Watchdog bans 'harmful' gender stereotypes in adverts

[thebeave]

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46558944

The UK's advertising watchdog has said it will ban "gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence".

The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) said harmful stereotypes in adverts "contribute to how people see themselves and their role in society", and can hold some people back.

The ban will cover men struggling with household chores or girls being less academic than boys.

The rules come into force in June 2019.

Ella Smillie, a policy expert at CAP, told the BBC: "There is nothing in our new guidance to suggest that ads can't feature people carrying out gender-typical roles.

"The issue would be if in that depiction it suggested that that's the only option available to that gender and never carried out by someone of another gender.

"So for example if you had a woman doing the cleaning, we wouldn't anticipate a problem. But if you had an advert with a man creating lots of mess and putting his feet up while a woman cleaned up around him, and it was very clear that she was the only person that did that at home, that's the kind of thing that could be a problem."

 

[repoman]

These companies are doing a good job already



Comedy setups often need a straight man and funny man or a person who is the butt of the joke. People are so sensitive to women and non whites being the butt that now straight whites are mostly all that is left to take this role in these commercials