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Of course advertising is still sexist! Just watch the latest of Jean Kilbourne’s “Killing Us Softly” series. (If your college or public library doesn’t have a copy on hand, you can get a taste by clicking on the link in the last sentence.) As Ms. Kilbourne says, many contemporary ads still reinforce traditional, often sexist ideas of femininity. Still, I have a difficult time imagining life in the society that produced the backward ads featured on PBH3.tumblr.com. (The rest of the posts on the blog — warning – are virtually limited to pictures of cute animals and naked women. Your two passions!)
The mere images in these ads already reinforce a very specific kind of traditional femininity, and the words just translate those pictures into the nostalgically shocking (to our minds, anyway) ideas they represent. In the Kellogg’s PEP ad, a slender, girlish-looking woman gazes up at her husband with eyes that say “I live to serve” — and that subservient attitude makes her all the more desirable, as it happens. “The harder she works, the cuter she looks!” reads the copy. The woman in the ketchup ad seems to be saying, “Not only am I too dumb and weak to open all those other bottles (I need my strong husband — *cough* daddy – to do it), I’m also so dumb and weak I don’t realize I’m making blow-job face next to this phallic object!” Lest you think we’ve made more progress than we have, I should call attention to the fact that we’re still seeing that particular move in ads all the time — though fortunately it’s more rare to encounter ad text so evocative as “Blow in her face and she’ll follow you anywhere.” Thanks Tipalet!
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Ughh. Damn. ^Those make my brain hurt. God, especially the kitchen mixer one.
Great ads. Look how happy the wife with the chef hat on is, imagining what new and exciting things the Kenwood chef can help her cook for her husband. The tagline says it all. Imagine how insulted this woman would feel (and rightfully so) if the machine was actually intended to replace her in this role.
There are some that are kind of offensive like the spanking one but that wasn’t serious even back then. There are plenty of modern ads that do the same thing, present a situation that viewers know is ridiculous to get across a point.
I really like the vitamin one because it’s so true. Look at a woman who sits around all day in stained sloppy clothes, watching soaps then throws a frozen dinner in the microwave when her hubby gets home. She’s not attractive and she’s not healthy. Her hubby isn’t going to think she’s cute and he’s not going to appreciate her. Consider the woman who is busy all day keeping the house nice, preparing dinner and treats for her family, and takes care with her appearance and health. Which would you rather come home to? Even if you’re not a housewife you can appreciate the message that getting your vitamins helps you get through your day with energy to spare and helps you look good. Also, that apron is just the cutest and I’m totally going to go to the fabric store today and sew one up for myself because I need a new dress apron.
I definitely don’t look better after cleaning all day.
You won’t if you don’t get changed but if you’re working all day then have a shower and put on some clean clothes you’re going to have a lovely glow plus it tones you up in the long term.
I’m pretty much a “me or the house” kinda girl.
I do not have the energy to look good after cleaning all day.
I love the one with the blowjob face and the ketchup bottle,I’m sure it will be in my minds eye every time I’m shaking out the last parts of the bottle. I’m going to moan every time,whether I’m in a diner or not!
These ads make me a little nauseous….
Woah son isn’t this racist!?
[...] Refreshingly Sexist Vintage ads – Zelda Lily [...]
God help the man who calls me cute.
I reckon Joey could get away with it.
Blurry,I think your cute!
Well.
Okay. Him, I won’t kill.
You give me a house, you pay all my bills, you drive me around, you let me have free reign in your wallet, you treat me with respect and I will look as ‘live to serve’ as I can.
There are so many horrible abusive men out there. If you find a good one you better bend over backwards to please him because otherwise someone else will be bending over forwards to please him!
Lady, I have learnt the hard way that you get from other people not just what you give – but what you expect.
I am a very calm, quiet person in real life. I rarely have to raise my voice to anyone. I expect respect and I get it.
The whole “find a nice guy and bend over backwards” thing?
He had better do it for me, too.
Because I am worth it
That’s my theory :-) I’ve seen it time and time again; if you find a good guy and treat him right he’ll do the same back. If you manage to find a good guy then treat him badly then some other lucky lady is going to get a shot at him. I have a friend who had a really good hubby but she treated him badly. Never wanted to sleep with him, berated him for not doing more around the house, insulted him in public instead of discussing things in private, and eventually he left her. Luckily for both of them he found a good second wife and she realized her mistakes and got her act together for her second marriage.
I can’t exactly articulate why – but this line of thinking bothers me in the worst way. It’s sounding to me like, “If I’m a really good girl and keep my room clean and smile a lot, Daddy will stay!”
“Good women” (read: women who cook, clean, fuck, etc.) get left, abused, and ignored all the time. In my experience, what makes a man a “good catch” is the fact that he’s not going to look for someone who will “take care of him better” if you aren’t up to his standards.
That said, I can take away from your comment that if you love someone and they love you, treat them with respect and do what you can to make their life enjoyable.
As far as I am concerned a ‘good man’ is one who doesn’t hit me or go behind my back – thats pretty much all I ask! I would far rather be left than that!
[...] Refreshingly Vintage Sexist Advertisements – Zelda Lily [...]
[...] Refreshingly Vintage Sexist Advertisements – Zelda Lily [...]
[...] says on “Refreshingly Vintage Sexist Advertisements“: “Great ads. Look how happy the wife with the chef hat on is, imagining what new and [...]