Sexist ads banned: No fumbling dads, frazzled wives

Britain counters gender stereotypes

LONDON Commercials featuring hapless fathers struggling to look after kids and women left to do housework will disappear from television under a ban of gender stereotypes announced Tuesday by Britain’s advertising regulator.

The move by the country’s Ad- vertising Standards Authority ( ASA) coincided with the publication of a report that said a “tougher line” is needed to overcome gender stereotypes that have the potential to cause “real public harm.”

The report by the Committee of Advertising Practice, a sister organization to the standards authority, said there was an “evidence- based case for stronger regulation of ads that feature stereotypical gender roles or characteristics which might be harmful to people, including ads which mock people for not conforming to gender stereotypes.”

The ASA singled out ads that prompted consumer complaints. In one, from 2015, a bikini- clad model promotes a weight- loss product next to the phrase “Are you beach body ready?”

An ad for Gap, the clothing retailer, shows a young boy growing to be a “little scholar” while a little girl is depicted as a “social butterfly.” An ad for baby formula Aptamil shows a girl growing up to be a ballerina and boys to be engineers.

British anti- discrimination laws protect citizens from being treated less favorably because of certain “protected” characteris- tics or combination of characteristics, according to the Equality Act of 2010. Gender, along with age, race and religion, are some of the protected characteristics in the legislation.

The ASA does not have the power to impose fines, but British broadcasters are bound by the terms of their licenses to comply with its rulings. The law will take effect next year.

In the USA, there is no such law or regulation concerning gender bias in ads, according to Margo Davenport, a representative for the media bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. “The First Amendment of the Constitution prevents the government from having such a law,” she said.

The Committee of Advertising Practice said a “tougher line” was needed to overcome gender stereotypes that could cause “real public harm.”