Is This Commercial Sexist?

[acropolis]

For 'Mrs Dash 10 minute marinades'.

Woman enters her standard suburban home, dressed all 'superhero.' She zips around the house to the kitchen, where she uses her super zapping powers to open up cubboards and cabinets and grab ingredients for dinner. Uh oh, her husband is coming up the driveway.

WILL SHE HAVE DINNER READY BY 6:00 SHARP?
WILL THIS BE THE END OF THE CAPED MARINADER?
WILL IT BE FULLY FLAVORFUL, PERHAPS WITH A LIVELY HINT OF NUTMEG?

(those are mine)

Next scene, at the dinner table, it turns out dinner was ready on time, and tasty. She got lucky this time apparently.

Now, I haven't been able to fully say 'it's blatantly sexist because of X', but it set off my red flags in spades.

It's not clear to me what the commercial is trying to say.
1. That being able to cook a decent dinner makes mom look like a superhero? Seriously, isn't that patronizing? An eight year old paraplegic retard can cook a decent dinner in half an hour. When people say "oh, but you're so GOOD at it", 90% of the time its something like picking up dog poo from the yard and all that is meant is "I sure like the status quo"

2. That if you gave a woman superhero powers, her ideal use for them is getting dinner ready on time.

3. That using this marinade gives you the edge you need to keep your husband satisfied with your wifely efforts.

[Yahwe]

yes it's obviously sexist.

but it's american.

and america can be obviously racist and obviously homophobic too.

to you lot 'being liberal' is just something that happens to other people.

[edmoo]

I have no idea what that advert is implying.
option 1 seems unlikely, but not impossable. I think its safe to rule out option 2 - no advertiser in their right mind would say that. Option 3 seems the most likely, though I don't think the advertisers would quite put it like that.

As for the superhero, it seems likely that the character we are seeing is supposed to be 'Mrs Dash'. I think the slight sexism probably arises from the fasct that it implys that she *must* have diner ready when her husband gets home. It suggests that it is her duty.

EDIT: removed some crap.

[Sarina_Joy]

It's stereotyping. It happens. I don't know what the word sexist even means any more to be honest. Is it saying that only women can use this marinade or that this is all women are good for or what? It's how you interprit it. The ad company would probably argue that they could have done the same ad with a man but happened to choose not to.

I take adverts like this with a pinch of salt - I know they're idiotic so I don't take them seriously.

[dda]

Originally Posted by Yahwe

yes it's obviously sexist.

but it's american.

and america can be obviously racist and obviously homophobic too.

to you lot 'being liberal' is just something that happens to other people.

You forgot xenophobic.

[wu_trax]

i dont think its sexist, but it sounds like the cliché housewive. since a lot of women dont want to be cliché housewives i dont think that this advert will work. from your description it sounds like it has been made for the 1950s.

[dda]

Originally Posted by acropolis

Now, I haven't been able to fully say 'it's blatantly sexist because of X'

They got you to remember the name of the product. Mission accomplished. Even if you hate the add, the fact that you remember the name of the product makes it more likely that you would buy the product if in the market for such an item. Even if you personally hate the add and would never buy the product because of the add, the odds are still on their side.

[Tactitus]

Commericals are full of sexist stereotypes--the omniscient wife, the bumbling husband, etc. I'm not sure how it's managed to escape your attention this long.

IIRC, I think something like 60% of married women in the US still do the majority of cooking and cleaning in their households, so most commercials for cooking and cleaning products cater to women. And since most women also work outside the home, these commercials often tend to emphasize their time-saving qualities.

[acropolis]

Originally Posted by wu_trax

i dont think its sexist, but it sounds like the cliché housewive. since a lot of women dont want to be cliché housewives i dont think that this advert will work. from your description it sounds like it has been made for the 1950s.

It was shown during daytime television (during a soap opera. don't ask.)

so the only people who would (normally) see it are
A) women who are staying at home, probably housewives
B) young girls on summer vacation, who are being taught that someday, using the proper marinade, they too might be able to please their husbands.

[Sarina_Joy]

C) men who are staying at home, possibly househusbands or out of work
D) young boys on summer vacation waiting for Daddy to bring them their lunch.

etc

[ChubbyChecker]

I think all it's saying is that if you use this product you will be able to cook meals very quickly so use it cos it's cool.
And they could have had the roles reversed, but that would be blatantly unrealistic so they chose not to.

[acropolis]

Originally Posted by Tactitus

Commericals are full of sexist stereotypes--the omniscient wife, the bumbling husband, etc. I'm not sure how it's managed to escape your attention this long.

IIRC, I think something like 60% of married women in the US still do the majority of cooking and cleaning in their households, so most commercials for cooking and cleaning products cater to women. And since most women also work outside the home, these commercials often tend to emphasize their time-saving qualities.

did you know that 96% of women are bikini models who choose their 'mates' based purely on the odor of their body or breath?

true story.

tv told me.

Originally Posted by Sarina_Joy

C) men who are staying at home, possibly househusbands or out of work
D) young boys on summer vacation waiting for Daddy to bring them their lunch.

etc

would spend their days off watching soap operas?

[Deepflow]

i watched neighbours today, and ill probably watch it again in half an hour.

[Sarina_Joy]

By the way if you think that advert is sexist you'd love the ones for Asda (Supermarket) in the UK

Sharon Osbourne introduces us to a British 'Supermum' who manages to do the weekly shopping on a limited budget while still managing to feed the family a healthy balanced diet and afford the odd treat. it's amazing

[Marilyn Manson]

That commerical is more sexist than Bernhard Manning. It's so lewd and prejudiced, it shouldn't even be shown during the day. It should have it's own show on the end of Blackpool Pier. I bet it makes jokes about 'wogs' and 'spastics' when the cameras aren't rolling. It's the kind of commerical that BNP members would happily watch. I'd go so far as to say that's it's contributing to racial hatred, and I think it's not an over-reaction to say that many hate crimes may be perpetrated as a direct result of that advert. It's a disgrace and I'm going to write to Feedback about it.



















































WHO GIVES A SHIT

[Sarina_Joy]

Originally Posted by acropolis

would spend their days off watching soap operas?

Possibly. Possibly not. It's just another stereotype - I know as many men who watch soaps as women.

[Yahwe]

Samantha spent a few hours down into the grammaphone library researching the best disks earlier and for company she took her little dog with her. She likes to dress the little thing in her own stylish canine clothing range and the elderly archiavists say they all appreciate her doggie fashion.

[Marilyn Manson]

"A show Melvyn Bragg once described as "foul.""

[Nodrog]

Obviously anything that portrays either a man or a woman doing housework or shopping is sexist, so cleaning companies and supermarkets are just going to have to employ transsexuals or aliens to star in their commercials instead

[acropolis]

Originally Posted by Nodrog

Obviously anything that portrays either a man or a woman doing housework or shopping is sexist, so cleaning companies and supermarkets are just going to have to employ transsexuals or aliens to star in their commercials instead

she could have been playing quarterback in the superbowl for all i care.

to me, the significant part was the statement that her value as a human being was dependent on her husband's approval. it didn't matter if she was acting in a stereotypical role such as dusting baseboards or bombing Iraqi elementery schools, if at the end of the day she needs her man's approval to get a sense of worth, then a significant act of sexism has occurred.

That, and I hate it when people pretend like performing a few menial tasks of housework is some amzing accomplishment. Like when a four-year-old hands you a random scribble and tells you it's a bird, and you say WOW that's beautiful, I think we have an artist in the family. That to me is a second form of 'significant sexism', that women are just big children and need to be patted on the head for every little thing they do.

'Women like makeup' is sexist, but so what? 'Women carry purses' is sexist, but so what? 'Women tend to cook more' is sexist (and true), but so what? There are harmless stereotypes and there are harmful ones. I feel that that commercial had all kinds of both, but I could care less about the harmless ones.

[dda]

Originally Posted by acropolis

it didn't matter if she was acting in a stereotypical role such as dusting baseboards or bombing Iraqi elementery schools, if at the end of the day she needs her man's approval to get a sense of worth.

My wife frequently does both in the same day. If she does a particularly snazzy job of dusting the baseboards and scores a direct hit on a FULL Iraqi elementery school, I ALWAYS give her a nice pat on the head. She earned it.

However, should I suggest that my wife cook anything, with or without marinade, she would undoubtedly ram me with the vacuum and stab me with her commando knife.

Can't say as I would blame her.

[Helveticus]

Originally Posted by Marilyn Manson

WHO GIVES A SHIT

[acropolis]

Originally Posted by Helveticus

i don't give a shit

i apologize for tricking you into reading a thread about sexism in commercials using the misleading title 'is this commercial sexist?'

i understand how you would feel wronged.

[Nodrog]

Originally Posted by acropolis

to me, the significant part was the statement that her value as a human being was dependent on her husband's approval. it didn't matter if she was acting in a stereotypical role such as dusting baseboards or bombing Iraqi elementery schools, if at the end of the day she needs her man's approval to get a sense of worth, then a significant act of sexism has occurred.
.

I saw an aftershave advert once where the guy trys to get the girl but fails then the aftershave lets him get her. Is this sexist because it shows that male self worth is dependent on women finding them attractive?

[Marilyn Manson]

Homophobia as well there Nod.

[acropolis]

Originally Posted by Nodrog

I saw an aftershave advert once where the guy trys to get the girl but fails then the aftershave lets him get her. Is this sexist because it shows that male self worth is dependent on women finding them attractive?

Good question. Clearly it's grayer than I made it out to be. It's possible that the woman in the commercial I described doesn't give a shit about what her husband thinks, and it's also possible that the guy you describe needs the attention of women to feel existentially validated.

But, more than likely the guy you describe couldn't care less about the woman's approval or disapproval per se, he just wants her mouth around his cock. He's out for his own personal pleasure, and usually he would prefer a woman who verbally disapproves of him and orally satisfies him than one who is the other way around.

[dda]

Originally Posted by Nodrog

I saw an aftershave advert once where the guy trys to get the girl but fails then the aftershave lets him get her. Is this sexist because it shows that male self worth is dependent on women finding them attractive?

This is much more sexist than the Ms. Dash commercial. In this one the woman is a brainless shit. "No I don't want you. Wait a minute! What's that smell? Take me, I'm yours!"

[Nodrog]

Originally Posted by acropolis

But, more than likely the guy you describe couldn't care less about the woman's approval or disapproval per se, he just wants her mouth around his cock. He's out for his own personal pleasure, and usually he would prefer a woman who verbally disapproves of him and orally satisfies him than one who is the other way around.

And the woman performing housework is probably only doing it because her husband is rich and she wants him to buy her a new dress and diamond ring.

But more likely, they dont actually have motives because they are fictional characters in adverts who dont really exist. We judge based on the advert alone, and the adverts are both equally sexist (or equally unsexist).

[acropolis]

Originally Posted by Nodrog

And the woman performing housework is probably only doing it because her husband is rich and she wants him to buy her a new dress and diamond ring.

In this case, the commercial tells you that if you gave a woman super powers, she would use them to convince men to buy her pretty things.

As I said in the original post, the commercial has many interpretations, but I found all of them to be 'over the line'

Originally Posted by Nodrog

But more likely, they dont actually have motives because they are fictional characters in adverts who dont really exist.

i was going to say that

Originally Posted by Nodrog

We judge based on the advert alone, and the adverts are both equally sexist (or equally unsexist).

What would it take to make you, watching a commercial, say "Well, that was simply unacceptably sexist."?

If the commercial I described had included a part where the superwoman turns to the viewer and said "Remember ladies, your value as a human being is derived in its entirety from your husband's approval!" and then went back to cooking, would that be enough?

[Dante Hicks]

Originally Posted by acropolis

What would it take to make you, watching a commercial, say "Well, that was simply unacceptably sexist."?

It really depends what you mean "unacceptable". After seeing almost every advert I sigh and really really wish it had never been made. After particularly bad ads I might make a mental note to never buy that product/service, but that's quite rare.

In general, what the hell do I care about some drivel on TV? Most adverts seem stupid, reactionary and/or openly racist/prejudiced. But so what? If people want to spend their money on such things, why should I care? Should I get annoyed that there are racist web sites out there?

Unless an advert explicitly says "Go out and rape women, they deserve it", I wouldn't be moved to formally complain. And even then, I'd assume twenty thousand other people would have beat me to it.

[Tactitus]

As David Letterman once said, "It's only television." And he wasn't even talking about the commercials.

I'd suggest watching less television.


And what Dante said.

[Nodrog]

Originally Posted by acropolis

What would it take to make you, watching a commercial, say "Well, that was simply unacceptably sexist."?

As Dante said, it depends what you mean by unacceptable. I find most commercials to be incredibly stupid, and while its possible that one would make me roll my eyes more than the rest, I dont think a woman wearing a superheroes outfit is going to achieve this. The word 'sexism' is so overused these days that I would probably avoid using it anyway, even if there was something I actually had a problem with.

Do you find shows which portray women hitting men to be 'unacceptably sexist' out of interest? When was the last time you saw a film where the heroine didnt slap a male at some point? Given the amount of retarded gender stereotyping in popular culture, getting worked up over a cleaning advert strikes me as silly.

If the commercial I described had included a part where the superwoman turns to the viewer and said "Remember ladies, your value as a human being is derived in its entirety from your husband's approval!" and then went back to cooking, would that be enough?

If most commercials, films, or tv programs were to explicitly state the values and philosophy they implicitly uphold, most people would probably find it disgusting. I'm not sure why this particular example is special.

[Radical Edward]

Originally Posted by acropolis

For 'Mrs Dash 10 minute marinades'.

Woman enters her standard suburban home, dressed all 'superhero.' She zips around the house to the kitchen, where she uses her super zapping powers to open up cubboards and cabinets and grab ingredients for dinner. Uh oh, her husband is coming up the driveway.

WILL SHE HAVE DINNER READY BY 6:00 SHARP?
WILL THIS BE THE END OF THE CAPED MARINADER?
WILL IT BE FULLY FLAVORFUL, PERHAPS WITH A LIVELY HINT OF NUTMEG?

(those are mine)

Next scene, at the dinner table, it turns out dinner was ready on time, and tasty. She got lucky this time apparently.

Now, I haven't been able to fully say 'it's blatantly sexist because of X', but it set off my red flags in spades.

It's not clear to me what the commercial is trying to say.
1. That being able to cook a decent dinner makes mom look like a superhero? Seriously, isn't that patronizing? An eight year old paraplegic retard can cook a decent dinner in half an hour. When people say "oh, but you're so GOOD at it", 90% of the time its something like picking up dog poo from the yard and all that is meant is "I sure like the status quo"

2. That if you gave a woman superhero powers, her ideal use for them is getting dinner ready on time.

3. That using this marinade gives you the edge you need to keep your husband satisfied with your wifely efforts.

it's probably designed to appeal to republican women, who come from fundamentalist christian households, where all women have to have long hair and wear a dress and believe that the whole universe is 6000 years old and Tyrannosaurs ate grass, that snakes venom was a fruit softening substance (until eve ate an apple and the fall ruined everything).

as such, this product will appeal to well over half of the US and will do shockingly well.

but it't not sexist as such. clichéd and stereotyped it is.

[maddog]

I wouldn't say so though. Many Americans are out and out leftists. True, most of the population are idiots, but we leave those people to their suburban and rural affairs, occasionally making jokes about them.

I thought the same thing about the commercial. Though really, in today's media, these stereotypes have to be reinforced in order to sell. Having a woman gaining super-powers and using them to beat the shit out of her Republican husband for listening to too much Rush Limbaugh wouldn't be good for their consumer base.

On another note, why, in television, are fat, stupid, bald men always married to successful, intelligent, beautiful women? In their conversations, the men are so obviously below the women that it seems that the woman is merely babysitting her husband, and despite his idiocy, she fell in love with him?

That's just my rant, and hi to the rest of the Planetarion community!

[wu_trax]

in america you dont even know what left means, you only know right and further right.