Not for girls

Sexist Chocolate bar

I was shopping today at Mrs. Bridges British bakery. This is one of my favourite stores because I can buy food items which aren’t generally available in North American such as Melton Mowbray pie, Branson pickles, Haggis, black pudding and Yorkshire tea. This is the result of spending part of my childhood on my uncle’s farm in the Yorkshire dales not far from Haworth where the Bronte parsonage is located. I was browsing around the store and noticed some chocolate bars with the phrase “not for girls” printed on the side so I took a picture with my cell phone camera. This raised two questions. The first was what property distinguished this chocolate bar from your normal bar and the second was why a marketing strategy which eliminates half of your potential customers. When I arrived back at home, I decided to explore the Internet in the hope of resolving these questions.

I checked the percentage fat content, sugar content and total caloric content among other things. As far as I can determine the “macho” image is solely due to the chunky shape of the bar. In England they had a slogan “where the men are hunky and the chocolate is chunky.” The British Ministry of Defence uses the bars in its ration packs. My daughters would be offended and if you would like to see a really sexist commercial then check out the video.  For a feminist angle on this marketing strategy, check here.