There's a new Volkswagen ad in which a very tall girl seeks the man of her dreams: somebody taller than she is. Finally she finds him, a sky-scraping figure climbing out of a "surprisingly spacious" Volkswagen Up. The ad is warm and lovely but it also reinforces a rather boring convention: men must be taller than their women. Tell that to my wife, who is considerably taller than me and obviously found my charm and looks far more important than my brevity. In a world where we've finally embraced same-sex marriage, I'm surprised that so many conventions about gender remain in place.
The media program us with these clichés from a very young age. My two-year-old son adores Oui-Oui (who's called Noddy in the UK and was created by the English author Enid Blyton). Oui-Oui has a bunch of female friends: Mirou, who wears straw hats and makes jam; Mélissa, who rides a pony; and three paper dolls who are obsessed with fashion. Moving on to Mickey Mouse, we find the irritating Mini, who wears frilly dresses and loves flowers. The female ambulance in Robocar Poli (made in South Korea) is pink and wears ribbons. She is described as "kind and caring" next to the brave police car and the strong fire engine. Thank goodness for Kung Fu Panda, where we meet Tigress, a ferocious warrior who's even more awesome than the hero. Now that's my kind of woman. I mean, cartoon character.
