The marketing of some children's books is getting increasingly gender-specific. In fact, some book marketers are forcing a gender stereotype that needn't be forced. The same can happen in marketing certain products to grown-up girls and boys. Don't let this happen to you!
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I attended a baby shower this past weekend, and got into a great conversation about favorite children's books. That happened to be the theme for the gathering, making it easy to find a $20 gift and not spend a lot more on baby clothes or random items that the parents-to-be would likely return. It also generated fun discussions among the co-ed crowd about what we read when we were young. Book titles such as Good Night Moon (the expectant couple got a Good Night Vermont version - now there's a clever idea), A Wrinkle In Time and A Secret Garden all came up. Most of the books mentioned among us were simply great works, with no need for gender-specificity.
When I then read an article in the TimesOnline (UK), How Judging A Book by its 'Girlie' Cover Is Putting Boys Off Reading," by Alexandra Frean, it made me wonder. According to her piece, some children's books are getting more gender-specific marketing these days.
The interesting thing to note here is that girls will read books with packaging of any color (pinks or primaries, or - imagine, some sort of fresh, non-cliched, color!), while boys will do what they can to avoid pinks and purples (no surprise). Especially for 11-year-olds, the age of most concern for the organizations mentioned in the article, the stereotyped approach may really limit boys in their exploratory reading. As Frean wrote:
"Wendy Cooling, of Bookstart, a charitable programme that encourages children to read, said she was dismayed that publishers were now using gender-specific marketing for certain children's books. Whereas girls were not put off boys' books, which tended to have primary colours, few boys dared to be seen reading a pink or purple book, even though they might otherwise enjoy it."
If studies show that girls already tend to read more than boys (and I'm guessing this is a fact in the U.S. as well as the UK), why would we want to steer boys away from any that might catch their interest?
Girls don't actually NEED pink marketing to figure out what they like or want to read. On the other hand, boys seem to need for the books (or any product, I'm guessing) to just NOT BE PINK (or purple etc). Seems easy enough.
The book marketers in Frean's story forced a gender stereotype that needn't be forced. The same can happen in marketing certain products to grown-up girls and boys. Don't let this happen to you.
Instead, take care that your products aren't "covered" in a way that belies their incredibly non-gender-specific, wonderful insides - just like a great children's book.
