Comments on: A Roundup of Stereotypes of Masculinity

By: lyssa

lyssa — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:14:30 +0000

haha, that’s how I feel about it. I know people that love the commercials that don’t even like Old Spice.

Personally, I think it smells bad.

Another things about the new ads is I think they’re trying their hardest to get out of the “This is an old man’s product.” feel they had for so long.

By: Subjectivity and Objectivity, via Lady Gaga « of Heart and Mind

Subjectivity and Objectivity, via Lady Gaga « of Heart and Mind — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 02:41:38 +0000

[...] my feminism not so much on the idea of equality (with whom?…I don’t want to be like this), but on that of autonomy, which to me seems like I much more difficult, but ultimately more [...]

By: paul b.

paul b. — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 02:10:39 +0000

i love these threads. there’s a total double standard going on between the comments about the first ad (mans’ last…) and the second (woman’s last…). while we could debate why Dodge chose the examples it did and if they actually call for sympathy or not – i’m curious how it’s packaging in parody both makes its misogynist point, while also trying to protect itself from critique and double standards.
i’ve started an ideas here:
http://www.mascmag.com/Masculinity/dodge-cars-now-in-automatic-and-double-standard.html
and i do think Dodge could have tapped into men’s contempt for modern living — but not at the expense of women. fans of the original want this voice, too bad they got victims instead.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:24:59 +0000

I was so pleased when I watched “Woman’s Last Stand” in part because the parody is just spot on, and also because I thought some of the statements made by the women are about actual inequalities in power that exist between the genders. Most statements from both videos seem to be complaints about things that men and women would rather not do, but ultimately choose to do (whines). But a few statements stuck out as actual grievances about inequalities in agency.

“I will make 75 cents for every dollar you make doing the same job.”

“I will assert myself and get called a bitch.”

“I will catch you staring at my breasts but pretend not to notice.”

“I will put my career on hold to raise your children.”

“I will elect male politicians who will make decisions about my body.”

The importance I found in comparing the two videos lies in the difference between the seriousness of their complaints. Some statements in “Woman’s Last Stand” complain about a power structure that doesn’t favor them and that they don’t have a say in (justified grievances), whereas, “Man’s Last Stand” complains entirely about unpleasant things that men would rather not do, but choose to do ultimately for their own gain (whines).

The question that occurs to me when I compare these is whether these unpleasant situations marked by lack of agency may actually exist for men in virtue of being men. Men have less power than governments and corporations; and more agency than convicts and minors, sure. But do they exist in oppressive situations where women are privileged? In other words, if Dodge were trying to make a video where men air actual complaints about the unpleasant things they do and can’t help but do because they’re men, what would those complaints be?

So far, I can think of:

“I will register with Selective Services at the age of 18 and be eligible for the draft.”

Looking forward to your responses!

If you would like to read a more longer analysis of these videos, and a few comments on Woman’s grievances: http://amyziz.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/mans-last-stand-and-womans-last-stand/

By: Man’s Last Stand and Woman’s Last Stand « Amy Ziz in Austin

Man’s Last Stand and Woman’s Last Stand « Amy Ziz in Austin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:49:27 +0000

[...] 2, 2010 Thanks to the unfailingly stimulating Sociological Images for bringing this parody of the Dodge Charger commercial “Man’s Last Stand” to my [...]

By: phio gistic

phio gistic — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:01:30 +0000

Regarding who does the most talking – in public contexts, such as seminars and debates, when women and men are deliberately given an equal amount of talking time, there is often a perception that women are getting -more- than their fair share. Dale Spender (author of “Man Made Language”) explains: “The talkativeness of women has been gauged in comparison not with men but with silence. Women have not been judged on the grounds of whether they talk more than men, but of whether they talk more than silent women.”

By: MarinaS

MarinaS — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:53:04 +0000

When men do it it’s not called gossip – it’s watercooler talk, or quite often politics. The idea of gossip as something that only women do, something that is destructive and mean spirited, is a direct descendent of the medieval scold bridle and the idea that it is illegitimate and dangerous for women to have opinions and share them among their own peer group. So the 21m/7m trope is way, way nastier than would first appear.

By: Sociological Images Update (Feb. 2010) » Sociological Images

Sociological Images Update (Feb. 2010) » Sociological Images — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:06:10 +0000

[...] recently posted several commercials that illustrate a stunningly thorough round-up of stereotypes of masculinity. We added a FloTV and Daily Show clip that highlight just how awful men have it these days, what [...]

By: karinova

karinova — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:23:18 +0000

Wow. Now that is a new one on me.
“You don’t want to overdo it because then you get into something that’s not wearable for men.”

Not wearable? Bizarre.

[Y'know what's funny, too? My guy used to work at a huuuge wholesale flower market, for a rose grower. So... yeah. He often smelled like flowers.]

By: ketchup

ketchup — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:52:12 +0000

And, studies and personal experience also show that men like gossiping as much as women, including the nasty kind of gossiping.

By: Meg

Meg — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:14:53 +0000

Women’s underwear packages tend to have attractive women on them, too, and I don’t think anyone in marketing believes that men are regularly buying plain cotton undies for their wives/girlfriends. I’m guessing it’s some sort of weird aspirational thing. The greasy gym bunnies on the men’s undies packs seem to be closer to what men are pressured into being (an ideal of masculinity), rather than what most women actually find attractive. Same is true for the women’s undies — they look more like what you’d see in Redbook (they’re pretty AND domestic!) than a copy of Maxim. I agree with you, though; they’re more annoying than inspiring.

By: Bluesheep

Bluesheep — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:02:02 +0000

This is only vaguely related to the advertising men’s product to woman, but have any of you ever walked through the men’s underwear section before? the packages are almost always covered in some swarthy oiled man with a huge set of genitals prominently displayed by his underwear. I, myself, and the number of men i have spoken with on the matter, have never been convinced that wearing a particular type of underwear would make their stuff look any bigger. Rather, we all get this vaguely uncomfortable feeling and then make our decisions on whatever kind is particularly comfortable to wear. the question is, is this product being marketed to women, who often do the family clothes shopping? Or do underwear companies think that men like getting an eyeful of sack whenever they get new undies?

By: Kailey

Kailey — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:32:29 +0000

I actually did see an awesome dodge charger ad featuring a gender-bending situation where a man was throwing a whole mess of stuff out a 2nd or 3rd story window yelling about a relationship being “over” and the woman grabbing the keys out of a coat that had been thrown down at her and driving off… They called it the “get-away car.” While I think the man’s last stand may have been misguided at best, to blatantly sexist at worst- I don’t think all their ads have been remotely negative, and some, quite funny and different.

By: things that piss me off « dreaming iris

things that piss me off « dreaming iris — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:19:15 +0000

[...] Stereotypes of masculinity [...]

By: Kat

Kat — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:31:29 +0000

The two Old Spice ads The Old Spice commercial did come from the same shop, Wieden + Kennedy, as the Dodge Charger ad. "Yes, we heard Isaiah Mustafa say that men should stop using "lady-scented body wash" in the first ad. But we preferred to think that was an ironic send-up, just as the entire ad lampoons the absurd claims of the beauty and grooming industry — its implicit claim that buying whatever means you can go on a fantasy sail or horseback ride with Mustafa, and drip with diamonds and get tickets to that thing you like. Or live in a world where the most reductive and sexist tropes are mocked, not perpetuated. [...] Hold that order. "Manmercials"? Hairy chests and breaking things and crushing cupcakes in the name of asserting one's cowed masculinity? "Smell Like A Man, Man!"? Gentlemen, you have officially missed the point."