by Librarian Karen
EUROSTAR Group, a multimedia and electronics company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has created the world’s first tablet designed exclusively for women, the ePad Femme:
“The world’s first women’s tablet has an 8 inch capacitive screen tablet made exclusively for women which will adapt to their diverse lifestyle. This tablet comes in a light shade of pink, has special features and a wide range of pre-loaded applications such as yoga, fitness, cooking, health, entertainment and many others.”
So women shouldn’t use tablets not designed specifically for them? I had no idea!
That a company felt the need to design a special gendered version of an existing product (a product which is already used by people of all genders), is confusing and offensive. Making assumptions about how the product will be used by that specific gender is equally confusing and offensive.
There are a few issues, with the actual product (currently only available in the Middle East and parts of Asia) and with the marketing of it, which irk me:
