Which gender do you prefer?

By now you probably have seen ads for clothing, shoes and toys, and a few ads for drugs, but what you may not have noticed is that they all feature a different gender.

Gender adverts are designed to highlight gender identity, gender expression and how you identify, so they often feature gender neutral images.

Advertisement for ‘The Mummy’ (left) adverts show a woman wearing a dress and carrying a purse, whilst one advert for ‘Hollywood Dolls’ (right) shows a woman in a dress with a doll in her hand.

In some ads, a woman is pictured holding a child in her arms and a man wearing a mask is holding a dog.

Gender-neutral advertising is a growing trend and many advertisers use gender neutral imagery for their ads, with a range of brands including Adidas, Nike, NikeLab and Tampax advertising gender-neutral ads for children’s clothing and footwear.

Gender advertising is not just limited to clothing, as advertisers have also used gender neutral ads for food, cosmetics and electronics, as well as for the movies ‘A Beautiful Mind’, ‘Million Dollar Baby’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

There are also several gender-affirming brands that include non-gender-specific ads in their ads for women’s clothing, and some gender-based ads for men’s and children’s products.

In an age where gender is so often defined by what we are not, it is important that we all get behind gender-inclusive advertising.

Advertisements for products can be gender-sensitive, as can the content of the ads, and gender-positive content can help the advertiser to promote gender equality.

A gender-conscious and gender neutral world, with gender-blind marketing, can make a world of difference for everyone.