fujitsu’s new range of laptops for women – what we’ve all been waiting for
Lately, I’ve started feeling like I’m failing at being a woman.
The other day a friend of mine asked me if I’d like to visit Floriade, the annual flower festival that graces Canberra in the Spring-time. I said ‘no thanks’, to which my friend responded ‘But, you’re a girl. Shouldn’t you like flowers? And ponies? And the colour pink?’
Oh, shit. 27 years on this earth and I still haven’t learned how to be a proper girl!
Luckily, I have companies like Fujitsu looking out for my best interests, and keeping me on the straight and narrow track to proper femininity.
On October 9th Fujitsu announced a new brand of FMV Personal Computers titled ‘Floral Kiss’ designed specifically for women. The article (link provided below) is peppered with words such as ‘elegant’ and ‘refined’ and the design variations are described as ‘Elegant White, ‘Feminine Pink’ and ‘Luxury Brown’. There is also a section on ‘Custom-Designed Applications’ one of which offers a dozen daily horoscopes. Additionally, the designers collaborated with Agete Jewellery brand; lending supposedly feminine adornments.
When I first saw this advertisement from Fujitsu, I immediately rolled my eyes and wondered who was in charge of their marketing. Then I had to berate myself – No Emma! Wrong reaction! I should be brimming with gratitude!
I mean, finally there are computers out there that are so perfectly suited to me and my unavoidable girly-ness, (which I really shouldn’t have been denying in the first place). After all, the reason I like the colour pink is because I’m a girl. It isn’t because I’m a sentient being with the ability to think logically and pick and choose my preferences in life with little to no regard to my sex. I am female. That is how I am defined. How I function in life is dictated to me. Thank god I am constantly reminded of this by things like Fujitsu’s new marketing campaign otherwise I might go crazy and buy myself a steel grey coloured computer.
‘In recent years, with women accounting for nearly half of PC purchases, the Floral Kiss project was born from the desire of Fujitsu’s female employees to create a PC that women would find appealing.’
Now, if I were thinking of myself as a person not defined by my sex (must stop that, naughty Emma) I might pose the question ‘if women account for nearly half of PC purchases then why are we being treated as a niche market?’
Ah! It is because we ARE a niche market!
We have very particular needs and desires which have been ignored for so long! We couldn’t possibly enjoy a computer unless it was catering specifically to our innate feminine needs, with pretty colours and sparkly gem stones. After all, we’re girls. Isn’t that what girls like?! God knows I need a dozen daily horoscopes to help me plan my day. That does not strike me at all as being totally ridiculous and bordering on insulting.
And my greatest sympathies are extended to any man finding this product appealing. You will be publicly shunned and ridiculed.
I will be binning my perfectly functional, highly masculine laptop and immediately purchasing a girly Fujitsu one. It’s what I’ve been waiting for!
By Emma Robinson
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Finally! I’ll no longer be mistaken for a gent when I pull my laptop out in public! You might also be interested in Bic’s new ‘Pens for Her’ I know they have changed my life, I no longer have to ask my boyfriend to write out my shopping list and sign my name with lipstick.
You and me both, Sophie. Thank goodness for Fujitsu, hey!
We’re aware of Bic’s revolutionary ‘for Her’ range.
You should check out Melissah Comber’s open letter. As you can probably imagine, she was super impressed 😉
http://lipmag.com/culture/what-the-bic-an-open-letter/
Good heavens, Ms Robinson. Calm down and have a chamomile. I never understand why young ladies today get so worked up over silly things like this. Perhaps the time is nigh to count your many blessings.
Firstly, this company actually spent a lot of time and money asking women, like yourself, what they wanted. Sadly, what many women want are notebooks that look as if Hello Kitty vomited all over them. There is no accounting for taste. . That is a misfortune, not a tragedy.
Secondly, you don’t have to buy anything with a glittery unicorn/butterfly/fairy on it – but you could if you wanted to. Surely that is cause for at least a small celebration. Otherwise, you could just select from their usual range. No-one is oppressing you; no-one is patronising you; no-one is marginalising you. All that has happened is your choices of technology have increased. Hooray!
Spare some sympathy for men. No-one ever asks us what we want. We get to choose from charcoal black, matte black, metallic black, midnight black, black black and, for the non-conformist exhibitionists among us, grey. No-one cares that I want platinum notebook with a fire-breathing dragon driving a Jaguar on it – and no-one ever will. But I don’t sit around sniveling about it. I put on a brave face and get on with life.
Wouldn’t it be less stressful for you to stop interpreting this kind of strategy as an example of sexism, and start celebrating it for what it really is: female privilege in full and shameless flourish? Far from being confined to a niche market, you are free to choose from every market – from masculine executive black (or grey), to Tinkerbell Sparkles.
Whether you like it or not, some women adore girly stuff. Fujitsu has catered for them. Why not just wish them well, sip your chamomile and be happy that all is right with the world?
After all, it’s a beautiful day.
I think the point is precisely that they *didn’t* ask women ‘like us’ what we want in a laptop. The series was ‘planned and developed primarily under the direction of female employees.’ http://www.fujitsu.com/global/news/pr/archives/month/2012/20121019-03.html
Also, I’m sorry, but the ‘what about us poor men’ argument is tired, old, boring, and most of all, completely irrelevant.
Marketing and designing a range of computers targeted to ‘women’ as a category, that rely on the most basic gender stereotypes is offensive. If you don’t think it is offensive, then more power to you.
We find it ridiculous, and if we want to put our ‘cammomile tea’ down for a moment to discuss it, I think that’s pretty fair enough.
“…the ‘what about us poor men’ argument is tired, old, boring, and…irrelevant.” Ms Patel
Actually, moaning about ‘what about us poor men’ arguments is tired, old, boring and irrelevant too. See how we could end up going round in circles with that approach? Perhaps we should refrain from snark and just respect each other’s right to speak.
I tend to think they create this sort of marketing gimmick just for the outraged press it generates – I guarantee this release will get more coverage in women’s media than 90% of similar laptops released. Anyone who bases their technology purchases on colour or horoscope, deserves what they get, be they man, woman or small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.
Of course they asked women like you. This is why women like you are well-catered for (see the non-girly range). Fujitsu asked all kinds of different women, some of whom happen to like feminine-looking products (see sparkly unicorn range).
This is called giving the customer what they want. All companies do it – it is called market research. There is no point spitting the dummy because women have diverse tastes in computer hardware – tastes which don’t align with yours. Women were asked what they wanted, and the company listened.
Fujitsu is a giant company that exists solely for the purpose of making money. They’d make notebooks with built-in BBQs if they thought enough people would buy them. Of course, they listen to men too. None of them expressed interest in buying notebooks with dragons on them. That’s just one of the realities of life, not a sexist attack that I should take personally.
Reserve your ire for life’s important issues. This isn’t one of them.