College & HE (16+)

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WRITTEN WORD

London Shopping trip: Gender Lens

By Saskia Burn (17) and Daisy Halliwell (15)

“These mannequins reinforce harmful stereotypes about traditionally female beauty, portraying an idealised and non-representative face with big eyes and lips and a tiny nose and chin. The contrast between the female mannequins and the male ones also serves to perpetuate the idea that men don’t wear makeup and sends the message that men shouldn’t care how they look.

These small details could be easily avoided to prevent the growth of these stereotypes.

After the day in London we felt an overwhelming sense that the stores were being targeted to a particular audience. The women’s sections were far superior to the men’s, in terms of the selection of clothing, the decor, and the mannequins. Perpetuating the stereotype that women like to shop and men don’t care what they wear.

PHOTOGRAPHY