By Lilli DeBode, guest blogger, senior at Kent Place School
Ladies, have you ever wanted a tablet, but just couldn’t bear to be seen with one of those tremendously masculine iPads? Lucky for you, technology has made a breakthrough. Eurostar, a Middle East-based manufacturer has come out with the ePad Femme, a dainty little tablet complete with pink background and pre-downloaded apps such as weight loss tracker, clothing size converter, and recipe apps.
There really isn’t much to say about this; it pretty much speaks for itself. Obviously the ePad Femme is receiving a lot of backlash, and rightfully so. (Just try searching it; you will be met with pages upon pages of enraged articles).
What I don’t understand is how Eurostar thought this was a good idea.
Bic’s “For Her” pens and Honda’s “She’s” car received the same exact criticism. The fact that these products all came out at relatively the same time is somewhat troubling. After the first atrociously stereotypical product came out and was met with such intense backlash, shouldn’t the other companies have taken the hint and made their products a little less… pink?
I don’t think it’s the fact that these products were made with women in mind that’s the problem; rather it’s the fact that these companies made their products so outlandishly stereotypical. Really, shouldn’t they know better by now? This is 50’s era nonsense that, frankly, we shouldn’t be dealing with today.
Hopefully the rest of the world’s companies will learn from the newest commercial blunder and will spare us the introduction of the “Trashcanita.”
Ultimately, men and women are different, and putting more choices on the market certainly wouldn’t hurt anyone. However, the differences between men’s and women’s products have to be tasteful. Otherwise the validity for making gender specific products that are usually unisex is completely lost.
Sources and Resources: For two interesting pieces about the ePad Femme, read Time’s article or Slate’s article. For information about Honda’s female-focused car read this CNN article. For a comedic take on Bic’s pens “for her,” watch Ellen’s video .
