Name ______Section ______Date ______
LAB 1
OBSERVING MARKETING AND GENDER STEREOTYPING
We have discussed the fact that boys and girls generally make different choices in physical activity and sport. What we do not know is whether these gender differences are due to biological factors or to societal influences. Many argue that girls choose more passive activities and boys choose more active activities due in large part to societal influences such as the images of boys and girls in television and magazine advertisements and the ways toys and sports equipment are marketed to boys and girls.
The purpose of this lab is to examine the marketing of toys and sports equipment as well as advertising images of boys and girls (and men and women) in play and sports contexts. This lab has four parts.
1.Visit a local sports store or the sports section of a toy store. Find 10 pieces of sports equipment (e.g., balls, bats, soccer shoes, shin guards, badminton sets, bicycle helmets, goals) and examine their. Using Lab Record 1.1, note the name of the piece of sports equipment, whether it appears to be marketed for boys or girls (or both), and whether boys or girls (or both) are pictured on the package and what they are doing.
2.Examine a sport magazine such as Sports Illustrated or ESPN, the Magazine. Using Lab Record 1.2, note how many articles are dedicated to stories about men’s sports v. women’s sports. Count how many pictures you see of women doing sports versus women in advertisements for beer and other non-sport products. Finally, note what the women in these magazines are wearing (e.g., swim suit, short dresses, sports clothes).
3.Watch the commercials before, during, and after a children’s television show. Using Lab Record 1.3, note what was advertised, if the toy promoted passive or active play, if you felt the toy was marketed for boys or girls (or both), and how boys or girls (or both) were depicted in the commercial (e.g., passively sitting and watching or actively playing).
4.Summarize your findings by answering the questions in Lab Record 1.4.
Lab Record 1.1:Gender Marketing of Sports Equipment
Name of store: ______
City/state: ______
Date observed: ______
Type ofTarget marketDescription of package
sports equipment(boys or girls or both) illustrations
1.______
2.______
3.______
4.______
5.______
6.______
7.______
8.______
9.______
10.______
Lab Record 1.2: Gender Marketing in Sport Magazines
Name of magazine: ______
Date of magazine: ______
Number of articlesNumber of pictures of womenTypical apparel of women
about men’s v. engaged in sports v. sellingpictured in the magazine
women’s sportsnon-sport products(e.g., sports clothes, swimsuit)
1.______
2.______
3.______
4.______
5.______
6.______
7.______
8.______
9.______
10.______
Lab Record 1.3: Gender Marketing in TV Commercials
Name of TV station: ______
Name of TV shows: ______
Date/time observed: ______
Product Promotes activeMarketed for boys orWhat the children in the
advertisedor passive playgirls or bothad are doing
1.______
2.______
3.______
4.______
5.______
6.______
7.______
8.______
9.______
10.______
Lab Record 1.4: Summary of Findings
Payne/Isaacs, Human Motor Development: A Lifespan Approach,8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education Lab 1
1.Do you believe sports equipment is marketed more for boys than for girls? What are your reasons? Do you think marketing influences whether or not girls choose to participate in sports? Why?
2.Did you find any sports equipment that was marketed specifically for girls (e.g., WNBA endorsed basketball or Mia Hamm soccer shoes? If so, what did you find? Are there as many choices of sports equipment marketed for girls as there are for boys? What might be some of the reasons for this?
3.What are typical images of girls and women in sports magazines? Do you think this influences whether or not girls choose to participate in sports? Why?
4.When watching the TV commercials, did you see differences in the types of toys marketed for girls and for boys? What differences did you see? How might these differences affect what boys and girls choose to play with and how they play?
Payne/Isaacs, Human Motor Development: A Lifespan Approach,8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education Lab 1