Gender Reboot

#GenderRebootExploring All Things Male +Female in 2011

#Millennials+Gender

In 2010, Euro RSCG produced a study on thestate of gender and where men and women arenetting out on today’s gender playing field, witha proprietary online survey by MicroDialogue.

#BreakItDown

• 500 aged 18-25 + 100 aged 40-55 in eachof five markets (n = 3,000)

• Extensive secondary research• Contributions from Euro RSCG agencies

in Europe and U.S.

#TheNewGender

• Millennial daughters don’t understand theirmothers’ feminism

• Women at work post–Norma Rae• Sex goes SoMe• The rise of the dad• It’s a woman’s world—where do men fit in?

#GenderFood4Thought

What’s affecting seismic shifts in gender NOW?• We are living in an age that is acutely digital.• Thanks to boomers and the sexual revolution, we are more open

about sex and pleasure.• The baby boomers became parents who cosseted their children—

boys and girls alike—and told them anything is possible.

#Stereotypes/Retyped

For the Y Generation, the “wife in the kitchen,man in the office” ideal is foreign and archaic.Not only digital natives, today’s men and womenare indigenous members of a gender-remappedsociety, where the old rules simply don’t apply.

#Stereotypes/Retyped

• Jackie vs. Marilyn is obsolete: A recentbook exploring said icons feels out of touchin the SoMe female world.

• Women no longer roast chickens!In a February 2011 article in Aussie Daily Telegraph, itwas noted that 82 percent of female boomers can roast achicken like the dickens, while just 51 percent of womenunder 30 claim such a skill.(Source: dailytelegraph.com.au/of-chicks-and-their-chooks/story-fn6bmfwf-1225997663076)

#Time4theNewNeutral

Gender is being shaken, not stirred, thesedays as we continue to redefine what is goingon with men and women…

#11.GENDER.TRENDS.4.2011

#Women=WorkplaceWarriors

• Women R primary or co-breadwinner 4 two-thirds of families.• Between 1997 and 2007, number of women-owned businesses

increased 44 percent, twice as fast as men-owned firms.• 40 years ago, women owned 5 percent of small businesses, now they

own 30 percent.

1.

(Source: Jobs and Economic Security for America’s Women, National Economic Council, October 2010)

1. #Women=WorkplaceWarriors

• Look 4 millennial women to say “Thanks, but no thanks” 2 the notion of“having it all”—i.e., “doing it all.”

• The next gen of workplace superstars aren’t willing 2 sacrificeeverything 4 a paycheck.

• In “The Choice Effect,” penned by 3 young women, note term “choister”:women overwhelmed by options of career, marriage, children.

• Options R empowering but also lead 2 burnout.

But does all of this “take no prisoners” genderswitch at work come with a price?

• You R between the ages of 20 and 40• You R middle class + college-educated• You believe the world is your oyster• You R a job-hopper• You R a jet-setter• You shop around 4 Mr. Right

You know you’re a choister if:


What of the 50-plus set? What happens 2 womenwith empty nest syndrome these days?• Bureau of Labor Statistics: # of women 55-64 in workforce up

10 percent over the last decade.• Forecasts suggest rapid acceleration in rate as boomer women

become empty nesters, says Disruptive Demographics.


• Tech• Biggest tech gazillionaires R still men: Zuckerberg, Brin, Biz Stone.

Time 4 women 2 get involved.• Tech is an industry that doesn’t require physical strength but mental

athleticism.• Hollywood

• The celluloid biz is surprisingly female-free: 86 percent of films hadno female writers, 77 percent of film critics R male

• Women show 5x more skin than men in G- to R-rated films. (HuffPost)

#FieldsThatNeedSomeTestosterone


• Davos• According 2 the Indian Express, only 16 percent of delegates at

Davos R female.• World Economic Forum could use a feminine touch.

• Wikipedia• New York Times article said Wiki entries R decidedly male; barely

13 percent of contributions R penned by women.• Express yourself, ladies.

#FieldsThatNeedSomeTestosterone


#Mentrepreneurs2.

• According 2 a Forbes article from 2009, 78 percent of the jobs lost inthis recession have been lost by men.

• The Atlantic called it a “mancession.”• We might be headed out of the worst of the economic news 4 the male

gender, but there R still a lot of men w/o work…

Though men-centric sectors such as manufacturingare recovering, more men will strike out on theirown—2 escape being chained to a desk and 2 takecontrol of their future.

2. #Mentrepreneurs

#FieldsThatNeedSomeTestosterone• White House

• New York Times says we need a man 2B named White Housesocial director—it would be unprecedented.

• Nursing• Only 5.8 percent of U.S. registered nurses R men. (US DOHHS)

• Child Care• Agencies like U.K.’s My BIG Buddy R specializing in male nannies 2

tip scales 2 more masculine model.• Look 4 more men 2 become caretakers 4 the wee set.

2. #Mentrepreneurs

#MenVsWomen

• Why don’t men help women w/those pesky overhead bags anymore?• (W/new rules in the friendly skies, our bags R more stuffed than ever,

so what gives?)• If chivalry is dead, then women killed it.• Thanks 2 Beyoncé generation of strong, independent women +

digital detachment, we can’t look forward 2 opened car door or seaton the bus.

3.

• As women surpass men as No. 1 breadwinners + have more boardroomchops, men R taking a DIY approach 2 chivalry—as in, there isn’t any.

• Navy Seal–style workouts 4 both genders have men rethinking howphysically strong women R.

• Women have come a long way since “Adam’s Rib”—hip to an erawhere double standards R becoming level + neutrality rules.

3. #MenVSWomen

#WhatUpW/Marriage?

4.

• More marriages R on the rocks + so is marriage itself, according 2 anew study by Pew Research Center.

• A survey of 2,691 Americans in association w/Time mag found thatnearly 4 in 10 Americans think marriage is becoming obsolete.

• That’s an 11 percent spike since 1978, when Time asked the samequestion. (ABC News)

• The median age of first marriages are at highest point ever. Forwomen: 26.1 years old; for men: 28.2.

• For the first time in half a century, number of unmarried people age25-34 outnumbers marrieds in same age range. (ABC News)

4. #WhatUpWithMarriage?

According 2 U.S. Census Data, younger peopleR not putting a ring on it today, and if they R, theyR doing it when older.

• On its home page: “Marriage comes and goes, but divorce is forever.”• As more women opt 4 single parenthood, look 4 more shakeups in this

once hallowed institution.

The Huffington Post added a divorce site inNovember, edited by Nora Ephron, famed author+ screenwriter.

4. #WhatUpWithMarriage?

#GreyDivorce

• In grey divorce, couples may acknowledge failure in the marriagedepartment but R also looking 4 “Life, Part Two” + a fresh start.

5.

Pandemic of divorce 4 couples over 50,aptly termed the “grey divorce”—think aboutAl and Tipper.

• 33 percent (the highest response) said keeping + maintaining a homewas main source of conflict

• 27 percent said partner lacked commitment• 23 percent cited debts• 14 percent said ”nagging” led 2 the divorce• 13 percent met someone else• 10 percent said they simply ran out of things 2 talk about• 12 percent of men said stepchildren prompted a breakup• 4 percent of women cited stepchildren as source of marital friction

(Source: chicagofamilylawyersblog.com)

Key findings from 2010 U.K. Saga Researchsurvey of 1,900 divorcees over age 50:

5. #GreyDivorce

#SexSocialStyle

• 36 percent of people under age 35 admit 2 checking Facebook, textingor tweeting right after sex.

• Guys are twice as likely as girls 2 engage in after-sex social networking.• iPhone users R 3x as likely to check Twitter or Facebook in the

afterglow than BlackBerry users.• Social media has lessened time, money + effort of searching 4 partners

and increased likely success rate.

6.

How is social media affecting sex?

• Really want 2 display your prowess? Check in on ijustmadelove.com.• And speaking of checking in: Foursquare’s Avoidr plug-in allows you 2

label pesky exes so U can avoid going where they R.• From New York mag article on porn in digital age: “It was inevitable,

once YouTube launched in 2005, that someone would start a pornequivalent…”

• “Over two months in the summer of 2006, three…sites launchedthat would become major adult-only tubes: PornoTube, RedTube andYouPorn.”

6. #SexSocialStyle

#PrincessBacklash

7.

Peggy Orenstein’s new book “CinderellaAte My Daughter” is a critique of girls and“pink princess” culture.

• “Role models” like Disney princesses and princesses gone wrong likeMiley Cyrus and Demi Lovato?

• Maybe it’s time 4 marketers 2 rethink this inane brand of gendermarketing.

• Is it time 2 teach young girls how 2B powerful w/o a pink powderpuff + tutu?

7. #PrincessBacklash

In the past, being a princess was sold asempowering, now it feels limiting and toogender-exclusive.

#Arts+Crafts4ModernGirls

With focus on all things digital, look 4 morewomen 2 lend modern twist 2 “traditional” femaleendeavors like knitting, needlepoint, sewing.

8.

• Success of Etsy (2 million items sold in Nov. 2010, they say) as eBayof all things hand-tooled shows renewed interest in the homemade.

#TheUrbanWoodsman

Is “On Walden Pond: The Movie” being cast?We can’t help but notice that men fromManhattan 2 Portland 2 Shoreditch R rockingbeards, boots + flannel.

9.

In post-metrosexual world, men R getting intouch w/wild sides (“wild” meaning outdoorsy +pastoral).

9. #TheUrbanWoodsman

• American outdoor outfitters like Woolrich R all the rage, w/spendyoutposts at shops like Le Bon Marché in Paris.

• Woodsmen wonders like butchering, woodworking + ice climbing Rall the rage from Bed Stuy 2 Bucktown.

• J. Crew, Timberland + CFDA winner Billy Reid R outfitting woodsygeneration in clothes that feel more fly-fishing chic than urban warrior.

• There is even a Tribeca company creating + selling axes.

• Was it Bear Grylls and his not-so-authentic survival show, or a revoltagainst too much eye balm + perfect haircuts, à la the metrosexual?

• Needless 2 say, nothing wrong w/men knowing how 2 tie knots orstart a fire. After all, survival skills R needed in this uncertain world.

9. #TheUrbanWoodsman

How did all of this come 2B?

#RetailMeetsHetail

10.

• We’re not just talking about Home Depot or Homebase.• Retailers of brick-and-mortar variety, plus online stores, R catering 2

a new breed of men who actually enjoy shopping.

Behold the “hetail generation.”

• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Average guy spends about $1,800 a yeareating out; women spend $1,145.

• Men spend average $701 per year on A/V equipment while womenspend $536.

• Study by Hyperion and PayPal: Men R being converted 2 onlineshopping 50 percent faster than women.

• Says AOL: During holiday season, men would spend $326 online whilewomen would spend $284.

Need proof?

10. #RetailMeetsHetail

• Belgium’s Supra-Quintessence Co.: online shop w/bespoke Americanavibe—think denim motorcycle wallets + vintage Rolexes.

• American stalwart Gant has opened up shop at Yale, located in historicbuilding 4 the Ivy crowd.

• Jack Spade, at forefront of hetail experience, fosters culture of Spadefans who can’t get enough of high-end laptop bags + leather goods…

• …in shops filled w/old postcards + fun vintage pieces.• Uncrate.com is the de facto spot 4 cool men…• …from headphones 2 performance hoodies 2 groovy gadgets (best

place 2 look 4 gifts 4 men, ladies; you’re welcome).

Best spots 2 get your hetail therapy:


Note 4 wives + girlfriends: This does not meanyour partners R ready 4 a weekly Saturday jauntthru Harvey Nics—this is hetailing after all, andmuch progress needs 2B made.


#DaddyBloggers

11.

• Digital dads R being heard as more men stay home—both as victims ofthe recession + as personal choice.

• Make way for male bonding—parent-style.• Shitmydadsays, Justin Halpern’s Twitter feed featuring quotes

by his dad, has 2 million+ followers.• Halpern is a media darling (first Twitter account to be turned into a

show on U.S. network television).

• Discovering Dad: diet tips + marriage pointers for papas• Mocha Dad: a blog for African-American dads• Real Men Drive Minivans: humorous wink at fatherhood + family

road trips

11. #DaddyBloggers

Top daddy blogs

• Dad Blogs is a network of fathers that share info on parenting.• AtHomeDad is the digi encyclopedia 4 stay-at-home dads who want 2

connect w/others.• Recent Yahoo survey: 51 percent of dads do food shopping in the U.S.

but feel advertising does not speak 2 them.

Dads forming online communities 2 chat w/eachother—R marketers listening? They should B…

11. #DaddyBloggers

11. #DaddyBloggers

Look 4 more influence + power from dads +daddy bloggers in 2011. As AtHomeDad says,“Men who change diapers change the world.”

#P.S.ILoveU?

• Our survey found the No. 1 goal of today’s millennials is 2B happy +2B in a happy relationship.

• Finding love is high on the list of wants, B4 career.• This is not a gender war—it’s a leveling of the playing field + a reboot

of traditional memes.

With the gender gap closing, and men + womenredefining who they R, is there common ground?The answer is yes + love conquers all.

Gender Reboot

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