MacMillan still erasing women

[DevonTF]

Looking through the Boots website for Christmas and spot MacMillan & Boots have released Advent Calendars. A 'beauty' one and one 'For Him'.
They won't use the words women...her...female.

Cancelled my monthly donation in the summer when they removed the words women or female from the cervical cancer section. They responded to my complaint - 'we will only use gender specific language where necessary'. I think what they meant was - 'we will only use gender specific language where necessary, unless it is Men. Then we will always say Men.

I think beauty advent calendar is fair enough - gives people a good idea of what's likely to be in the box (whole threads on MN about them, using this well-established terminology)

But something being 'for men' doesn't have that same clarity, and I think it should be renamed to describe the contents.

I would have less of a problem with the movement to avoid gender specific language if it worked both ways.

A sewing pattern company I've used before has changed its womens and mens sections to "straight" and "curvy" which is confusing to me as I am fairly straight of body but I certainly would not buy a men's pattern as I have broader hips and narrow shoulders (despite a thicker waist!) - but if I didn't know they had renamed men's and women's, I'd probably buy the wrong thing.

I don't know. The men's one could have been simply 'toiletries' or, in my family 'smellies'.

Christmas 2021 Beauty and Toiletries Advent Calendars

Far less 'gendered'

I can't get annoyed about this

It's fairly standard in the beauty/toiletries industry to target things at men when other stuff is more generalised. It's just a marketing strategy to encourage men to buy cosmetics without feeling they're being feminine.

It's daft yes, but nothing that hasn't been done for years. No point poring over every little thing imho.

In isolation it wouldn’t bother me, given the pattern of behaviour of McMillan in erasing women it’s yet another example where they are applying a double standard.

Unfortunately the only answer is to stop supporting them and write to them and say why and for there to be many of us that do but until this hits the main stream media most people are unaware.

when other stuff is more generalised

You mean for women?

Reading the list of things included there isn't that much difference. Beauty and toiletries would actiually cover it.

The problem is in isolation a lot of people would see this as small, not worth worrying about but the bigger picture is worth worrying about and all these tiny incidents of not using the words women, her, she, female will soon add up to these words not being used. It’s ridiculous as men is still frequently used.

It is either all or nothing. Either have a Female and Male one - or neither. But once you see it - you realise the extent. You cannot search on Boots for a female advent - but you can male. It is getting away with the small, what appears to be insignificant removal that leads to blatant 'Bodies with Vaginas'

@HoardingSamphireSaurus

when other stuff is more generalised

You mean for women?

Reading the list of things included there isn't that much difference. Beauty and toiletries would actiually cover it.

Well yes. It's marketed at women, but as it's tacitly assumed that it's mostly women who use it there's no need to push it on them.

The 'men's' version is traditional masculine packaging, regardless of contents.

I'm not saying it's right or a good thing I'm just saying I doubt Macmillan or boots have gone out of their way on this.

Eg shampoo isn't specifically marketed at either sex but some ranges like Aveda and Toni and Guy will have masculine packaging for some products even if they effectively do the same job.

Guy will have masculine packaging for some products even if they effectively do the same job.

Boots’ infamous price difference between the blue disposable razors and the pink.

It's the flip side of who is 'other'

Instead of default male/men and female/women being 'other' who are specified, for beauty boxes the default is women, hence men being specified.

Eg shampoo isn't specifically marketed at either sex but some ranges like Aveda and Toni and Guy will have masculine packaging for some products even if they effectively do the same job.

Eh? Aveda Men, Head & Shoulders Men, Boot's Anti-dandruff Men, Harry's Men... And Alpecin, marketed specifically to men - the same company makes Plantur, also a caffeine shampoo, marketed specifically to woman.

For me, the bigger issue is the underlying reliance on gendered stereotypes.

@PersephoneJames

I would have less of a problem with the movement to avoid gender specific language if it worked both ways.

A sewing pattern company I've used before has changed its womens and mens sections to "straight" and "curvy" which is confusing to me as I am fairly straight of body but I certainly would not buy a men's pattern as I have broader hips and narrow shoulders (despite a thicker waist!) - but if I didn't know they had renamed men's and women's, I'd probably buy the wrong thing.

That is really bonkers, male people and female people are very different shapes. A woman might be a straight up and down shape, or a man more chubby and thus curvy, but they would still have the basic structure of their sex.