Dell Hell -- This One's for The Ladies

Dell's Della Web site is one giant step backward for womankind. A recent article in Advertising Age outlined the campaign, which caters to women -- apparently it's meant to show the female sect just how easy and helpful netbooks can be. And how do they choose to illustrate that, you might ask? Apparently I visited the site too late... the cooking and shoe shopping references were taken down, evidenced by an Editor's note, telling of some text changes. What's left are some half-hearted tips on how to track your workouts and upload photos, as well as some fashionable sleeves -- because, you know, looks are number one when buying a computer and all. Basically, there is no genuine tech information to be found.

Making a site about how your computer can help you buy great shoes is not the real issue. Implying that women only (and only women, for that matter!) use their computers for that reason is. Yes, the rest of the rest of the site is stereotypically "female" site, decorated with flowers and soft colors while featuring a "you go girl" story about an artist whose design can grace the top of your laptop. That I can get over. It's the whole "Della" premise, which they present as if it should be floating on a cloud and surrounded by rainbows and butterflies, that I resent. Do a quick Google search, and you will see I am far from the only one.