'Headaches', 'babies' and 'not strong enough to carry a sack' - children explain why Santa can't be a woman
The video is part of a social experiment to determine how conditioned children are to gender stereotypes
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Your support makes all the difference.Father Christmas - the key figure of the festive season and a symbol of happiness and generosity for children across the world.
But what if Saint Nick was without his long white beard? What if Santa were a woman? Would it matter at all?
As part of a social experiment to determine how conditioned children are to gender stereotypes, the creative agency, Anomaly London, asked children: “If Santa was a woman, could she do the job?”
In the 90 second video, directed by RSA’s Greg Fay, the answer from most of the children, unfortunately, is no.
One child said a female Santa wouldn’t be up to the job because “for one, she would get lost in the sky”.
Others cited child care as one of the reasons a "Ms Santa Claus" wouldn’t be viable: “If she had a baby she’d be like doing the presents, taking care of the baby, giving it milk…”
Some children said “Mrs Christmas’” could not do the job efficiently as Santa’s sack “would be too heavy for a lady” and “she would get a headache”.
Despite one boy saying “girls aren’t any different than boys”, the video concludes with another child saying a female Santa would be better at “cooking” than handing out presents.
The video raises concerns about the extent of socially conditioned gender stereotypes.
Alex Holder, Anomaly Partner and Co-Executive Creative Director said: “Even Christmas’s top job is taken by a man. We want to get people thinking about the lack of powerful female role models, and where better to start than the Head of Christmas?”
Stuart Smith, Anomaly Partner and Chief Strategy Officer said: "We tested the idea by asking my kids, and their answers were uncomfortably surprising.
“What started as a bit of elfish fun about one issue, surfaced another...who and what are shaping our children's gender perceptions?"
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