Those that don't fit into stereotypes
Our research agrees with Kolbe and Muehling (1995) that it is much more acceptable for girls to be nonconformist than for boys. Children were aware of appropriate behaviour for their own and the opposite gender. The gender stereotypes that are promoted through television commercials may influence children’s perception of gender appropriate behaviour. Children themselves tend to police their own behaviour to that which is deemed appropriate and acceptable.
Boys who like pink
Some of the boys interviewed had liked the colour pink and playing with dolls at a young age. Some girls did not like dolls and liked electronic games. Hence, despite the literature (Butler 1990; Gauntlett 2008) suggesting that there are no longer clear gender boundaries we have found through our research that advertisers ignore this spectrum and address boys as ‘macho’ stereotypically masculine boys and girls as ‘girlie’ girls. It is more difficult for boys who do not conform to their gender stereotype than for girls but there are still some gender expectations for both genders.