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I did not watch the SuperBowl.  Proudly.  But my stance on professional sports is a topic for another discussion.  Anyway, if there’s one thing that the SuperBowl is known for (besides hypermasculinity and large men in spandex trying to kill each other in addition to rubbing up against one another and grunting in a totally non-sexual way – wait, another post, right) it’s envelope pushing advertisements.  These are being covered all over the place today, so here are some links to get you thinking about the fallout.

Woes Of Bros: Super Bowl Ads Star Pathetic Men — And The Women Who Ruined Them [Jezebel]

Knowing that Super Bowl Sunday is the only day of the year in which TV viewers actually care about commercials, you’d think ad agencies would have tried to reach the men and the women watching at home, right? Wrong.

Superbowl Sexism: Spineless, skirtless edition [feministing]

I’m sensing an anxious masculinity theme for the Superbowl commercials this year. I mean, we get it, dudes: You’re worried about being castrated by lavender scented candles and shopping with your lady friend. Go kill something, quick! And for the love of god, stop being nice to your girlfriend.

The Super Bowl and Madison Avenue Misogyny [feministe]

Superbowl ads are sexist. This is well trod ground: Marketers objectify women and play up stereotypes in order to sell things to (heterosexual) men. But we knew this year was going to be special. This year there was going to be some extra anti-feminist flavor… There were fewer half-naked women and dick jokes this year. Instead, the 2010 Superbowl Ad Mantra seemed to have one common theme: “Feeling castrated? . . . by women? Man up.”

The Critics On The Super Bowl Ads: Boring, Misogynistic [Jezebel]

• From Time’s James Poniewozik:

Wow, Super Bowl ad men really hate Super Bowl ad women this year, don’t they? …. Why would CBS turn down a Super Bowl ad from a gay-dating service, then run a bunch of ads with the message that men can’t stand to be around women?

• From  Slate’s Seth Stevenson:

Is it me, or was this year’s dose of casual misogyny a little rawer and angrier than usual?

• From The Washington Post’s Tom Shales:

An oddly recurring theme had to do with men asserting their masculinity, or attempting to assert it, as well as the perpetual male fear of emasculation.

• NOW via the Los Angeles Times:

NOW president Terry O’Neill said it glorified violence against women. “I am blown away at the celebration of the violence against women in it,” she said.

Looks like a big mess.  Did I miss any good critiques of last night’s ads?  Feel free to leave your own responses as well as links to more posts in the comments.

I don’t even know where to start with this one, although I will say that none of the lows that advertisers stoop to really surprise me when I’m watching football.

Okay, first, just because I am a woman doesn’t mean that the plethora of stereotypes spewed in the ad apply to me in any way.  Secondly, just because I don’t like those things, doesn’t mean I will like your man-machine.  Yoga and sports cars are not mutually exclusive.

Furthermore, beyond never wanting anything to do with this man-machine, I don’t want anything to do with anyone who does want anything to do with the hypermasculine desperation dripping from this hunk of metal.

I hate football commercials.

Yesterday in one of my graduate level classes we had a guest speaker who shared with us some of his experiences and thoughts about being a crossdresser.  He reported that he spent 95% of his time as a man and didn’t have a “chip on [his] shoulder” about the questions we asked him or the pronouns we used to refer to him, so despite his being dressed as a woman yesterday I’ll be referring to this individual as “him.”  Although he gave us the disclaimer that we could ask anything, I still wasn’t comfortable asking everything I wanted to or voicing some things I was struggling to understand, but I figured this was as good a place as any to work through my thoughts.

I was born female and identify as female, and I view that as a privilege.  I don’t know what it’s like to be born in the wrong body, but I believe it can and does happen, and I believe it can and does make life harder for many people.  I also understand that there are individuals who are drawn to crossdressing who have no feelings of wanting to be the other gender, but simply like the way it feels or the way they look when they experiment with gender atypical attire.  But something wasn’t sitting right with me today.

Our guest speaker kept repeating, as he showed us pictures of 50s housewives doing chores in dresses and heels, “doesn’t that look like fun!?”  Maybe.  But not to me.  And the idea that this was once an expectation for women but is now seen as kitchy, cute, and “fun” rubs me the wrong way.  Women have worked long and hard to have the option to get out of that role, and “fun” kind of belittles that struggle.  I was also getting bogged down in privilege-tied guilt that its acceptable for me as a woman to dress in “male” clothing and the reverse isn’t true for men. I firmly believe that rigid gender roles cut both ways and hurt both women and men, too.  It sucks that men can’t dress how they want, and our speaker was right in stating that it’s not fair.  But it’s a little more complicated than that. More thoughts after the jump.

It’s been awhile since 3rd Rock From the Sun went off the air, but now that reruns are airing on TVland, we can once again enjoy the antics of some of my favorite aliens; Dick, Sally, Harry and Tommy. 3rd Rock was always good for a laugh as the aliens observed human interactions from an outsiders perspective. In particular the romances between Dick and Dr. Mary Albright and Sally and Officer Don often played with gender stereotypes, as neither Mary nor Sally were willing to put up with any crap from their partners. Mary’s feisty attitude likely came from her extensive education and young adulthood during the second wave feminist movement. Sally, on the other hand, was never accustomed to gender differences as the aliens were asexual on their home planet.

When they first arrived on Earth, Sally was unhappy with her assignment into a female body while the rest of the aliens were male. She put in a request for a body-swap, but there was no word for years, and she not only adapted to her female form but grew to love it (a running gag on the show was that Sally was ashamed of her body, despite appearing like a supermodel to typical humans). However, three years later The Big Giant Head granted the request, resulting in shenanigans as she and Dick try to live in each others’ bodies until their request to switch back is answered.

Somewhat disappointingly Sally as Dick teaches his class about the formulas of shopping. Dick as Sally has a more difficult time adjusting: at 5:50 you can see how Dick’s brain copes with the harassment Sally’s body garnishes daily. If you want to watch the rest of the episode, you can catch part two here, and the great conclusion after the jump.

Click here for Sally and Dick’s reflections on their body swap

We’ve been over this, people. Girls (and women) play too. We don’t just watch our boyfriends play in amazement.

Even if it weren’t for this commercial, this isn’t the type of game I’d typically choose, but I have certainly known my share of bad@$$ gamer women who destroy male gamers on Halo and other shooter and action games.

Marketers would do well to realize that women are a viable video-game market, and they should try catering to us without the pink and romance and stop insulting our intelligence in male-targeted games.

“We will be our own role models, and the role models for other men and boys.
Rejecting some of traditional masculinity, we will embrace what is useful to us
and sometimes create new definitions of what it means to be a man…
We choose to respect, listen to, seek equality with and share power
with the women in our lives and to encourage other men and boys to do the same.”

- Ben Atherton-Zeman

Ben Atherton-Zeman is a spokesperson for the National Organization for Men Against Sexism.  This quote was featured in an article of the June 2009 issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly.

You thought juice was just for kids.  WRONG.  Juice is for men.  Know how I can tell?  Because the new Minute Maid commercial is kind of like those Twix commercials.  But “healthier.”

Because frat boys and nuns are a hilarious combination.

Thanks but no thanks, Minute Maid.  I’ll stick to Tropicana, Juicy Juice, Sunkist, Welch’s, Naked, Mott’s, V8, Florida Natural…  Pretty much anything else.

For one year of her life, Norah Vincent experienced life as her male alter-ego, Ned. Her experiences compose her first book, Self-Made Man, and provide a unique window into the world of men as interpreted by a woman.

Vincent explains that her journey, although an experiment in identity, has nothing to do with her own gender identity.  She explains that although she grew up as a tomboy, she is “wired” as a woman, and her year as Ned took quite a toll on Norah.

The first theme described in the book is friendship.  Ned joins a bowling league, and learns the rules of male friendship, camaraderie, and mentorship from his three teammates.  As a lesbian disguised in drag, Norah feared what would happen to her if she were “outed.”  After a few weeks on the team, she learns that she entered the bowling alley with far more judgements and prejudices than she encountered.

Other chapters are less uplifting.  Through Ned’s eyes, Norah sees the behavior of men in their natural habitats.  From the underbelly of strip clubs to the uphill battle of the dating scene, Vincent struggles to cope with the experiences of Ned’s adventures without losing sight of Norah.  The inside jokes, thinly veiled sexism, and machismo push Ned to his limit, and the inability to express her emotional reactions to the experience leaves Norah feeling isolated and depressed.

Self-Made Man is one of the most interesting books that I’ve read in months.  It’s a page-turner which I finished in just a few sittings.  The book left me wondering how to separate the subjective and objective truths of Vincent’s experiences, and what it really is like to be a man.   In Vincent’s words,

I don’t really know what it’s like to be a man.  I never could.  But I know approximately.  I know some of what it is like to be treated as one.  And that, in the end, was what this experiment was all about.  Not being, but being recieved.

I highly recommend this book, and welcome the reactions of any male readers to Norah’s interpretations of Ned’s experiences.  Check out Norah Vincent’s website for more information about her writing.

Beer.  Maybe not as American as apple pie, but it’s pretty much a staple of the American diet.  Especially the male, sports fan diet.  But most people (of legal age, of course) happily consume a brewski now and then, with pizza or a burger, or just to relax on a hot summer day.  However, marketers don’t want you to forget that beer is really for men.

Exhibit A: Coors Light

As we have learned from Twix, women just can’t handle the truth. Its best to come up with some smooth line that isn’t exactly a lie, but isn’t exactly the truth either.

Exhibit B: Bud Light

In fact, this is so important that the beer guys will even do their best to cover for you when you act like a douche-bag, but sometimes even that isn’t enough to protect men from the dreaded, beautiful-but-on-to-you girlfriend. Oh, and way to go Dave Matthews. Almost as good as the time you dumped your poo on old people.

And its not just American Beers primarily targeting white men:

Exhibit C: Corona

Again, the naughty boyfriend just can’t control himself. Again, the beautiful-but-on-to-you girlfriend isn’t pleased. If only these beautiful women weren’t so uptight about a guy having a good time!

Exhibit D: Dos Equis

Now this guy, The Most Interesting Man In The World, has really got his act together. And who’s surprised that he’s an old white guy?

As you enjoy yourselves this summer, consider who’s marketers are pocketing your beer money.  Drink (personally and socially) responsibly.

Nothing makes me think “Yum! Greasy, artery-clogging fast food!” like a sexy lady.

“More than just a piece of meat” says it all, doesn’t it? Carl’s Jr (that’s Hardee’s to those of you in the midwest) has a history of sexist marketing used to sell their man-burgers through the use of scantily clad women. But besides the marketing, I can’t imagine choking down one of their monster-sized burgers without barfing. I just wish they’d stop shoving naked women down my throat.

Be sure to check out what Sarah Haskins says on the matter, after the jump.

UPDATE: The bloggers at bitch aren’t happy about the inclusion of music by Rilo Kiley in one of the more recent ads, either.  Check out their open letter to Jenny Lewis here.

(Jump!)

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