Gender Performed: The Cultural and Strategic Evolution of Gender in Marketing

Marketing has always been a mirror and a megaphone. It reflects the values we hold and amplifies the roles we perform. Of all the variables marketers use to shape messaging and design, gender remains one of the most powerful and most controversial.

For decades, brands have relied on gender as a shortcut for understanding consumers: what they want, how they buy, and how they see themselves. But in the age of identity politics, inclusive design, and digital performance, those shortcuts are being challenged. This article examines how gender has historically operated in marketing, how those conventions are shifting, and what brands must do to stay both relevant and responsible.

Gender Is Socially Constructed: Marketing as a Mirror of Culture

Gender, as Judith Butler famously argued, is not innate; it is performed. From the clothes we wear to the words we use, our understanding of “male” and “female” is shaped by repetition, reinforcement, and media representation.

Marketing has long been a catalyst of this construction. It’s not just that girls get pink toys and boys get blue ones. It’s that every product, commercial, influencer partnership, and packaging choice either reinforces or challenges gender expectations.

Academic research confirms this influence: gendered advertising contributes to children’s internalisation of “appropriate” behaviours. A 2021 Developmental Psychology study found that even preschool-aged children modify their toy preferences after exposure to gendered commercials. From when we are born, we are socialised to understand how we should behave and what we should like in order to "be male or female"

Gender Is a Stereotype and a Strategy

In the pursuit of simplicity, marketers often lean on gender stereotypes to communicate quickly and clearly. These archetypes, rooted in patriarchy and tradition, serve as a blueprint for everything from character development in commercials to copy on product labels.

Dimension	Women	Men
Personality	Caring, emotional, agreeable	Assertive, rational, independent
Roles	Nurturer, homemaker	Provider, decision-maker
Career Depictions	Teachers, nurses	Engineers, executives
Body Image	Petite, polished	Tall, muscular

According to a 2019 Journal of Consumer Research article, gendered advertising can shape self-perception, especially among teens. These representations aren't just benign, they're prescriptive. They subtly tell consumers who they should be.

Gendered Products: Performance Engineered by Design

Products are coded for gender long before they hit the shelves. Through colour, shape, language, and even price, brands send clear signals about who the item is “for.”

• Fragrances: “Bright Bouquet” and floral notes = femininity; “Ice Fresh” or “Steel” = masculinity.

• Packaging: Curved bottles and delicate fonts vs. sharp edges and bold typography.

• Form: Women's razors are often ergonomically shaped to suggest softness or beauty, while men’s razors suggest precision and control.

  
  
  
  

  

  
  

This binary extends into the “pink tax”, where women’s products cost more despite being functionally identical. A New York City Department of Consumer Affairs study found that women’s personal care products cost 13% more on average than men’s.

Gendered Promotion: Where Identity Becomes Story

a) Narratives and Language

Advertising sells stories and these stories often script gender performance in particular ways.

• Women: Portrayed as receivers of affection, caretakers, or aspirants to beauty. Think skin-care ads promising to “bring out your glow.”

• Men: Framed as protectors, conquerors, or high-achievers. Think financial services ads featuring suited men “taking control.”

Language also plays a big role. Words like indulge, soften, and glow, dominate ads aimed at women, while power, dominate, and win, are common with those aimed at men. A 2017 linguistic analysis of over 6,000 ads revealed significant gendered lexical patterns.

b) Sexuality and Desirability Codes

Sexuality in advertising is also gendered.

• Men’s sexuality is framed as power. A man in a suit driving a sports car isn’t just sexy-he’s dominant.

• Women’s sexuality is framed as objectification. From perfume ads to fashion spreads, women are often posed, gazed at, or offered as aspirational accessories.

This dichotomy, often called the male gaze, has been critiqued for decades. While some brands are reimagining sensuality with consent and diversity, it persists especially in luxury and beauty advertising.

Reveal by Calvin Klein for men, Ad Campaign featuring Charlie Hunnam & Doutzen Kroes

The Evolving Performance of Masculinity

The concept of toxic masculinity—aggression, stoicism, dominance, has come under increasing scrutiny, both socially and commercially.

Campaigns like Gillette’s “The Best Men Can Be” challenged traditional masculinity by encouraging emotional vulnerability and accountability.

A Case Study on Gillette: “The Best Men Can Be” Campaign

Academic research by Raewyn Connell on hegemonic masculinity helps explain this: for decades, a single version of manhood was upheld at the expense of all others. Now, consumers, especially Gen Z men are opting out of that script.

Feminist Influence in the Evolution

a) From Objectification to Agency

Gone are the days when women existed in ads only as ornaments. Feminist critiques have forced brands to confront their gaze, placing women as subjects, not objects.

• Nike’s “Dream Crazier” ad series gave voice to female athletes silenced by double standards.

b) From Beauty Ideals to Inclusion

The beauty industry has long enforced Eurocentric, thin, able-bodied norms. Now feminist influence has pushed for inclusive representation across body types, skin tones, ages and features.

• Fenty Beauty’s 40+ foundation shades reset the bar for complexion inclusion.

• Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign was a turning point, celebrating everyday women instead of supermodels.

Dove's Real Beauty Campaign highlighted different skin tones and body types.

Cultural Catalysts

So why is all this shifting now? Cultural pressure is now commercial pressure, and brands who ignore this shift do so at their own risk.

• Gen Z and Millennials: 59% of Gen Z know someone using gender-neutral pronouns (Pew, 2023).

• Global Activism: Movements like #MeToo, #BodyPositivity, and #TransRights have pushed inclusion to the forefront.

• Economic Power: Diverse consumers have growing purchasing influence and brand loyalty when they feel seen.

Social Media: Identity in Performance Mode

Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have become global stages for identity performance. Every outfit, every “GRWM” (Get Ready With Me) video, every caption is a subtle act of identity construction. From femme-presenting men to masc-presenting women, creators are blending traditionally gendered aesthetics to create personas that resonate across binary lines.

Influencers and their audiences, in turn, are now rejecting rigid gender norms and building audiences based on vibe, value, and vision—not gender. These performances reshape culture, influencing everything from product aesthetics to copy tone. For marketers, this is a massive opportunity.

Strategic Ways Brands Can Use Evolving Gender Performance

1) Design for Identity, Not Demographics

Traditional gender marketing asks:"Is this for men or women?"Evolved strategy asks:"How does this product reflect who someone wants to be today?"

• Use product design and messaging that adapts to mood, role, or energy rather than gender category.

• Prioritise modularity, neutrality, and fluid aesthetics.

• Shift sizing, colour packaging, and even scent from binary defaults to multi-positional options or customisable options.

  
  

2. Reposition Aspirations Away from Gender

Instead of assuming what “success” or “beauty” means to a man or woman, define it in emotionally resonant, human terms:

• Replace “for strong men” with “for your boldest self”

• Replace “for every woman” with “for every journey”

Position values like freedom, confidence, creativity, ambition, or joy and allow audiences to self-identify with the message.

3. Build With Performers, Not Models

Evolving gender is most visible through performance—the way people dress, speak, move, and narrate themselves.

• Work with influencers and creators who engage in gender performance publicly and confidently.

• Let them style, speak, and show up in ways that feel authentic, even if they're unconventional.

This not only gives your brand visibility in cultural spaces, it gives credibility, and avoids tokenism.

4. Let Social Media Be the Stage for Discovery

Modern consumers don’t want to be “told who they are”,they want to explore and perform who they could be.

• Use your brand’s social channels to encourage identity play.

• Run creative challenges: “Style this three ways,” “Tell us who you are today,” “Show your Sunday self vs. your Friday self.”

This shifts the power from product authority to brand intimacy, you become part of the consumer’s evolving story.

5. Make Space for Transition, Not Perfection

Not every brand needs to rebrand overnight. But intentionality matters.

• Be transparent about your journey toward inclusion.

• Test new products or campaigns in micro-communities first.

• Treat gender inclusivity like sustainability, that is, a value to improve on, not a box to check.

We help brands navigate their marketing with confidence. We don’t offer one-size-fits-all answers. We build strategies that reflect real people, lived experiences, and academia.