To understand the effect that athletic brands’ gendered representation on Instagram has it is important to understand gender in society and the idea of “doing gender.” Gender is created through societal norms and expectations. As society teaches, people inhabit these beliefs and further their presence in humanity through daily action and participation in society. This is seen in the social construction of gender. Over time, what we know about gender has been ingrained in our minds from our experiences and socialization, such as blue being associated with boys and pink being associated with girls. This is a common example of cultural conformity; to be a part of the group one must align oneself with these norms. West and Zimmerman (1987) explain the concept of “doing gender” as “creating differences between girls and boys and women and men, differences that are not natural, essential, or biological” (137). These differences are what are used to group people into categories of “man” or “woman.” Some differences can be determined by hairstyle, body type, clothing, makeup, jewelry, etc. These are all examples of characteristics that someone can use to make an assumption about a person’s gender. However, gender is “done” when someone performs an action that differentiates them into a gendered category. A form of benevolent sexism is when a man holds a door open for a woman, he is considered to be polite, while still masculine. In the research, men are “doing gender” when they are shown playing sports such as football or lifting heavyweights in the gym. A woman is found gender when she wears a dress or cleans the house and cooks dinner. In the research, women are shown “doing gender” through their performance of activities such as yoga or meditating as they are considered more feminine. These are stereotypes associated with gender that society encourages through continual representation in the media, through advertising, and via other agents of socialization.
Stereotypes and social norms are formed in our interactions with others and lived experiences. These notions of gender expectations are imposed on people as societal standards of conformity. Athletic brands that market on social media are constantly “doing gender” through their choice of images. These images, therefore, show how the brands do gender via the models chosen, the color of clothes, the style of clothing, the setting, or the model’s activity. As I analyze how Nike, Under Armour, Lululemon, and Athleta market their brands on Instagram, I will ultimately reflect on how they are “doing gender.” I think that the most prevalent part of “doing gender” that I will see in my research is the activities the models are participating in and the way they represent gender through sexualization. According to (Davis 2018: 2), “male abs are viewed as sexualized, yet strong, dominant, and desirable. Female breasts, on the other hand, are viewed as sexualized, yet objectified and shameful”. Gender representation is how society expects men and women to look as well as act based on societal norms. Brands may be enforcing these norms through marketing, and it will be interesting to observe the specific parts of the images that reinforce gendered norms by “doing gender.”