“The use of humour or banter is unlikely to mitigate against the potential for harm. It’s fine to show people undertaking gender-stereotypical roles such a woman cleaning. But if an advert showed a woman being solely responsible for cleaning up mess within a home while a man sits around with his feet up, then that would be a problem.”
Gender roles start early, with masculine and feminine toys, terms of endearment, and the way we respond to young girls’ and boys’ displays of emotion. Most of us experienced these differences as a matter of course when we were young, and it would be easy enough to pass them on. But a lot of our expectations around gender-specific behavior are not good for either boys or girls.