Kittel

The popular culture artifact I will explore this semester is the brand/store “Coach”.



February 21, 2010 What Would Linda Parsons Say? In Linda Parson’s article, she described the different fairytales and how women are portrayed in the fairytales and how it relates to how woman are treated in society. She also discusses the differences between traditional and feminist fairy tales and how the characters are different.

One of the first points that Parson’s makes is that “fairy tales are sites for the construction of appropriate gendered behaviors…a kind of script for acceptable forms of feminine and masculine behavior” (135). I agree with this quote because the way little girls seem to act is based upon the princess stories they watch and read about when they are young. Based on the princess stories girls are supposed to be beautiful, wear pretty dresses, and find their prince (137). As young girls get older they tend to focus on looking beautiful and basically dressing the "part" of being a princess. They start to wear makeup, buy more flashy clothing and as I recalled, bought a purse for the first time. We seem kind of strict in our differences between boys and girls especially when they are younger. Children at a young age have developed a greater awareness of gender roles and restrictions and are able to understand the stereotypes (142). In stores the girl and boy toys are clearly separate. The girl toys are dolls, Barbie, princess, playing house supplies and the boys are cars, robots, and more outside themed. The girls toys are based on the stereotypical house work mom and the boys toys are more aimed for violence and are more constructive. Princess stories seemed to be just for girls, but why can’t a boy like them too? I have a younger brother and when we were little his favorite movie was “Cinderella”. My parents didn’t mind at all because they see themselves as open minded but we had other relatives that would make fun of him. Soon enough he would say that he hated Cinderella because he was tired of people making fun of him. My younger sister was also the total opposite of the gender stereotype. She was definitely a tomboy and was at sometimes more boyish than my little brother. They were close in age so that might have had some factor into it, but in either case what makes it wrong for them to like the same things or be total opposites? They both turned out perfectly normal (from what we know) and are actually the opposites of what they were when they were growing up.

Linda Parsons would say that her article relates to my artifact because many women use purses and we see them as only a female accessory. I'm not sure when this first began, but the way I look at it maybe a purse is seen as more feminine because a purse holds so much. Women are seen as the caregiver and a mom is seen as a woman who is very prepared for anything pertaining to her children and has all their necessities with her. mom is seen as a woman who is very prepared for her children and has all their necessities. Most women tend to have purses that are very large and definitely hold more than what they really need it to have in it such as keys, wallet and cell phone. Purses also hold feminine products that men don't need to carry around with them. Some men have bags that they use to carry supplies for them, but they are constantly ridiculed because society sees a man carrying a bag and that makes him feminine or “gay”. Why can’t a man carry a bag that seems similar to a purse? (Just like why can’t a boy like a princess movie) Surprisingly, Coach actually has a men’s section and although it is rather small because their main focus is women, they do have bags for men. They aren’t called purses but instead they are called messenger bags, shoulder bags, satchels, totes, and carryalls. Maybe one day men will be able to carry a bag similar to a purse and not feel less masculine because of it.

Coach is the most popular brand of purses right now and a lot of women have them. It actually surprises me that Coach is so popular because they are not cheap at all. So not only is there a feminine quality to them but they also hold a status as well. This may relate to the article because being a princess and finding your prince is a way of obtaining status as well. Many women seem to buy a Coach purse because they are popular and everyone who knows what Coach is knows that they aren't cheap.

In conclusion, the article discusses the ways in which children are taught early on the differences between boys and girls especially in the way they dress and the toys they play with. It seems as though anyone who changes the stereotype is seen as weird and isn't accepted easily in society. The main point though is that we should all be more open minded and even though this is how we learned to be when we were younger we should accept others who are different. Who ever said that purses were just for girls?

February 28, 2010 What would Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario say?

In Rozario’s article she described the differences between the Princess stories of the original Walt Disney versus the Princesses created by Team Disney now days. Walt Disney’s princesses were more focused on the events happening in the world then, and the princesses today are more like revisions of the past and making the stories more modern. As Rozario states in her article “The magic Kingdom…is a timelessness continuously updated and re-invented by the studios and makers.”(36). As we also discussed in class the revisions are almost just another way to get people to buy all the newer merchandise and it is all based on consumerism.

Everything in our world is being revised to maintain the popular demands of people. We always want the best and new products to stay modern. This relates to my artifact because as Coach is the most popular purse company they too are always keeping up with the new “in” items. In order for Coach to stay popular they have to constantly make new purses for people to like and buy.

Coach used to be very simple and mainly consisted of plain leather purses in very dull colors. And as their way of revising their merchandise they make it more exciting and draw in lots of people so that they can sell more items. This is much like Disney because the princess movies are always revised to excite the new little girls and not many little girls would want to watch an older movie, they want a new one. “Disney actually maintains her contemporaneity in its dual aspects: maintain the original design, while renewing its appeal by re-rendering her in new releases, marketing and merchandising” (36). Although in some cases it is the exact same movie just on a different format such as DVD, it is still revised and changed a little bit. And the same thing goes with the Coach purse. Although a purse is a purse, it is constantly revised a little here and there. Women constantly want a new one. Some women seem to be obsessed with keeping up with the trends and to keep up they will buy the new "in" purse even though it could be basically the same as the last one.

Our world is based on consumerism and our world is constantly making revisions to suit our needs. If products weren’t altered then we would still be stuck using the same products people did a while back. We do have new technologies which is why there is a demand for revised products but they are all merely the same item and serve the same purpose whether it be a Coach purse or a Disney movie.

Old Coach purse versus the New Coach Purse:

March 7, 2010 What would Lisa Hager say?

In Hager’s article she discussed the ways in which the Powerpuff Girls are somewhat in the middle of the stereotypical shows that little boys and girls watch. Girls’ shows are usually shows like Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony and the boys’ shows were more super hero shows, and are more violent (63). The Powerpuff girls are seen as more of a gender neutral show because they are girls but also super heroines and “Save the world before Bedtime”. Hager describes a difference between girl’s cool, and girlish cuteness (64). Girl’s cool is seen as more sexual, and fashionable. Versus cool for boys is violence and extreme strength. The boys’ cool and girlish cuteness are mixed together and that is what the Powerpuff Girls are. They are easier to appeal to girls because the super heroes are girls, and then they might also appeal to boys because the show is more violent and they have to defeat the villains. Because boys are seen as more cool and girls are seen as more cute after they are merged together they can appeal easier to a range from girly girls to young boys.

And how does this relate to Coach you ask? The brand Coach has many different styles that many people can enjoy. They have a wide range some being more girly, artistic, professional, fun, etc and many girls (or even guys) that like Coach can easily find a style that they enjoy. They don’t just have purses but shoes, watches and many other accessories that a variety of women can enjoy. This relates to the Powerpuff girls because like the show, Coach can also be enjoyed by a wide range, like I said before from being girly or even tomboys. Coach has the same quality of girlish cuteness and girl’s cool. I think that sometimes just thinking about a purse people automatically assume it’s really girly, but with Coach they have such a variety that some of the styles aren’t really that close to one another (besides all having the same C’s on them, the Coach logo).

My sister and I are complete opposites, (me being more girly and her being more tomboy) and yet we both love Coach and can still find styles that we enjoy. Just because purses are seen as more of a girl accessory doesn’t mean that tomboys or men can’t find a style that they like and I think Coach does a pretty good job at incorporating all types of styles. I think it is because of their diversity that really makes them so popular, much like the Powerpuff Girls being diversified also makes them popular to kids as well.

Here is just a small sample of the variety of purses and shoes that they have to offer.



March 14, 2010 What Would Kelly Schrum say?

Kelly Schrum’s article discusses the emergence of magazines aimed towards young adults (teenagers), such as Seventeen. She discusses how magazines are used as a way to advertise, and talk about issues young girls are having. Her article states, “Advertisers began to focus on creating and appealing to consumer anxiety” (135). Magazines are seen as kind of an easy way to advertise popular brands, and products. And magazines are found everywhere. If you have a dentist appointment you sit in the waiting room and what’s all around you? Magazines! No matter where you go you are constantly seeing advertisements.

Some people are constantly buying new items to stay in with the new trends and what better way to find the new trends then to pick up a magazine. Magazines aim towards appearance, grooming, clothes, postures, figure and weight (138). Kelly Schrum would say this relates to Coach because it is often seen in magazines. There are sometimes articles that show readers what brands are popular at the moment and what to get as accessories. And what teen age girl doesn’t want to be popular? Although I think Coach is seen as a very sophisticated brand aimed towards women, I often see many teen girls carrying them around. Teens are very easily persuaded and magazines have a way with wording and makes young girls believe that if they buy a certain product that they can be just like the person featured in the magazine. The article states, “it could move people to believe in it enough to want to buy products in the magazine” (141). I believe this is very true. When I was younger and would read magazines and would see a model using a product, I would automatically want to buy that same product and use it. And not only would I like the product but then I would tell my friends about it and then they would sometimes buy the same thing. So not only is the advertising for the reader but then her friends follow as well. It is a very slick way of advertising. And I constantly see articles in magazines about what purses are “in” and they sometimes have pictures with celebrities and their purses. Young girls are easily persuaded and when they see someone like Paris Hilton for example carrying a Coach purse, they too want to be able to have that purse.

I found some Coach ads that I examined and the first Coach ad I found says "because she's stylish". So the way I interpreted it was that they are saying in order to be stylish you need to have a Coach purse. And the message is that the girl in the ad is stylish because of the purse. I think young girls take that message literally and that's why they are obsessed with buying new items to be popular. They want to be stylish and popular, therefore they "need" that Coach purse.

The other ad I found for Coach says "Upgrade you". When I saw that ad I first thought what they are saying is that if you don't have Coach then you aren't in style and need to upgrade yourself to be popular. I think anyone would think that way as well. Just like my previous article discussed, people are constantly upgrading themselves to stay in style. The Coach ad is just emphasizing on how you must keep upgrading yourself which again is conforming to consumerism.

Magazines are a very useful tool for advertising, and I would think any smart company would utilize that tool to appeal to many people and keep their products popular so they can sell more. By advertising their newest merchandises and using phrases such as "because she is stylish" and "upgrade you" I think some people do take those phrases literally and go out and buy the newest trend.

Coach ad:

March 21, 2010 What would Brumberg say?

In Brumberg's reading Sanitizing Puberty: The American Way to Menstruate, the author discusses the differences in the cycle of menstruation from the past and to how it has changed in more recent days. The main difference is how the girls learn about menstruation and how they keep it "in line" so to speak.

The article states that "over the course of the past century, there has been a shift in the way menstruation is viewed and handled." In the past mothers would typically focus on the emotional aspect of menstruation but in more recent times they stress the importance of the external body and maintaining hygiene (brumberg). In my opinion I believe that this seems to be true in our culture. Although menstruation is still seen as a stage where girls become women, I think mothers and daughters stress more about the hygiene aspect and focus on how to make this situation as easy as possible. To make this step in life a little easier for girls the new disposable napkins were the right invention and "promised less work, more comfort, greater mobility, and a germ-free environment" for young girls (brumberg). The new products to use and hide their period made menstruation more private for girls. But as new techniques arose for staying clean while menstruating, this whole "becoming a woman" stage for girls just became a consumerism. "By creating a profit-making enterprise from adolescent self conscious, sanitary products industry paved the way for the commercialization for other areas of the body as well" (brumberg).

Although it may not be evident at first glance but purses play a huge role in the menstruation process. I think that purses were mainly created for women to be able to carry their feminine products with them where ever they go. Although purses hold more than just that, I think that since menstruation was supposed to be more hidden that purses were created to do that. In the article it discusses the rituals for young adults becoming women, and one example was how girls and their mothers characteristically head for the mall to purchase products such as bras, and lipsticks (brumberg). This sort of outing was basically what happened when I became an adult. I remember my mom and I going shopping for such products but then a purse was also included in the mix. The purse was actually very important to be able to carry around the feminine products around school easily. Most girls start go carry purses around school around middle school and then use purses basically for the rest of their lives. Because purses are used to carry feminine products it makes it more normal for younger girls to use them.

Again we see another example of how everything in our life is basically consumerism and we have to buy products to make our lives better. Women use purses to carry all their necessities easily wherever they go, and to conform to consumerism and to stay popular they are constantly buying the most popular purses. Menstruation usually starts in middle school so what better age to aim more consumer products to than the adolescent teens who are easily influenced? 

April 4, 2010 What would Elizabeth E. Heilman and Trevor Donaldson say?

In this article, the authors discuss the feminist representations of gender in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. They discuss the importance of the male characters such as Harry, and Ron as they also discuss the “less important” female roles in the novels like Hermione. Males in the Harry Potter books are represented as wiser, braver, more powerful and more fun than females. And opposite of the males, the females are represented as not typically involved, fearful and emotional (146). The article then discusses the ways the male characters and female characters are in all the books. The author’s somehow related the magical, fantasy of Harry Potter to real life situations of teens.

The author’s go on describing one of the main characters, Hermione and how she goes through a physical transformation to look prettier. They relate this to real life and how women are constantly changing themselves because they dislike their natural appearance. And to do so they purchase a variety of products and perform a range of beauty regimens that can be painful and even life threatening (152). When women buy beauty products, they want to be able to carry them wherever they go. Makeup products are made so they are compact and can be carried around easily and able to apply when needed. A purse is used for the purpose to be able to carry female products so you can use them whenever you need to. The article also states, “In a capitalistic system, the creation of an insecure female helps to sell clothes, accessories, and various beauty products and processes” (152). In Harry Potter I think that the girls that enjoy the books look up to Hermione, but when she starts to feel insecure about her looks and changes herself to feel pretty, the girls who look up to her will start to feel the same way. There are so many beauty products the girls feel they should buy to make themselves feel prettier. You can’t even watch a show on tv without seeing a commercial about some type of beauty product. The purse is needed then to be able to carry all the beauty products that companies are selling for people to look better.

Not only does this article discuss the insecurities of the female characters, but it also talks about the strong male characters as well as the weaker ones. In Harry Potter the boys seem to be stereotypically portrayed with the strong, adventurous, independent type male as the hero. The weak unsuccessful male is mocked and sometimes despised (155). While Harry and Ron seem to be important strong heroic roles, some characters such as Professor Flitwick are portrayed the opposite. Because of Flitwicks “Swish and flick” method, he seems to be characterized as being gay in our societies terms (157). This goes along with purses because purses are seen as a feminine product and men who use them are too characterized as gay. Just because a man uses a purse, or a few words that sound feminine, doesn’t always mean that he is gay. But our society likes to point the finger and assume. The article discusses that gay young people, and young people who do not conform to dominant gender ideologies seem to be picked on more (157). There is some proof for this statement because in Harry Potter the weak, feminine male characters are picked on by the stronger masculine characters. And also in real life situations, the man carrying the purse is most often criticized because a purse is often seen as a feminine product. “The boys who do not measure up to the masculine ideal are consistently derided and excluded from participation in school social life” (158). This just shows that in real life and the fantasy world, the weak are often picked on for being different than the stereotypical identities of males and females.

I never would have thought that Harry Potter could really relate to real life situations and furthermore relate to the use of purses. Young girls are constantly trying to change themselves to match societies expectations by buying beauty products to change their natural appearance. The purse has helped to keep track of all the beauty supplies they carry around all the time. Young boys who aren’t the stereotypical strong hero are constantly ridiculed as wimpy and gay because of the way they are.

April 11, 2010 What would Catherin Beavis and Claire Charles say?

In this article the authors discussed how video games are veered more towards males. They did a study on the computer game The Sims and how young boys and young girls played and reacted to the game. The conclusion was basically that the boys played the game in a more aggressive manner and the girls were more about decorating and having the best lifestyle for their Sim.

The main point of this article I would say is the topic brought up about how video games are part of a masculine culture (357). The fact is that more boys tend to play video games and when they do they are more violent. When girls play the same game that the boys are playing, they tend to be more nurturing and motherly. The article states that computer games “taught children to replicate the separation between a male public sphere of risk-taking and a female domestic sphere of caretaking” (359). The fact of the matter is that while the masculine culture is video games, could the female culture be shopping? (which would associate with purses and fashion)

Ever since I was younger, I did tend to associate video games with boys and shopping with girls which is how we are brought up to be. And now it still seems predominantly that way. Both males and females desire social experiences, but in different ways. Males primary form of leisure is spending time playing the newest game for the newest game consol. Females tend to socialize and make relationships as their source of leisure time (362). What girls seem to do best during their leisure time is shop, and to go shopping, you need something to carry your money and everything else your little heart desires to carry so you need a purse. I see a correlation between a purse for girls and a video game for boys. Both seem to play an important role in the way each gender grows up. If a boy carries a purse (as stated in my previous articles) he is seen as gay or very feminine. The same goes for females, if they tend to play more video games in our society they are seen as more masculine or tomboy.

Our society is very picky on maintaining the “normal” gender ideology. If something is changed or different we hear about it all the time and that person who acts against the norm is often ridiculed. For the most part I still see video games as a masculine culture and purses as a feminine culture. Although there are some exceptions there haven’t been any dramatic changes. 

April 25, 2010 What would Sherrie A. Inness say? (Anti-Barbies)

In Sherrie Inness’s article titled “Anti-Barbies” she discusses the American girl dolls and how they influence the lives of little girls. The article mainly talks about the ideologies of children’s toys and how they influence the way the children learn how to be and act. Even though we don’t think about it while we are purchasing specific toys, they are “enforcing gender-specific behaviors”(169). Not only does the author discuss the differences in toys for each gender, she also discusses political forms evident in the American girl dolls. These politics are Politics of advocacy, attack or assent (171).

A lot of children’s toys, if not all, represent specific ways in which children should act and grow up. The author states, “the American girl dolls also convey a variety of ideological messages about how girls should mature into women; these messages while not necessarily harmful, need to be examined to understand how girls are being socialized not only in American Girls collection but by girls culture in general” (170). For Barbie for example, girls tend to think they need to be blonde, thin, pretty, love shopping and dressing up. Oh yeah, and love the color pink. This could be maybe where the ditzy blonde stereotype began. While Barbie loved shopping, girls also loved to shop and again the purse plays an important role in this. Girls are taught very early on that they are the ones who are supposed to carry a purse and shop. Boys are supposed to play outside and get dirty. Children really look up to older adults to be there role models. I think this is one reason why Coach is becoming more popular for younger and younger girls. They see older women carrying beautiful Coach purses and then they too want to have one.

Sherrie also discusses the political forms of advocacy, attack and assent. The article states that “the politics of advocacy serves the aims of indoctrination, urging a particular value system or course of action or attempting to enforce a set of behavioral norms (172). I think that Sherrie would explain politics of advocacy by saying that the behavioral norms for little girls is that they should carry a purse and that boys shouldn’t. If boys in our society carry a purse (as presented in previous entries) they are seen as gay and out of the norm. But girls are supposed to carry purses and shop. The same also goes for girls because if they don’t like shopping or purses they are also seen as “different”. This makes it harder for those children who don't act the way society expected to be able to fit in.

The politics of attack is supposed to be like the opposite of politics of advocacy. This is stated as a sense of amusement, outrage or contempt when someone encounters something that is opposite such as the concept of right and wrong, good and evil etc (173). To relate this to a Coach purse I think that Sherrie would say this goes along with the assumption that if a boy likes purses and carries a purse he is “gay”. What is wrong with the boy who wants to have a purse, and why is he different? Coach does have a men’s section with purses, wallets, shoes and other accessories. But I think that even though they do have a men’s section now in the most feminine based brand, they are still trying to make it as “manly” as possible by calling purses other names instead of “purse”. The names for the "man bags" are names such as satchels, messenger bags, and totes. But no where on the men's section does it mention the word purse. This may help society steer away from assuming that men who carry Coach are gay.

The last politic that the author explains is politics of assent. This politic works to affirm ideologies generally prevalent in the society (175). Politics of assent is a little harder for me to understand but I would say that this is presented with Coach because Coach is such a strong brand for women. Like the American girl dolls are seen as the American-centric view with their books dolls and other items (175), the Coach purses are seen as very womanly centric because of the very feminine look and just the fact that they have heels, purses, scarves and other accessories that are very womanly. They also discuss in the article that the politics of assent is more of a vision of America as superior to other countries and people assume that it is true (176). This goes along with Coach because it is such a popular brand that some people may make it seem like Coach is the best and no other brand is good enough. Then other people will also believe in that and who really knows what the top brand is? A purse from Target could be just as reliable and it still holds all your belongings just a couple hundred dollars cheaper.

Society is slowly changing but the majority of young children are still learning their ideologies just like we all did when we were kids. Boys should play with cars, girls should play with dolls. But who knows maybe there will be a time when everyone can play with everything and it will be alright.

April 25, 2010 What would Sherrie Inness say? (It’s a Girl Thing)

This article is very similar to the previous article by Sherrie Inness because it discusses the gender ideologies again present in children. It discusses the difference in heroic action figures and the popularity among boys and girls. We all know who G.I. Joe is (I’m assuming) and we all associate him with boys because of his strong and heroic aspects. Although we don’t really realize it sometimes there is a significant difference between boys and girls toys. Barbie is sweet and innocent always the caregiver and wanting to shop, while G.I. Joe is macho with weapons and very fierce. But what happens when female characters enter into the action figure world?

Although men action figures are the majority of the population of action figures overall, there are some women entering that field. “Formally dominated by men, this arena now includes a rowing group of women” (75). G.I. Joe didn’t have many female characters, they have changed that a little bit by adding in some but still the majority remains to be men. The action figure world is dominated by male characters as the “Coach world” is dominated by women. Although there is a male section for Coach online, they don’t really have much to choose from. There colors are also very plain such as black, red, and navy. But the women’s section is dominated by vibrant colors and has so many different purses. This may also show how women are allowed to like bright colors and to be masculine men are supposed to only like the dull general colors. It could take me minutes to look at the men’s section but hours to look at the women’s section. This just shows kind of how women and men have their own worlds dominated by themselves. In the G.I. Joe world women are secondary to men (78). But then in the Coach world men seem secondary to women.

Sherrie Inness discusses how action figures were first started and why G.I. Joe was introduced. The article confers that “boys would not play with “dolls” so the company wanted to create something a bit more “macho”, something that would be more toy soldier than doll but be as big a seller with boys as Barbie was with girls” (77). Like stated in other entries of mine, again consumerism plays a big part. They want to make a big profit and be popular just like Barbie. Basically what the article is saying to me is that the dolls had to be altered because they weren’t “macho” enough for boys to play with. This relates to purses because maybe men don’t want to use purses because they too aren’t “macho” enough for them. Maybe if we made them manly more of them would want to use them so they wouldn’t be seen as feminine. I guess the way to make them more macho would be to conform to the stereotypical macho look for men which could be things such as camouflage.

This article somewhat overlaps with what the last article was talking about how ideologies of gender are created while young children play with toys and which toys they play with the most. I don’t want to get too repetitive with the other article, but the last example I would like to give is about the female characters that were introduced into the action figure world. While G.I. Joe and other male characters carry weapons and looked very masculine, the female characters were quiet different. Bionic Woman which was a popular action figure for both boys and girls, carried a mission purse with cosmetics and a picture of her boyfriend (82). While reading this I automatically realized that the reason she was feminized was because she was carrying a purse, proving that purses are intended for women. This also goes along with showing that women care more about their personal looks.

As we grow up we learn the differences between genders and what is accepted in our society. We also have to keep changing and learn what is newly popular and go along with our society in order to fit in. Women seem to always be the ones carrying the purse, shopping and worrying about their appearance while men want to be masculine and the most "macho". 

May 9,2010 What would Sharon Lamb and Lyn Mikel Brown Say?

The authors of this article, “Pretty in Pink: What Girls Wear” really stresses the difference between girls fashion and boys fashion from everyday clothes to Halloween costumes. It seems as though girls are taught early on to be fashionable and boys clothes are more simple and practical. The article also stresses how the differences in clothing types influence how the children will be in their future.

Not only are girls taught early on that they are supposed to be more fashionable, but they are also influenced to wear more adult type clothing at a younger age. The authors affirm that “Many brands now market clothing in sizes 4-16, which means your little girl can be very much the big girl” (13). This statement is sad to me because kids should be kids and they have their whole life to worry about what they are wearing; why not let them have the freedom to dress comfortable and wear what they want? I also think that if young kids are wearing clothing to make them look older, then there is no innocence left and kids should be innocent.

I also think that the authors would see Coach as a way of taking away little girls innocence as well. Coach is a very safisticated brand of purses and when I see younger girls carrying Coach purses I see their innocence taken away. And I think it is because Coach is a very expensive brand, so who would buy a Coach purse for a child except the mother? Parents are a strong influence on the things kids wear because they buy it for them (14). This reminds me of my cousin who has two younger daughters that are both under the age of 3. She is obsessed with Coach purses so she buys her young daughters Coach wristlets (small purses that hang on just the wrist) to play with. The authors suggest that, “Little girls are enticed to look older” (16). Purses are used for adult women to keep their wallet and feminine products and to be able to carry everything so it is easier. What really does a little girl need a purse for? Or like the article states, “What do they put in the purses?” (16) I see purses as a toy for little girls so that they can pretend to be their moms and shop, which seems to be the ultimate job for women. The article also declared that there are purse play sets for young girls equipped with a wallet, credit card and makeup compact (16). This not only tells girls implicitly that they should spend money and go shopping, but also that they have to look good and keep up their appearance.

The article discusses a lot of unpracticle clothing styles for girls as well. They discuss the problem with the image of girls as athletes and that there aren’t really any serious athletic appearal for young girls. “Shopping: the real exercise for girls” (18). This again shows that young girls should just go shopping and conform to the ideologies of society, girls like to shop and look good. And the article also proclaims that clothing can discourage girl athletes but we train girls to be shoppers as soon as they are old enough (18). Girls shouldn't be discouraged to be athletes even though most sports that are recognized are male sports. But it is true, in our society the main job for women is to spend money. It is crazy how children are taught at such a young age to follow the stereotyped ideologies present in our society and we don't even know all the many different ways we are influencing them. But all in all, girls are shown to be the shoppers and spend money while boys are supposed to be masculine. I think this ideology is present in basically all the articles we discussed in class.