Stereotypes
13 June, 2002 :: 8:13 a.m.
Am I the only guy who is insulted by the fact that while we're supposed to be politically correct and treat women as beautiful, intelligent beings, it's become okay to bash men whenever you feel like it? Two quick examples:
1)Last fall I noticed a J.C. Penney commercial for a one day sale where the baby was sitting in the high chair throwing food all over the place while the father just sat there reading the paper, then finally looks over at the child and says, "Where is your mother?"...yeah, men are totally incompetent when it comes to child care, even for a few hours--in fact the woman should be arrested for negligence just for leaving the baby with it's father. What the hell was she thinking? I found this incredibly insulting...but apparently I'm the only one because they've used that commercial several times since for one day sales as well as making new ones...all showing the father being completely incompetent of watching his child.
2)A newer commercial for a digital camera...it starts with a guy in a grocery store wandering around with a shopping list and grabbing different items--it then cuts to the woman at home taking pictures of all these items with the digital camera...the money line? "Make a shopping list that even your husband can understand." As a guy who does way the hell more grocery shopping and cooking than his girlfriend, and always has in his relationships, this is insanely insulting. All men are clueless in the grocery store? Men can't even read a list, they can only get the right things if they have pictures to follow? Fuck that. This one may have had some backlash though...I noticed the last time I saw the commercial that the money line had changed to something like "foolproof your shopping list," a little more subtle.
Now having pointed that out I have to say that I'm not against bashing guys because there are a lot of idiots out there, but if stereotypes are fair game for making fun of men then it should be okay to make fun of women through stereotypes also.
This goes beyond this simple issue...there would backlash if KFC commercials started featuring a token black guy compaining that he can't get greens as a side and watermelon for dessert. There'd be backlash if a commercial for an autotheft device showing a Puerto Rican being the one trying to break into the car. Personally I'm not against making fun of stereotypes...it can be funny if it's done amongst friends, but if certain stereotypes are taboo for addressing on television, then why are others okay? That's all I want to know.
I'll step down off my soap box now.