Children’s Makeup Simulation Kit
The ad shown above is a toddler’s toy that consists of imitation “makeup” products. The purpose of the toy is for learning, musical enjoyment, and imagination. The imagination part of the toy refers to role-playing with makeup. The social norm here that would possibly shift is the thought of using makeup will now decrease to an even younger generation. Makeup has been typically worn by a more mature audience, but as society changes, younger girls are being introduced to beauty products at a young age with a product like the one shown above. If these products continue to sell, the norm will be that even younger children are allowed to have an interest in makeup and eventually will rely on the real products to meet up to the standards of models from magazines, social media, etc.
The social groups that the ad is aimed at is the parents of these children. Some parents will usually tend to purchase the latest toys for their children to play with, so if that includes these makeup toys, they will buy it. Since the children’s pretend makeup set that comes with social issues is a newer toy being introduced to society, there will be a shift on how we view this topic of girls trying to meet unrealistic beauty standards. For years, there has been beauty product toys for toddlers to play with, but the controversy lies with some parents not wanting their young children wear makeup because they are “too young” for it. Parents who do buy these toys for their children will probably be buying it because they believe it is the best toy for their child to be playing with since the toy industry is always coming out with new products. Even if the parents did not buy these products, eventually as the baby becomes a child, they will probably want to buy similar toys that are being advertised because it is “the new thing” and other girls have it. It is clear that this product brings problems for young women because they feel like makeup will make them feel pretty.
The social groups that are represented in the ad are small children. Usually parents do not want their children to use makeup at a young age due to self-confidence issues and it is also sexist to be advertising these products towards young girls. They want their child to truly believe they are “beautiful” and do not need it. The industry on the other hand, does not care about this issue and solely want to achieve profit. This just causes the child to want the product so they can “fit in” with the rest of the crowd, but now these products are being targeted towards toddlers and babies who have no knowledge of the standards of being a woman in today’s society. At a young age, they already being taught that these products will make them beautiful. Teen girls tend to struggle with “fitting in” and always follow the latest trends to live up to what a “model should look like.” If babies are being introduced to what makeup is at a young age, not only will girls struggle in their teen years, but probably at an even younger adolescent age.
I believe the advertisement violates conventional social norms because it is unnecessary and a stereotype towards females that they need makeup to truly feel beautiful. The age of young children discovering makeup will decline if these toys introduce such products to them. Since the toys have been designed for babies, the choice of buying the product lies within the parent. If the parent were to purchase this product, they would be allowing the child to learn about makeup at a very young age. This product should not be sold in stores. It just makes girls want it more because they feel like if every other girl has it, then they should have it too. I believe that within our society, we should only tell the young women to love themselves the way they are. Makeup is not a bad thing and can be used by anyone, but it should not be used for women to think they need it just to “feel beautiful.” As outrageous as it sounds, the social norm that it is being created with this product is that all girls love makeup and apparently, even babies/toddlers too so they start selling toys to them so they eventually buy the real product.
Besides the specific product, the ads that sell these types of makeup toy products is “selling” the buyer (the parent) education and beauty for their baby/toddler. The ads show how it is specifically designed to teach their child skills while at the same time they are learning how to apply pretend makeup on themselves. Although it may be a learning toy, there is a party of the toy that is teaching these young girls the beauty standards we see everywhere. Similar toys that actually use some sort of product such as lipstick or eyeshadow, teaches the child that applying this makeup will enhance their features. Once the child develops, they will already be used to makeup and will most likely start applying it on themselves as they have picked up the interest at such an early age.
To sum up, every girl is different when it comes to beauty. There is a certain time each girl should learn about makeup and that should not have to be during their childhood years. With these types of products, it seems as if these girls are being forced to use makeup because they find out about how all these other women use to make them feel beautiful. It is obvious that selling beauty directly to a young female generation is sexist and these products should be removed from stores immediately.
