Campbell Soup Spiderman Commericial

[Jenniferathome]

...It just annoyed me. A woman putting on male clothes is not exactly breaking down gender barriers. But what if the commercial had a young boy wanting to be Elsa(FROZEN) or even Emma Swan(ONCE UPON A TIME)? That is the commericial I would want to see, and if anyone in the mainstream would come forth and say he is breaking down gender barriers.....

I think the context is different. The Spiderman "costume" is actually androgynous. It covers all and has no clothing "norm" reference. The Elsa and Emma DO have clothing "norm" references. A dress is a dress. Perhaps the proper comparison is Catwoman. I think it's fair to state that a boy could not wear that in a commercial.

I think the key here is that it's ok for girls to be "strong" or show strength, but boys/men can not show weakness, which is implied in a dress or other female clothing. A double standard that fair or unfair, is real and pervasive and won't go away any time soon.