Via Feministing, I found this SuperBowl ad for Bridgestone tires, wherein Mrs. Potatohead shouts driving advice to Mr. Potatohead until her mouth flies off and he looks relieved. Silencing women is hilarious apparently.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQkKP-VPUJM[/youtube]
Comments 23
Patrick — February 2, 2009
It is hilarious.
anonymous coward — February 2, 2009
Or, you know, spouses sometimes get on our nerves.
Not everything negative said about every fictional ladypotato is sexist. This post is the one that inspired me to stop reading this blog.
aria — February 2, 2009
Talk about an obvious stereotype. The whiny, nagging wife who clearly just Does Not Get "masculine" things like driving, who faffs around and never shuts up.
Personally, while it's hardly likely to have me frothing at the mouth, I find it clear it's getting at women- or rather, female stereotypes people take to be the truth about women- specifically, which is BS.
Rebecca — February 2, 2009
I discovered this blog a few months ago, and have since read through all the posts. Watching the Super Bowl commercials this year with a more critical eye, this commercial stood out as being especially grating in the way it perpetuates (and for all those young viewers creates) an obnoxious stereotype. It also touches that creep factor, going for laughs by suggesting that if your wife is talkative, you should silence her... permanently.
There were another couple of ads that suggested women are sex objects for the manipulation of male strangers, but I cannot even remember them now. Doritos, I think, and some website?
And more ads than I can count that went for the "violence against men is always hilarious!" route.
magista — February 2, 2009
anonymous coward, do you think that the genders in the commercial could have been switched, then? Why wasn't it Mr. Potatohead who was silenced when he continued to complain about his wife's driving? After all, by your lights, that should have been an equally effective commercial.
instasilly — February 2, 2009
women were not silenced in this commercial. One woman (not women) was presented negatively. I don't see the problem. We all know women who behave like this. I see no reason to conflate this into a cause.
Dubi — February 2, 2009
AND... we're back to no sense of humor. Lovely.
L. G. — February 3, 2009
Wow... where are all the trolls coming from all of a sudden?
Yeah, this is a stereotype I felt pretty beaten over the head with when I was younger. It basically a.) made me not want to grow up to be a woman, and b.) made me never want to marry. Because, what was made obvious to even a child, wives are apparently whiny, stupid, nagging, and don't deserve a voice.
I don't think this is overreaction at all. And I'm sick of the "feminists can't take a joke" b.s. How about people start making jokes that aren't at the expense of the freedoms of others, hmm?
xxlashley — February 3, 2009
Regardless of how you feel about the hilarity of this commercial, the point remains that it is important to note the stereotypes being used. I personally find this offensive, as I don't see Mrs. Potatohead being treated with any sort of respect here (yes I realize how silly that sounds; let's pretend Potatohead is a common surname for a moment XD). Sure, if someone was acting that way in real life, it could get annoying quickly, no matter the gender of the speaker. Problem here is the fact that they're playing on two ancient stereotypes for laughs: 1. wives nag and can't shut up, and 2. women don't understand what it's like to want peace and quiet during a drive, let alone understand the tires of a car. Letting jokes like this slip under the radar "because it's funny" and "spouses can be annoying" just lends more leeway to this kind of stereotyping in the future. It's these kinds of things that lead to people thinking it's okay to stereotype as long as it's for the sake of humor; it's not okay, and to echo what L.G. said, I don't want to hear any of that "feminists can't take a joke" scheiße, because I don't think that is applied to any other groups who call ads out on stereotyping. If it is, then it usually isn't as easy as claiming it towards a woman, because we simply "must be on the rag" all the time.
grady — February 3, 2009
Anonymous coward- I used to be of the "you just can't take the joke" variety until recently. Is it really just a joke if you can find a different sexists ad every single day? The enforcement of stupid gender stereotypes is part of reality and I don't think it's off base to draw attention to the problem and discuss it on this blog since it's not like these points of view are being seriously talked about in any mainstream formats.
JenniferRuth — February 3, 2009
Just because you think something is funny doesn't mean that we can't critique it.
In fact you can enjoy something AND look at it critically at the same time! Amazing, isn't it?
thewhatifgirl — February 3, 2009
Am I the only one who saw the intersectional racism here? Mrs. Potatohead seemed to be not just the stereotypical nagging wife but the stereotypical nagging JEWISH wife.
It’s the Thought that Counts » Blog Archive » A sense of humor — February 3, 2009
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SarahMC — February 3, 2009
The plethora of commeters on Socialogical Images who are hostile to socialogical inquiry and cultural examination is a real bummer.
When ONE SEX is continually portrayed as "nagging" (a sexist term itself, as it's only applied to women) killjoys who make men homicidal/suicidal, it's SEXISM. For chrissakes. Were there any women portrayed positively in ANY of the commercials this year?
Tyrone — February 3, 2009
Wow - who knew Mr. Potatohead was such an a-hole?
Kiopta — February 4, 2009
Did the style of this commercial seem really '80s to anyone else? I felt like I was watching one of those "the most _______ commercials of the last three decades!" shows. Only it must have been "the most cliche, misogynist, tired attempts at humor commercials."
BTW, I love instasilly's comment: "We all know women who behave like this." Well, of course, if some women behave like this, it must be okay to imply that they only behave that way because they're women (further implying that women in general just "are" that way).
Seriously, isn't that the definition of stereotype?
CJ — February 4, 2009
It also plays into the stereotype of lousy male drivers.
CJ — February 4, 2009
I hit enter too soon - sorry. :(
Anyway, I was going to say that the whole thing is a stereotype - both the driving and attitude of the husband ignoring his wife's needs and the woman nagging.
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