Sexist Ads
So we all know sex sells, but so apparently does sexism. The following are a few ads from years gone by (for more see this blog post). I have to wonder at what point these were ever deemed even vaguely acceptable. But then I consider the gender stereotyping that is used to sell everything from detergent to hamburgers these days and realize not much has changed…
Tags: Sexism
May 30th, 2009 at 12:23 am
Ridiculous.
Of course I love viewing these through my 21st century lenses. They remind me of the scene in Mona Lisa Smile where the character portrayed by Julia Roberts is angry at some of her pupils, and the system which cast them into their roles. She shows slides with ads similar to these. Also Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth – the part where she traces gender biased advertising from the fifties on up to present day.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Perhaps I’m wrong, but reading these ads at face value might not be the best way to interpret them… after all, people “way back then” might have used irony as a marketing tool too…
June 7th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
It is sad to see these old ads and think of the messages that earlier generations of women were confronted with. I’d like to think we’ve come a long way, but then I see an ad like this:http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/06/03/geez-what-a-tool/ and I realize we haven’t!
Whereas old ads seemed to portray women as weak, dumb or only good for housekeeping and making babies, current sentiment seems to be that we are only good for sex. I fail to see that as improvement.
June 17th, 2009 at 10:14 am
While these are awful … have you really looked at advertising lately? Women are only interested in sex or cleaning and men are stooopid. Not necessarily an improvement.
October 12th, 2010 at 11:27 am
julia roberts is the classic pretty woman, i love her hairstyle and the way she smiles,:’
October 24th, 2010 at 4:17 am
Julia Roberts has that classic beauty look and she is also a very talented actress”;.
December 14th, 2010 at 9:42 am
there are many pretty actresses these days but of course Julia Roberts would always be the Pretty Woman ..-
March 17th, 2011 at 11:28 pm
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