Gender Roles in Relation to
Products and Professions

I am working on gender roles for my thesis topic. My research has informed me on how they are a social construct built and defined by societies that we get accustomed to since our early stages of childhood. These social constructs are so well ingrained in our society that identifying them as the root cause for many of our choices becomes difficult. Through my project I want to highlight these social patterns that have shaped us and our choices based on our gender. Sometimes we fall victim to such ideas and the other times we are perpetuating them. In my research I am exploring how specific objects/products are marketed and sold in a manner that suggests and therefore normalizes the use of them by a specific gender. Starting from the distinction between toys for girls in comparison to those for boys and leading to professions being viewed as gender typed, everything has been laid out for us. My whole idea is to challenge and question these gender based ideas because of which we may never have discovered ourselves freely and beyond the narrowed view that the society has laid down for us, regarding our gender. Various socializing agents like parents, teachers and markets play a huge role in defining what is for which gender which in return informs our smallest of decisions to the biggest without us being aware (sometimes) hence, through my project I want my viewer to be more mindful of such ideas and consciously think about how we as individuals are adding to them. For my research and personal analysis on the given topic I am referring to studies being conducted in relation to gender roles and also articles written on it.