A new advertising campaign from clothing brand Gap has been criticized for featuring a sexist message to young boys and girls. Like many others before it, the retailer received an immense pile of criticism and outrage from people on social media.
Gap Kids' back-to-school campaign ad in the United Kingdom featured a photograph of a young boy labeled with the words "the little scholar," "genius," and "your future starts here." The boy was wearing a shirt that depicts Albert Einstein. It should be noted as well that Gap's ad misspelled the renowned theoretical physicist's surname, writing it as Einstien.
The image of the young girl, meanwhile, has the words "the social butterfly" and "the talk of the playground" on it. The child was wearing a sparkly cat-eared headband and a cream sweater with a pink "G" logo. Check out the images below.
What kind of message is this sending to our girls (and boys for that matter)? #AskHerMore #NotBuyingIt @UKGap pic.twitter.com/jXvSY5HbFF
— Miss Representation (@RepresentPledge) August 1, 2016
Psychology professors Sabrina Golonka and Andrew Wilson tweeted the photos and alerted the Let Toys Be Toys and EverydaySexism campaign groups. It was then followed by a string of outraged parents and individuals who all have accused Gap of being sexist and limiting young children's interests. Chi Onwurah, a member of the British Parliament, wrote on Twitter that the world has "a skills and productivity crisis" but Gap is still promoting gender stereotypes.
For anyone who thinks that sexist marketing to children isn't a problem... Really @UKGap ? HT @PsychScientists pic.twitter.com/BnGCQhujwG — Let Toys Be Toys (@LetToysBeToys) July 31, 2016
Gap is the latest clothing brand to stereotype boys as smart, active, and achievers but label girls as pretty and submissive -- much to the dismay of public campaigns calling for an end to gender stereotypes, The Guardian wrote. The clothes are still on display on Gap's website, but Einstein's name on the boys' shirt has been corrected.
Liz Nunan, a Gap spokeswoman, said the clothing brand "did not intend to offend anyone." She stressed that Gap brand has "always stood for individuality, optimism and creativity" and that they intend to "celebrate every child," The Huffington Post reported.
Nunan added that Gap always aims to empower young girls and the back-to-school campaign ad intends to revel in "going back to school in comfort" both in your attire and in being yourself. As for the spelling mistake, Nunan said it was "an unfortunate oversight" and the actual item doesn't display the error. Aside from "The Little Scholar" and "The Social Butterfly" labels, Gap's website also features a young girl bearing "The Adventurer" tag and a boy called "The Comedian."
