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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
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.
As the Obama adminstration presses for health care reform and members of congress are deciding the fate of the American people, pharmaceutical companies do more than just watch. According to NPR, in the last three months (THREE), they have spent $6.15 million dollars lobbying congress. To show which companies are spending what, NPR has put together an interactive graphic. It also allows you to view lobbying reports for each firm. Click hereto learn more.
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
You do if your eyelashes are “inadequate.”
And what woman feels eyelash-adequate after decades of mascara commercials?
Well, now there’s a medical solution to hypotrichosis: Latisse.
Do you love the mascara-commercial-genre of music?
What is amazing to me is how perfectly this commercial for prescription medication for inadequate eyelashes mimics mascara commercials. Consider this random example from youtube:
The line between health care and capitalist profiting off of instilled human insecurities: officially blurred.
Via Gin and Tacos.
UPDATE! In the comments thread, Nadine told this story:
Just got back from escorting my 86 yr old father to see a dermatologist. Every single female staffer was wearing a button that read “ask me about my lashes.” Evidently they’re giving freebies to staff to promote Latisse.
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
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.
Genderkid, Andrea J., Laura S., and Jessica C. all sent in links to the Fallen Princesses photographs. About her project, photographer Dina Goldstein writes:
These works place Fairy Tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The ‘…happily ever after’ is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues… Disney’s perfect Princesses [are] juxtaposed with real issues that were affecting women around me, such as illness, addiction and self-image issues.
You may want to check out a discussion on Racialicious about presenting Jasmine in a war zone and Women’s Glib‘s discussion of the representation of fatness as “fallen” (and the stereotype that fat people gorg on fast food).
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Will M. sent in these spots, by Rethinking Autism, designed to counter misinformation about autism:
Sex sells, I guess. Or, as we’ve discussed before, women’s sexual objectivity and men’s sexual subjectivity sells.
Also see these controversial faux-ransom notesaimed at drawing awareness to autism and other cognitive conditions.
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Ryan G. alerted us to a commercial for First Response pregnancy fertility tests. He noticed that the commercial cuts off the pregnant mother’s head, turning her into a faceless baby incubator (like in these editorial cartoons and not unrelated to this photography). Ryan writes: “It’s clear what’s most important in this picture.”
While Ryan couldn’t find the commercial to embed, he did take down the narration and sent in some screen shots. Here is the text of the voiceover:
The moment we pass from womanhood to motherhood, we cross a threshold. For many of us, that step is filled with wish and worry, hope and how, wonder and when. Fertility is a woman’s most sacred birthright. For over twenty years, First Response has been there, helping women answer the most important questions of their lives. Now we bring you new help: the First Response fertility test for women.
Ryan offered commentary, so I’ll rely on him. He writes:
…”womanhood” and “motherhood” are presented as two separate things, with motherhood trumping womanhood. I’m assuming this is partly because a woman is not allowed to have a sex drive after she becomes a mother, and we all know that a woman without a sex drive is the higher form of woman.
He continues:
“Fertility is a woman’s most sacred birthright.” God knows the most important thing any woman can contribute to society is being a baby farm. Strangely, I never see Viagra commercials arguing that knocking people up is a man’s most sacred birthright.
“[H]elping women answer the most important questions of their lives.” The most important question in a woman’s life doesn’t involve her own personal needs, but the needs of her children and soon-to-be children.
Finally, Ryan writes:
And of course, there’s no father pictured here, or even a passing mention of one. Why would there be? Conceiving, planning for, and raising a child is exclusively the job–ahem, the “sacred birthright”–of the mother.
Thanks for the excellent and provocative analysis, Ryan!
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
As reported in the Associated Press, according to a report released today by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in the past year… In addition, the percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30 percent in 30 states.”
More details, nifty flash graphics, and state specific information can be found online.
And while we’re at it…
Another theme re-emerged among the safer sex ads that Julie C. pointed us to: the use of insects arachnids and reptiles to symbolize sexually transmitted infectiousness (you might have already seen a preview here).
After the jump, partly because of the creepiness factor:
