gender

I guess this is what sexism used to look like (before it looked like this and this and this and this and this):

These Folgers commercials are doozies:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VprIbx4QkPc[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnjjkgIO3Ck[/youtube]

Thanks David P. for sending us both the ad, found here, and the commercial!

* I stole the title of this post from HeatherShow.

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.

This is a doll Mattel put out as part of the Barbie line a few years ago. Her name is Midge. Apparently she is Barbie’s long-time friend. If you notice, Midge is pregnant. Her belly opened up and there was a baby inside. The line Midge is part of is called Happy Family.

This is Alan, Midge’s husband, and Ryan, their son. Midge and Alan were married in 1991, according to Mattel.

This is the whole Happy Family line–Alan and Ryan, Midge and baby, and grandparents.

The pregnant Midge doll was quickly pulled from the market because of protests that Midge might be interpreted as a single mother. Mattel argued that Midge and Alan had been married for years, but conservative groups argued that since she was sold separately, girls could get the wrong message and think she wasn’t married.

This is Jewel’s new video for her song “Stronger Woman.” I can’t figure out if Jewel thinks that all women are essentially the same (in the sense that we need to throw off patriarchy) or that contemporary American women are superior (and all women, then and now, should aspire to be like us… oh yeah, and by “us” I mean young, gorgeous, thin, white, blonde women who “love” themselves). In either case, I don’t like it:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaXr2vGDQwk[/youtube]

Click here if the video doesn’t load.

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.

Thus far in American history, the fact that men have escaped an onslaught of advertising for beauty products is a triumph of gender ideology over capitalism. Companies, after all, could double their market if they could convince men that they, too, were unsightly without make-up.

If a company were to try to market make-up and beauty regimes to men, however, their smartest move might be to masculinize make-up. And, this is, indeed, what some companies are doing. Here are some products. Their design is interesting, but their names are the most fun. Some of them are subtle, others not so much.

Studio Five Sport and Sun Tone Enhancer (or, as the ladies say, blush):

MensGroom Time Fighter (we call it anti-aging cream):

Male Species Power Face Mask (when you need a power face to go with your power tie):

4VOO Distinct Man Confidence Corrector (because you’re going to need confidence when you go on your mission):

Ener-C After Shave Mission Balm (Is the shave itself a mission or are you going on a mission after you shave? And, is it impossible?):

Ken Men Battle Scars Healing Anti-Inflammatory Repair Cream (I guess you need this post mission):

Studio 5ive Double Stroke Cream Mascara (get it?):

Ken Men Cream Me Face Base (oh come on!):

Ken Men Blo-Job Bronzing Powder (you’ve got to be kidding!):

Also interesting is the Aveda marketing for hair and skin products aimed at men.

The products are called Pure-formance:

Notice the scruffiness of the men in the images, the dark blue-grey-black colors, and the use of nature. Below you can see the design of the products: brown, orange, grey, and sage colors with angular shapes (on a blue background, of course).

The first two paragraphs of text:

It’s a biological fact: men are different. Their scalps are thicker than women’s and on average produce twice the level of oil. This can make men more prone to sensitivity, dryness, itchiness, irritation and redness.

The Aveda Men collection is tailored to men’s essential need for high-performance scalp and hair management that’s easy to use.

So men are different than women. This is simply biology. They are more: “thicker” and “twice.” And, of course, no matter what it is, it must be “high-performance.

NEW! Mordicai points us to Man Glaze:

NEW! (Jan. ’10): David B. let us know about On the Job, a line of lotions targeting men. The line includes hand lotion, cleaner, and “armor,” which isn’t lotion, it’s a polymer glove.

NEW! (Feb. ’10): Andrea let us know about dznuts, a “high viscosity chamois cream” marketed to men as a way to minimize chafing while riding a bike:

Ladies, you can buy a shirt that designates you as an Official Applicator:

What Andrea found interesting is that, despite the name and logo, the product isn’t actually for a guy’s testicles at all. As the product description page says, it’s to prevent saddle sores in the perineal area…something both men and women have, as it turns out. But the creator apparently thinks the “for men only” marketing scheme–in which women aren’t riding bikes, they’re taking care of men who do–will be highly effective, because it costs twice as much as similar, but non-gendered, products.

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.

I saw this energy drink this morning at a gas station. Notice that it’s sugar-free. According to the website, a portion of proceeds goes to fight breast cancer, though it’s unclear if they mean a portion of the profits of the drink, or just things bought at the online store. Another example of the idea of doing good through consumption, not by just donating money directly to an organization addressing an issue you care about (for other examples see here, here and here). Also, the website says Go Girl is not a rehydration drink (such as Gatorade), but a “functional beverage,” whatever that is.

This ad “liberates” women from the kitchen through technology and capitalism… but not, alas, through true partnerships with men. Women should spend less time cooking, but it’s still HER job.

Oh, also, the reason women haven’t achieved greatness in the United States is because she’s too busy to be bothered. It has absolutely nothing to do with sexism and institutional constraints.

Thanks to Julie C!

This ad, from the 1970s (I think), has the exact same message:  “For women with more exciting things to do than scrub floors: ‘One-step floor care.'”  Congratulations women, now you can scrub floors faster… but don’t think you can get out of scrubbing floors.

Found at Vintage Ads.

And this one, from the 1950s (I think) is extra creepy (found here).  Like the other ads, it replaces “women’s work” with a technological solution.  And that solution a gift from her husband.  The text:

The one gift that quietly ends garbage ‘trudgery’ — frees the little woman from disagreeable trips to the garbage can… She’ll thank you every time she uses it…

The centaur scene in Disney’s highly acclaimed cartoon Fantasia (1940) clearly communicates gendered expectations for men and women, but there are also racial politics. First, note that, in the film as released, all of the centaurs end up in color-matched heterosexual pairs.  Second, most people do not know that the original centaur scene included a pickaninny slave to the centaur females and exotic, brown-skinned zebra-girl servants.

Here’s a link to the whole thing (embedding disabled, but it works as of Feb. ’11).

A clear still in black and white:

Fuzzy color stills from the youtube clip:

Don’t miss our post showing bugs bunny in blackface, too.