A lot of people today put others down for saying that they are feminists. It’s seen as outdated and pointless. The fact is, the need for gender equality is still huge today.  Take advertising: adverts specifically use pink and purple colours to appeal to girls and blues and red for boys, this enforcing stereotypes from a young age. It is much more beneficial for children to experience all types of toys and games with all different colours, because this way they learn more about who they are than what society dictates they should be. If you turned on the television and saw an advert advertising a washing up liquid or any cleaning product, the fact is that the advert will probably feature a woman, whilst an advert promoting a new sports car will have a man in it, these following the well- known stereotypes of the women doing the housework at home and the man being strong and masculine. These types of adverts are so common that we hardly even notice them, but if you really watch the adverts on television, you’re unlikely to find a beer company showing a group of women drinking in a pub, or a man selling you anti-ageing cream. These adverts aren’t as harmless as you may think: you’re probably aware of the effect of advertising models on girls, making them develop eating disorders or getting depressed because of the unrealistic expectations of how they should look that have been thrust upon them by the media.  Whilst this is an incredibly important topic, it’s just as important to remember that boys who have no interest in sports are constantly bombarded with images of strong, fit men playing football and hitting on girls, and that they are consequently going to feel just as isolated and depressed.  Continue reading →