http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDBJ2ktSZpI

Actually, it’s not, and that’s part of the problem. If you consider the ad in isolation, which you are doing, then yes, it’s just a really cute silly little thing. But you have to keep in mind that this is only one of thousands of similar messages that we are all bombarded with constantly, all day, every day. It’s constant gender and race messages that are damaging to pretty much everyone in the society.

So please, don’t be put off by what you perceive as the condescending tone of some of the commenters, and follow the blog for a while. It’s really incredible how many examples of the exact same message there are in our everyday life. It’s not, as you say, that the OP “saw something that reminded you that our society contains gender differences” – it’s that it’s pretty difficult sometimes to find something that doesn’t.

If you get into sociology, history of science, or similar fields, it becomes pretty clear that “science” (in terms of the ‘hard’ sciences) do not operate in the ways we generally think they do all of the time. These studies also show us that there is really no such thing as “objective” research.

In short, the divide between physical and social sciences is probably not as wide as you might think. There’s a few writers I could suggest on the topic — Kuhn is a classic and Gould has some interesting essays that approach these kinds of topics at times.

How presumptuous! As it happens, I am a transgendered mulatto Muslim lesbian with only one arm. But I’ll forgive you, because we all make assumptions.

[Full disclosure: I really don't have a problem with any of you people's theories, and I actually think it is wonderful that, as Ellen puts it, "Many of us also just happen to be fascinated with the gendering of food." I can certainly empathize with that kind of curiosity. It's just that you take yourself so damn seriously. You think this is the same as physics?!? Really??

Anyway, what I'm really saying is, I'd love to go out for a drinks with all of you. How's Tuesday night?]

This is an interesting conversation. People in sociology, or those who just happen to have a sociological imagination, like to analyze media messages for the representation and perpetuation of gender, race, and class stereotypes. And that is what I thought this blog was devoted to. Yet almost every post has commenters not only defending the status quo but insinuating that we are all ridiculously bitter feminists for even noticing these things. And many of them are quite rude and condescending. It’s unfortunate.

But then, when I have brought this up in the past I have been told that I shouldn’t be concerned/it isn’t anyone’s responsibility to educate anyone else, so maybe I am just overoptimistic and can’t identify trolling when I see it.

In the “about” section of the blog, we in fact state the following under the subheading “Our Audience”:

“We assume that you, our audience, are sociologically-inclined folks. So we do not typically include a lengthy sociological interpretation of the images.”

Just FYI. :)

If you’d bothered to read my comment, I think you would have seen that I merely asked a question; my sin was implying that it could be considered unsettled. And if the resulting “bro” designation wasn’t a clear indication that I’m not welcome here, I don’t know what would be.

Nevertheless! I apologize for the intrusion. It doesn’t seem that you operate under conversational terms that I would enjoy, but if you’d prefer an echo chamber I genuinely think that’s your right; I don’t mean to troll.

Of course, there are always going to be people who are just trolling, but I think everyone has to take into account that the audience of a blog like this compared to a blog like Twisty’s is going to be different.

Well, enjoy your private party, I guess. I know I wasn’t invited, so I suppose I can’t complain about being asked to leave. I will say that it strikes me as strange to make these sorts of glancing observations — ones that presume so much that no one who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) make them on their own is able or allowed to engage with them. What’s the point?

But hey, it’s a big internet, do what you want.