Every year around this time, companies froth at the mouth to sell us stuff to give to the people we're technically supposed to care about. They're hoping, desperately, that we'll feel the need to express our love--or at least our obligation to give--in ever-rising dollar amounts. It's pretty gross and un-Christian when you think about it, but there's consumerism for you. 

What always baffles me, though, is the gender segregation of the holiday gift guides assembled by the big corporations. All the major players in online gift-giving love to suggest specialty presents for men and women in separate lists. Got a lady in your life? She probably likes cleaning, so better buy her a Hoover. How about a dude? Might as well hook him up with a grill set so he can express the testosterone in his system by scorching dead animal flesh.

This year, though, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw included in Amazon's his n' hers gift-buying tips. Sure, they're still gender-segregated, but not as stereotypically as you might expect. There are vacuums in the ladies' section, but Amazon recommends vacuums for the boys, too. Turns out you don't have to possess a uterus to want to clean a floor efficiently--who knew? 

Amazon also suggests things like toasters and cooking pans for men. There may be chain saws and meat carvers on the list, too, but hey--at least we've established that a dude can cook indoors if he pleases. Apparently he can't decorate cakes, though--all the baking gear is situated firmly in the women's side. Granted, this is all within the Home & Kitchen section. Maybe I'm getting too excited over seeing repeats in a limited selection. A quick peek at the Girlfriend/Boyfriend recommendations puts Amazon right back where I expected it to be--in obvious gender association territory. Get your girlfriend cute sandals, chick lit (God forbid we read a book that's just a book), and diamond jewelry; get your boyfriend cordless power tools, sports documentaries, and poker sets. The only overlap between the two sections is the mp3 player; I guess anyone can listen to music portably regardless of what kind of chromosomes you've got.

I don't know if "offended" is the right word to describe my feelings towards gendered gift guides. I'm more vaguely amused at the notion that a company like Amazon still thinks most people have bland enough personalities that they follow their gender stereotypes to a T. Just because I have a gentleman suitor doesn't mean that he drills and grills while yelling about football. And it certainly doesn't mean that I secretly yearn for expensive shiny trinkets. These guides aren't offensive so much as they seem shallow--yet Amazon and others keep putting them up year after year. I don't know. Maybe they apply to enough of the population that it's worth it. Maybe I'm just the outlier on an otherwise predictable system. What's your take on buying by gender?