Unit 1 Essay

Sarah Heermann

Writ short essay 2

Bringing Home the Bacon

The different values we hold for each gender as an American culture affects how and what we eat. This bias can be seen easily through the media and ads for food, a bias that we see every day but have become immune to. Women and men strive to be portrayed differently in our society based on different values we associate with each gender.  The marketing industry and companies understand and focus on these to use them in a way that best benefits them. These different values are so strong they affect what we chose to eat, especially in front of others. Each gender is focused upon in ads in different ways to try to attract the gender that is not associated with a certain type of food in order for the company to make more profits. In this essay I will analyze two ads that exemplify the values our culture places on gender and how these affect what we eat.

In the American society, women are traditionally thought of as eating healthier, fresh foods that will allow them to keep a slim figure, while men are thought of as eating a diet mostly consisting of fatty foods containing a large dose of protein. If you walk down a weight-loss isle in the grocery store you will find more products for staying fit and burning fat aimed toward women, and products for building muscle and products containing protein aimed toward men. This bias can show up in what we feed our children even as young as a year old. According to a study done by Cornell University, gender bias affected the weight of children and how they grew:

 Gender bias in energy and protein intake favored boys; the magnitude for ages 2-5 y was 247 kJ/d. Analysis of subsequent effects showed that boys had higher rates of weight gain due to gender bias in energy intake than did girls for ages 1-2 y (0.27-0.97 kg/y), when there were no differences in illness rates due to gender bias in energy intake. For ages 1-2 years for weight and stature, the growth rate for boys was faster than that of girls by 6-49% due to gender bias. (Frongillo)

By raising our children under this bias, they grow up thinking this is the norm, and are conditioned unconsciously to make choices for meals that are gender biased, just as they were fed growing up.

            The difference in our eating is also seen by the type of advice on eating we receive and the bias in this advice.  In a website of tips for healthy eating for women, HelpGuide.org, they advise that women eat mostly fruit and vegetables, to cut back on coffee and alcohol, and to not eat much protein. (Smith) The suggestion to the lack of protein and conscious eating is opposite to the advice given to men on a different website, MedicineNet.com, which actually suggests that men worry less about losing weight and focus on trading sandwiches for junk food. (Sorgen) In the website for women they also stressed looking good to feel good; suggesting that eating healthy will lower your weight, make you thinner and simultaneously raise your self-esteem. Such a suggestion and connection was missing among the advice to men, although a few websites focused on increased sex appeal and attention from the other gender.

                        Marketers and any and all kinds of businesses associated with the food and drink industry are wise to take this gender bias that has become a part of our society and use it to their advantage.  One struggle for food companies is to sell their products to the opposite gender that is traditionally associated with their type of food. The following adds attempt to make their products seem more appealing to the gender less likely to buy their product.

My first advertisement is a more unique Dunkin’ Donuts one.

This ad focuses on feminizing doughnuts, considered an unhealthy and masculine food, and making them appeal more to females. The coloring alone, all pink, instantly gives the add a feel of femininity, alone with the close up of the models face. An interesting aspect of the add was the instant attention to the mouth of the model and how her lips match the doughnut, but what was odd was that the mouth looks bigger than the doughnut. Perhaps they wanted to focus the attention away from what society and most women consider “sinful” food and instead draw the eye to the more glamorous portrayal of the donut with the mouth imitation. The intense eye make-up also has a purpose. It makes the model seem glitzy and thus the product they are selling seem more glamorous and fashionable, and in turn more feminine. Her looking down further draws our eyes to focus on her lips otherwise we may be distracted looking into her eyes, which is what we instinctively concentrate on.

            The two simple words in this advertisement say a lot. Although they are small, they carry a big message. These simple words insinuate a sinful nature of giving into temptation. Since a fatty food such as a doughnut is not associated as a female food, eating such a doughnut could be considered as “giving into temptation” and falling off the beaten track of eating salads. A woman eating a doughnut doesn’t seem glamorous, and would likely not reflect positively on her in a social situation. Although many people would not have a problem or publically comment on a woman eating a doughnut, advertisers and the values our society hold makes a woman eating healthier foods seem more appealing. This social value is what this Dunkin’ Donut add is trying to cover up and fight in order to sell more product. As a result of this ad, woman may feel less scrutinized against or guilty eating a doughnut, however the lengths the marketers go to make this product seem so feminine point to the deep rooted value of woman eating healthy.

            This social assumption is one that I have felt and has affected how I have ordered in the past. Sitting in a restaurant with someone new I always struggle in thinking what to order, since I feel it reflects upon me. I assume men feel this way too, but the internal struggle of whether ordering a salad would make you look too self-conscious or a steak would make you look not conscious enough is most likely not as strong. However the trend women had of ordering salad on the first date is fading, according to a New York Times article restaurants are finding that more and more women are eating steak at a first date than ever before. (Salkin)

My second add I chose focuses more on how the masculine side of advertising is portrayed.

Here Pocky uses the harsher words associated with masculinity to advertise their product as fit for manly consumption. Their purposeful targeting of males is obvious since the original Pocky (the red package to the left) and the men’s Pocky (the green one to the right) have no difference in ingredients, but are packaged and sold as separate products in an attempt to sell more.  They must have found that sales among men were low, and attempted to counteract that. It is judgmental for me to say so, but a man eating Pocky does not seem like a very hard-core man. The add I show does not counteract my cultural bias very efficiently. However, it does try to make Pocky seem more manly. First off, they have the model drinking hard alcohol, not only a sign of masculinity and toughness but also of wealth, another value that our society associates with men. The same could be said about him being dresses in a tie and button-down shirt. An interesting feature is how they lighten the mood of the add by having the model pose with a comical expression, his tie is slightly loosened, his hair is long and naturally flowing, and he has some five o’clock shadow on his face. This relaxed and casual feel makes the snack more appealing as one you could just sit down to eat casually, while the dressier aspects make Pocky appear to be a slightly classy drink also. 

            Even in food ads, the difference between how genders are presented can be seen. Women generally are associated with foods that are healthier and more self-conscious, while men are generally thought of as enjoying foods that are full of fat and meat. Food ads show us the values that we as a society have.  Women are thought of as to be or should be heath conscious and thin, eating fresh foods that contain little fat.  Men should be eating hearty, greasy foods that ooze hardcore masculinity. These values can affect what and how we eat when we are consciously aware of them, and what we order at the dinner table can reflect this cultural gender bias.

Resouces

Frongillo, Begin. "Gender bias in food intake."Pubmed.gov. Cornell University, 1993. Web. 24 Apr 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8429367>.

(Frongillo)

Smith, Melinda. "EATING RIGHT TO LOOK AND FEEL YOUR BEST." Nutrition For Women. HelpGuide.org, 2012. Web. 24 Apr 2012. <http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_eating_women_nutrition.htm>.

(Smith)

Sorgen, Carol. "Experts offer some easy ways men can start making better food choices." Healthy Eating for the Average Guy. MedicineNet.org, 2012. Web. 24 Apr 2012. <http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=60537>.

(Sorgen)

Salkin, Allen. "Be Yourselves, Girls, Order the Rib-Eye."The New York Times. The New York Times, 2007. Web. 24 Apr 2012. 

(Salkin)