It’s a term you’re probably not familiar with, but the phenomenon has been making headlines recently. What do the experts think, and should you be concerned? Listen up…

Yes

Jane Caro
Advertising copywriter, lecturer, author and media commentator

“Don’t blame advertisers for this dichotomy... perhaps we should look in the mirror ”

“The waiter brings the order to the table; a salad and a steak. Without asking he puts the salad in front of the female diner and the steak in front of her male companion. It may

be irritating, but nine times out of 10 the waiter will be right.

“Women usually live longer than men, so perhaps the tendency for ‘female’ food to be healthier than ‘male’ food has its benefits. Certainly, the advertising industry is aware of the fact that women regard food more ambivalently than men do. It is not just pleasure and fuel to us. It is medicine, comfort, damn hard work and torture, all at the same time.

“Most food is sold to women either directly (diet food and, paradoxically, chocolate), or indirectly to be prepared by them and eaten by someone else. Even Nutri-Grain – ‘Ironman food’ – is sold to mothers of boys. Yet, until recently, I don’t think advertisers consciously thought they were ‘gendering’ food. They just observed the way women behaved around food and pitched their wares accordingly. But by mirroring our behaviour back to us, their messages help to maintain it.

“The way advertisers pitch food to women it’s either our duty to feed others, or a guilty – almost sexual – secret pleasure to feed ourselves. We’re good when we feed others; bad when we feed ourselves.

“But don’t blame advertisers for this stark dichotomy. If we want to blame anyone, perhaps we should look in the mirror. Or, on second thoughts, stop looking into it at all and next time, order the steak.”

NO

Melanie McGrice
Dietitian for Health Kick Nutrition (health-kick.com.au)

“Stereotyping food choices isn’t something health professionals encourage”

“Food gendering is when foods are thought of as sex specific. Think about it – beer is a ‘blokes drink’, whereas an alcopop is marketed towards women. Imagine the names a man would be called if he ordered a pina colada when his mates are drinking bourbon?

“But stereotyping food choices isn’t something health professionals encourage. It’s simply a concept made up by marketers to push sales. Our individualised dietary requirements stem from more factors than just gender. People require individually-tailored nutritional advice –

it’s not as simplistic as the male and female dichotomy.

“Food gendering may also have some negative nutritional consequences. Case in point: women require higher levels of iron than men do, yet red meat is often perceived as more of a man’s food. And, although both Aussie men and women aren’t meeting their required veg intake, the National Health Survey found Australian men consume fewer vegetables than women, yet they actually require more. Not convinced? Diet soft drinks are heavily marketed towards women as a weight management tool, yet women have a higher risk of osteoporosis than men, so are more greatly affected by diet drinks which are detrimental to bone health.

“Although many food products are marketed by gender, people would be better off following nutritional advice based on their unique health status, genetic profile, lifestyle and food preferences.”