Ellen, Rangers and Miley: Marketing Gender Confusion Or Confusing Gender Marketing

Ellen, Rangers and Miley: Marketing Gender Confusion Or Confusing Gender Marketing

Recent news developments are increasing public discourse about gender equality, sexual identity and personal empowerment.  Marketers are taking notice and developing strategies to capitalize on this opportunity.  They should consider some form of protection to minimize significant risk.

Two women graduated from the demanding Army Ranger school  last week, the first females to pass the course recognized as the most grueling physical and psychological challenge in the service.  Although the women performed the same tasks as their male counterparts in the program and may wear the Ranger patch on their uniforms, they are still barred from serving in a Ranger unit.

The public release of user email addresses and other details from the Ashley Madison infidelity website database by the Impact Team hacker collective provided a counterpoint to the positive story about the female Rangers.  Although sympathy in the media for the victims of this breach was in short supply, some point out that most men on the site were using it mostly to chat with each other and that there are many other reasons besides betraying a spouse why men and women would seek out the service.

The third related issue is the explosion of opinion and confusion surrounding gender and sexual orientation that began with the Caitlyn Jenner story.  Gender identity and sexual orientation are separate issues as Jenner states "like apples and oranges."  Propelling the conversation are gender-neutral personas of celebrities including Miley Cyrus who do not affiliate with either gender.   

Good marketing operations have the foresight to recognize the tipping point where public attention meets marketing opportunity.  The GapKids brand  recently teamed with media personality Ellen DeGeneres to create x ED, a collaboration between the children's label and DeGeneres' ED line.  The collection promotes a 'non gender specific' style that encourages girls "to be themselves and take pride in who you are" according to a Gap statement.  Six girls between ages seven and twelve act as spokeswomen and models for the brand.  But a non-gender specific fashion collection marketed to girls lacks authenticity when it is not inclusive of boys and exacerbates the same problem that DeGeneres and Gap claim to address.

These situations are complex and fluid.  The triumph of the female Army Rangers is blunted by them being barred from serving in a Ranger unit.  The targets of the Ashley Madison data breach do not all fall into the same morally bankrupt category.  The focus on the transgender community has increased awareness but not necessarily understanding or acceptance.  The social benefit of marketing a non-gender specific line of clothes to girls and not to boys speaks more to market research than it does to gender(less) equality.  

Successful marketing initiatives take early advantage of shifts in societal perceptions about controversial issues.  As x ED illustrates, the consequences may include unintended results that are as polarizing, mis-characterized, hypocritical and confusing as the ideas that inspired them.

Let me know your thoughts.