I recently saw 2 commercials which I deem absolutely sexist- towards men. I wonder why our society does not say STOP to this. Sexism does not just occur against women. The commercials- one had a mom that left for work or something and the dad was messing everything up. The product (forgot what it was) was something that the mom had given the children and one of the kids said "at least dad did something right!" Are men now not capable of preparing food, starting a load of laundry, or reading a bedtime story? I hate the "big dumb dad" angle. This makes it seem like men don't know enough to care for their kids or aren't smart enough to know what their families need. (It is also sexist in the sense that maybe they think he "can't" do those things because he shouldn't do those things because they are "women's work"?) Second commercial- this was a commercial that poked at stereotypes but was sexist in the sense that eating salad makes you feminine. It was a Dial commercial for a new MANLY bodywash (they mention how the container looks like an oil can. I believe this is in jest, but still). This guy is sitting on the couch eating a salad and the commercial condemns him for eating "rabbit food". So A- vegetarinism is apparently just for women and b- caring about your health and body is just for women. What do you think about this? Do you think men laugh it off, are offended, or actually help perpetuate these stereotypes? I am posting this in the men's issues forum too, to see the the different results. I believe this is appropriate here because sexism IS common against us and these commercials were something that I do not believe would be allowed if they were reversed.
I think the first one was for lean cuisine or something like that. If this is the same commercial, he didn't do anything wrong, just different than the mom does. I like the way this man cleans. He takes the leaf blower and just blows all the shit outta the house. I told Bear I was going to start doing that. Why is the "Oil Can" men's soap sexist? Companies have been targeting womyn for everything from soap to shampoo to cigarettes to cars for years, it is not always sexist to try to gain a certain buyer.
i said kinda the same thing on the men's issues forum about it. i call that thinking outside the box. i'm tempted ot try it, too. blow everything out to the lawn and set it on fire.
it works well to compliment a woman's intelligence....even if she's, ah, er, blonde....so, by making the man look stupid, the ad strokes the woman's ego....althhough it was made by men fer sure....I had to laugh just this morning I saw a lecture at the local university entitled "the sexual politics of meat" - for crying out loud~! everything is flying around without any center, no one has any concept of what is really human, or good....just a bunch of lost souls making pandemonium. I got trashed to hell HERE because I was aggressively trying to get the women HERE to get off birth control pills and learn when they are fertile and not fertile by studying their (natural) vaginal liquids...I was called all sorts of male epithets....gotta screw HERE, or so the philosophy is, so you need protection....I mean HERE is just as wacked as TV-land. Gimme a break, please. (true inquiries will be responded to)
lol. you should see the salad masterpieces dave concocts. he's man enough not to worry about some gentle teasing from other men about it.
Bear likes salads, too. He'll even have them for a main dish, as long as there is some protein in them. (I made chicken salad last night, as we were both too tired to cook, and he loved it.) In fact, he makes salad more than I do. (His specialty is mixed greens, with a Balsamic dresssing, with some grilled chicken on top, if you want.) And he eats it for lunch at work sometimes. I like them less than he does.
dave just has his layered salad. starts with his lettuce of choice, then diced tomatoes, cheese, then soy bacon. top that layer with lemon juice & garlic powder, begin again. this is his favorite salad, and as such, has to be made in a GI-HUGE-IC bowl.
I think it in most cases it does perpetuate the stereotypes. These stereotypes play so closely towards who we fundamentally are, that if we were to shift who we think we are, it would not only require that we change how we behave in everyday circumstances, but it would require a lot of rethinking/a huge paradigm shift. That is very difficult (as all rewarding things are) and so the majority of people simply accept what they see on tv. Erm.. so yes, I'm agreeing with you.
