Amanda M. submitted this commercial for a bikini razor and trimmer. Notice how order, beauty, and civility in horticulture is linked with taking the razor and scissors to your pubic hair. God forbid it be unruly, as bushes are in nature.
I suppose I should be glad that none of the bushes just shriveled up and disappeared entirely. And I am.
We may have flight attendants instead of stewardesses these days, but the call button on this Greyhound bus (on its way from Sioux Falls to Omaha) reminds us that the serving class is figuratively, if not literally, female:
Also see this post on sexism in aviation (then and now) and this contemporary Continental ad with sexual innuendo.
Thanks to Stephen W. for the picture!
Anna sent in a link to Courage beer’s “take courage” ad campaign, in which men are shown in various situations where they are told to”take courage” in the face of a proctology exam, ugly sweater, and the following:
Both Anna and I are a little confused by this one. What’s he supposed to be needing courage for, exactly? Is it that his girlfriend is asking if her butt looks big? Or that she thinks she looks good and he’ll have to be seen with her dressed like that? When I first glanced at it I thought it was her thinking she looked good and him being grossed out, but when I looked closer, I think it’s the “does my butt look big?” scenario. Is he supposed to take courage and lie, or take courage and tell the truth?
Notice how the ad uses a not-super-skinny woman in it, but ridicules how she looks. Clearly the answer to “does my butt look big in this?” is supposed to be “yes,” and we’re supposed to find her laughable in that outfit. What I’m not quite sure about is whether she’s being presented as inherently laughable, or as a woman who is attractive and it’s only the dress that makes her unappealing. Thoughts?
Anna was also interested in how the ad portrays relationships between men and women. For some reason it reminds me a little of the last video in this post of Errol Morris Miller beer commercials, in which men clearly find women trivial and annoying.
UPDATE: In a comment, Christian suggests, “It’s about him drinking her beautiful. Get a Courage and you get over it (the butt) or her attitude “does my butt look big?”.”
And Trevira adds,
I think this ad directly refers to the ‘insecure woman’ character played by Arabella Weir in the popular UK tv sketch show ‘The Fast Show.’ The character’s catchphrase was ‘does my bum look big in this?’ (Weir even ended up writing a novel with the same title!).
So there may be a cultural reference here that escapes us non-Brits.
Franklin suggested that we post about some points people are making about Dora the Explorer’s makeover. Originally drawn like this…
…Dora has been re-envisioned and now looks like this:
Wicked Anomie writes:
The producers insist that the new tween Dora will still be like the old one in personality and interests. Just more fashionable, with ballet flats, long hair, jewelry, and makeup. And she wears a dress. Not the choicest attire for galavanting in the woods going on adventures, but hey…
I asked my six-year old daughter what she thought of the new Dora. She likes her better. Why?
“Well, I like that her hair is longer, and she’s wearing a dress. And a necklace. And I like her shoes. And that other one, she’s fat in her belly and her clothes don’t fit right. I don’t like her shoes, either. And her hair’s all short and she doesn’t have a necklace.”
Gwen and I, however, are not surprised at this new feminized Dora. About a year ago we were in Toys ‘R Us in Henderson, NV, and were so struck by the Dora the Explorer toys that we took pictures of every single one of them. Almost all of them feature feminized activities such as cooking, taking care of babies, and fashion and accessories. There are 15 images so I’ve put them after the jump:
These clothing ads from 1928, featured on Jezebel, portray an ideal female form that is wildly different than the one we have today. Note the straight lines (no hips or boobs) and very short hair cuts:
I also like how the first image reads “Summer 1928 Apparel.” Seasonal fashion, it appears, is nothing new.
Chicho sent in a link to an interesting ad campaign from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Ad Council. The campaign’s tagline is Real Men Wear Gowns:
According to the website, “Real Men Know the Facts” about heart disease.”
As Chicho points out, it’s one of those rare examples we see of ads trying to undermine stereotypical masculinity rather than play it up: there’s still the idea of being a “real man,” but instead of associating that with rugged individualism or risk-taking (or eating high-fat bacon burgers while drinking a beer as you sit in your Dodge truck), here being a real man means taking care of yourself, going to the doctor regularly, and taking care of your family by staying healthy.
Thanks, Chicho!
Gwen Sharp is an associate professor of sociology at Nevada State College. You can follow her on Twitter at @gwensharpnv.
In the Girl and Boy Scouts, merit badges represent the acquisition of skills and knowledge. Artist Mary Yaeger tries to draw attention to the skills and knowledge that girls and women in America aquire, whether they be scouts or not, with her own set of embroidered merit badges. They feature things like tolerating menstrual cramps, shaving armpits, taking the birth control pill, suffering through gyn exams, using mascara and lipstick, learning how to walk in high heels, wearing sexy underwear, and more.
The project nicely reminds us that women have to work hard to appear properly feminine, as well as the unique things we experience as women.
Via Jezebel.
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.
Women of color rarely grace the covers of fashion magazines like Vogue. And yet, for the second time this year, the Vogue cover features a woman of color, Beyonce. Unfortunately, in line with cultural stereotypes, the issue is the “Shape Issue,” contributing to the stereotype of Black women, and Latina women too, as especially “curvy.” We document the fetishization of black women’s behinds here.
This month, Beyonce’s cover includes stories entitled:
Fashion for Every Figure: Size 0 to Size 20
Real Women Have Curves: Beyonce at Her Best
NIP/TUCK: Designing a Perfect Body
WORK IT! Longer Legs, Leaner Lines, Sexier Silhouette
THE RIGHT SWIMSUIT FOR YOUR BODY TYPE
WEIGHT OBSESSION: One Woman Conquers Her Diet Demons
The magazine sets up, essentially, an impossibility: “Have curves, but by curves we mean something very specific: boobs and an ass. You know, like Black women’ve got. See Beyonce? She’s Black. So she’s got curves. No matter that she’s extremely thin. You should be extremely thin, too (‘WORK IT!’); eh em, we mean, ‘conquer your demons,’ we love you ‘from size zero to size 20.’ Just kidding! We totally don’t. Design ‘your perfect body’ with cosmetic surgery! Then you’ll really love yourself… and we will find you acceptable… it’s win win!!!!”
Racism and sexism. Nice work, Vogue.
(Via Jezebel.)
