Safe (shopping) spaces {Crazy Ex-Girlfriend}

I once read an article about how relationships are often defined by gift-giving, and the more expensive the gift, the more valuable the gift is considered (more so by the gift-giver rather than the gift-receiver).  With consumerism being such an integral part of our social development, it's no surprise that our national obsession lies not in the Redwood Forests, or Democratic freedom, or even our star spangled banner, but instead in the aisles of our nearest superstore and the swiping of our AmEx gold cards.  I mean, if you haven't struggled under the weight of twenty shopping bags, or left your family on Thanksgiving night to pounce on Black Friday markdowns, are you even American?

Even worse, our consumerist tendencies send a dangerous message simultaneously reminiscent of the pre-Rosa-Parks era and a 1950s household (fitting, since this seems to be when the modern "throw-away" culture began to emerge).  It's no secret that TV ads are geared towards "shopping crazed" and "spendthrifty" women—although most of the women I've met don't love shopping at all (especially shoe shopping... I have never met a woman who genuinely likes it), and in fact, think of it as stressful and tedious.  

If a woman asks to go shopping, it's usually for one of two reasons: she wants to transform a lonely task into a social endeavor, or she believes that she has to stay up to date with the latest trends or be left in the dust.  I, for one, am never one to object an opportunity to shop, but half an hour, sore feet, dozens of chaotic clothing racks, and countless styles sold out of my size later, I realize what a grave mistake I've made (and will most likely make again).  Somehow, the elation and full wallet I usually enter the mall with always manages to be exchanged with fatigue and subtle regret by the time I leave. 

And when advertisements do happen to be geared towards men, this happens: 

you have to give these marketing directors kudos for creativity, though; they
are somehow able to include women in ads for even the most unrelated products!!

 

Here's the real kicker: not only are the advertisements gender-segregated, but the stores themselves are.  In men's clothing sections, the flooring is darker than in the feminine section (I watched a video on this once, and ever since I haven't been able to un-notice it).  This is to promote a sense of "gruff" manliness,  the kind that gives a "man's man" his "display of power."  More than that, the wall color and light brightness in the dressing rooms both tend to fall on the darker end of the spectrum for the ultimate male shopping experience.  And, is that musk I smell? Or perhaps it's just the ambiance from the brown leather seating in the corner...

While male shopping experience may reinforce macho male stereotypes, the same is done for the female shopping experience.  Lighter and brighter colors work to impose the stigma that women are dainty—dare I say, "easy, breezy, beautiful"—and are meant to exploit the feminine instinct to buy. 

The retail giants of our world further amplify gender stereotypes by slapping "feminine colors," a heftier price tag, and a "for her" label on its products, expecting for women to buy into it:

 Simple as that, the frontiers of American consumerism create clear boundaries between men and women.  We as Americans love our separation; we like our societal groups like the food in our microwaveable TV dinners—to never touch, thanks to modern convenience and capitalism.  It seems as if we're telling the same old story, but in a new context: first we separated our rich and our poor, then our colored and white, and now our pink and blue.