Julie C. caught this assumptive KFC ad:
As Julie says: “Because, of course, only moms cook…” Thanks Julie C!
Also in women are responsible for cooking and cleaning: a commercial montage, Italian dye ad with a twist, women love to clean, homes of the future, what’s for dinner, honey?, liberation through quick meals, and my husband’s an ass.
It seems the food-and-sex-themed images just won’t stop coming! In these astroglide ads, women (and men?) are nothing but a slick, tasty slit and hole (found here):
And Andrew sent these Puma ads (found here) (look closely):
NEW (Feb. ’10)! Софи А. sent along a similar ad campaign:
Also in sexualized food: mustard and ketchup are sexy, do you desire white meat?, hot dog!, and a whole slew of examples.
These three ads for yogurt ran in Brazil. They are supposed to inspire revulsion. Their tagline is:
“Forget about it. Men’s preference will never change. Fit Light Yogurt.”
Many have commented that these women look hot, not repulsive. So the images might be useful for inspiring a discussion about polysemy and the fact that advertisers can’t control how their images are perceived.
Alternatively, they might work differently in Brazil than the U.S. Any thoughts?
Truthfully, I don’t think I have ever seen so many symbols of masculinity mobilized in so short a time. I had to watch it three times:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anl_7Q05C8c[/youtube]
Thanks a bunch to Christine who recommended this in our comments.
This image, getting lots of negative attention in the blogosphere, is advertising a new Chinese restaurant in Rhode Island:
Warning! This image may not be safe for your workplace.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaPcBwmCtiM[/youtube]
Sexism in commercials is sadly just so, well, typical. But every once in a while a commercial comes along that goes above and beyond, like this one from Hungry Man. Take note of the ending where the Hungry Man meal crushes the feminized fruit drinks.
This commercial has multiple layers of sexism. One is obviously gendering food choices. Why are healthy foods (fruit and yogurt) feminized and unhealthy meat and potatoes in large quantities (sans green vegetables) associated with masculinity and being tough? And what kind of prescriptions about class and work are made as well? Why are these blue collar “working men” when drinking fruit shakes and health drinks are typically associated with white collar, upper class women (and men)?
As the commercial says… you are what you eat.
I wonder why a recent study found that “the gender divide starts over dinner.”
NEW (Dec. ’09)! Ted K. sent in this contemporaneous commercial for Rice Krinkles:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs-P_u7taMI[/youtube]
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
