58 +0000

It’s funny, because the tips for buying for men fit for me, and most women I know. What do we like? I like music, I like books, I like history. Get me things related to those interests, and I’ll be happy. You know what doesn’t make me happy? Assuming that because I’m a girl I don’t have specified interests and I’ll just be happy with whatever pink, “sentimental” shit you find. I don’t know, I think it sends a particularly disturbing message that guys’ gifts are so often specialized – even if they all fit into stereotypes, like the “car” guy or the “outdoorsy” guy or the “army” guy – whereas women are all thought to like the same things?

I remember that as a teenager, I’d get all these generic sexist gifts from relatives who had probably used gift guides like this. I always made a point of showing them how much more excited I was by the Led Zeppelin CD from someone who actually paid attention than by the nail polish from someone who didn’t (I haven’t worn nail polish since I was 10, as long fancy nails make cello-playing kind of difficult).

By: eeka

eeka — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 03:36:12 +0000

I’m apparently male!

I love tools and geeky stuff. Hate fluffy fiction and don’t use much in the way of cosmetic stuff. Hmm…

By: Patrick M.

Patrick M. — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:18:14 +0000

Is it bad that I want most of the things designated for men?

Especially the Dublin train and the metal 20 sided dice!

By: Albert

Albert — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 21:36:29 +0000

it’s weird how stuff gets so gendered. I was buying curtains for my new student room 2 weeks ago, and they had to be sewn. The girl who sold me the curtains was in her mid-twenties, like me, and i always thought people in my Dutch student town were quite progressive. But then she said: ‘you need to find someone with a sewing machine who’ll sew them for you. Maybe your mother? Or your sister?’. I said I would try and do it myself maybe. ‘or maybe your grandmother? An Aunt?’. No, I think I’ll do it myself. ‘Maybe you have a female neighbour or roommate’?

it was ridiculous. When I went to my parents’ house to use the sewing machine, I insisted on doing it myself, and it worked out quite well, thank you very much.

By: Bri

Bri — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:54:24 +0000

Of course. Real men drink Whiskey and Rye.

By: LG

LG — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:02:08 +0000

Did anyone else notice the “Metro Man” section with a picture of a tie? That bothered me–it’s as if men who clothes must be “metrosexual” and not “normal men”, also reinforcing the heteronormative culture of “manliness”

By: Syd

Syd — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 07:07:17 +0000

Me neither. I can’t say ‘women’s gifts’ are much better, but they’re often generic enough that the recipient won’t actively DISlike it. But men’s suggestions are often sports equipment, power tools, very specific clothing choices, or ‘nerd stuff’ (compared to women’s suggested gifts, which are often jewelry, a decoration, easily adaptable clothing, or soap/lotion). Example: my father does not play sports, DIY, or do ‘nerd stuff,’ and is ridiculously picky.

By: Jirka

Jirka — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 05:38:34 +0000

Would you prefer that both genders had the same consumption preferences?

By: T

Sat, 25 Dec 2010 21:48:12 +0000

Oh, and guess what… most people don’t give a damn… because… this actually DOES reflect their sensibilities. See how that all fits together.

By: T

Sat, 25 Dec 2010 21:47:13 +0000

I’m not apathetic… I just understand basic economic principles. The companies will change their advertising if the related *purchasing* patterns shift. You can get all chicken-and-egg about this, but the truth is that X population likes Y product because they like it. And the companies will try to promote or make purchasing Y product as easy as possible for the MAJORITY.

By: tree

tree — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 19:21:58 +0000

but what’s most “tired” are the apathetic people who are constantly telling us all that it’s just the way things are so we should get used to it.

some of us critique society AND ALWAYS WILL. that’s how we negotiate for awareness and change. this will NEVER be the job of people who DON’T give a damn.

By: tree

tree — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 19:18:11 +0000

oh my god, gifts.com is right! i DO want a tiny-saurus! actually, i think the gifts.com site is the least gendered mainstream site i’ve ever seen (apart from it perpetuating the gender as binary construct).

i’m on the first page of the top picks for women and it includes a lego architects set (!!), monsterhoodies (!!!), gadget cases, ticket stub holder, kindle, as well as three or four clothing items. NGL i think that’s a pretty wide representation of choices.

what i find more interesting is the breakdown of age brackets there. you can choose between College/Young Woman, Woman (30+), or Senior Woman. so basically you’re not officially a woman until you’re 30.

meanwhile, all the stuff i like is from uncommongoods.com which is far, far more stereotypically gendered.