Television has long been a perpetrator of gender stereotyping. One of the biggest perpetrators of gender stereotyping is food commercials, especially fast food. Fast food commercials are visceral and try to play to our senses in order to awaken within us a need for the delicious looking food presented on the screen in front of us. I expect that I will find that restaurants that appeal to a lower socioeconomic group will have higher incidences of gender stereotyping in their advertising. If we cannot even look at the food we eat without having gender stereotypes rammed down our throat, how can we possibly move past it?
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Gender stereotyping is worldwide, each culture creating its own image of what a man and woman should be like. Personally, I think this alienates those who do not fit into these gender roles. I do not think I have ever seen a fast food commercial where a gay couple is seen buying food for their children. And I have rarely seen commercials showing men buying their children a happy meal. The fact that we do not acknowledge the different types of people in our advertising helps create the stigmas that prove detrimental to creating a fairer image of the sexes.