New Dell website just for Women
Via Engadget:
Dell unveils Della website to help women choose which totally cute laptop they prefer
Wow. Apparently the best way to sell laptops to women is to make them cute and little and market them as something that will help you meditate and lose weight. And it's true... one of the "Tech Tips" is how to use your computer to track calories (although, most of their links are to websites that do all these things, and therefore has nothing to do with actually buying a Dell).
1
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: New Dell website just for Women.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/13653
What the...
Argh, that's *awful*.
Also, ware comments.
Dell gets an "um, sorry, what?"
That's just stupid on Dell's part -- not all women like cutesy things, and there are plenty of women who see their computer as more than just a means to track their diet.
I'd like to tell them they've lost my business, but I would never have bought anything other than a Mac anyway.
"But don't you know women don't exist on the intrawebz."
Seriously though most females I know love first person shooters, create websites, use CS2 easier than a cell phone, and can build a better computer for half the price.
Sure some of them might like cutesy things but they would probably paint their own design instead of paying extra.
Are you disgusted with Dell or with women? I'm importing electronics to Namibia, and my female coworkers want everything in pink. It's their first and almost last priority for a camera or laptop. Lots of women want pink cutesy princess stuff, and Dell is marketing to their preferences. It would be pretty misogynistic to demand they buy their electronics in a stereotypically male way (based on possibly meaningless specs, like high MegaPixel counts)instead.
"Aesthier said:
Seriously though most females I know love first person shooters, create websites, use CS2 easier than a cell phone,"
Are they barred from the normal website or something?
"and can build a better computer for half the price."
Then they're clearly not the target market for the site.
"Are you disgusted with Dell or with women?"
I tend to agree this is another article where the criticism is directed at the wrong place.
Companies like Dell don't launch sites/product lines like this without extensive market research, focus groups, business cases, etc. They don't do it to be aholes, they do it because research and history shows that it will make them more money.
We can hardly blame them for wanting to make more money.
But we could perhaps get mad at the millions of women out there who eat this stuff up and create a market for this sort of thing. I think if we want to rebel against this sort of thing we need to direct our energy to where it matters - other women.
We need to get women to stop supporting this stuff and creating a market for this stuff. That's the true way to effect capitalism and stop this sort of thing.
Idea behind this post is good but I'd like to see a discussion where the criticism is directed at the true source of these issues, such as why do women like this sort of thing. Alternatively we should discuss if it's even an issue, since if millions of women like pink labtops - who are we to tell them not to? Shouldn't we be supporting our sisters? I don't have the answers truthfully, I see both sides. But it's worthy of discussion I think.
"Shouldn't we be supporting our sisters?"
What kind of silly question is that? I'm sitting in front of a pink Dell laptop as we speak, and I'd very much like it if other feminists didn't feel the need to question my laptop purchase as though I were responsible for this kind of ridiculous marketing. Of course we should support women who like pretty electronics. What's patronizing isn't that they're pretty, but that batcrap about what women are supposed to be DOING with the laptops: counting calories, finding recipes, meditating. THAT is patronizing. Not the idea that women might want something pretty.
I have a friend that got a pink one. She like pink, they sell pink. Whats the problem? If they move units who is to judge where you put your bucks?
see a discussion where the criticism is directed at the true source of these issues, such as why do women like this sort Electrical engineering degree | computer degree & Engineering degree of thing. Alternatively we should discuss if it's even an issue, since if millions of women like pink labtops - who are we to tell them not to? Shouldn't we be supporting our sisters? I don't have the answers truthfully, I see both sides. But it's worthy of discussion I think.
like pink, they sell pink. Whats the problem? If they move units social work degree |
Online management degree who is to judge where you put your bucks?