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Verizon's New Commercial Deconstructs Gender Roles
June 9, 2014 by Kirstin Kelley
Verizon has released a new commercial called Inspire Her Mind. The commercial is part of a campaign to engage more women
and girls in the STEM fields.
Photo credit: Flickr user AJ Cann
and used under a Creative Commons license
Some commercials employ overused figurative
language and sexualize women, but this one is different. The new Verizon
commercial features a girl named Samantha as she grows up. Initially, she is
curious about her world and about sciences, but her well-meaning parents give
her gender-conforming messages. She is told not to get her dress dirty while at
the beach, that her science project, which she’s clearly passionate about, is
out of control, and that she should let her brother use the drill for the rocket
she is building so that she does not get hurt. By the end of the commercial,
Samantha is no longer passionate about science.
The commercial ends by pointing out that 66 percent of 4th grade girls
like science and math, but only 18 percent of college engineering majors are
female. Society determines gender roles, not biology. But society, according to
B. F. Skinner’s Social Learning Theory, plays a huge role in determining
behavior. Children begin to “do gender” at a very young age; by five years old, they
have a clear concept of not only masculinity and femininity, but also which
category they fit into. This binary system is incredibly limiting.
Not only do not all children fit cleanly into one category
or the other, but for those children that do fit into one gender or the other,
the prescribed roles may still not be the best fit. This is the problem that
Verizon is highlighting. A society that makes valuable professional
opportunities unavailable to half the population is hurting not only the kids
who are no longer considering all the options, but also the society at large
that is systematically eliminating a significant portion of the available
talent.
Verizon’s new commercial is one of many attempts to
deconstruct gender roles, and no doubt it will not be the last. These roles are
extremely dangerous because they limit opportunities, disenfranchise anyone who
does not conform, and create a power dynamic that puts men in charge, even
giving men the right to try to control women’s bodies. Inspire Her Mind is about a lot more than encouraging girls to stay
involved with the sciences. It’s about making it safe for girls to chase their
dreams.