Illustrating Gender as Performance

Andrea G. in Switzerland snapped these pictures of an ad campaign for TerraSuisse natural agriculture. Their tagline translates as "TerraSuisse guarantees natural Swiss agriculture." They might be useful for a discussion of doing gender (West and colleagues) or gender as performativity (Butler). As Andrea S. noted, it's obvious instantly that the bird is supposed to be female and the chipmunk (ferret?) male by their pose alone.

Posed like a chick:

Posed like a dude:

They might, also, be a nice contrast to this one for which a gender is not immediately apparent (to me... but who knows in Switzerland):



Thanks Andrea!

Conservative T-Shirts

These t-shirts are all available here. The site has the following definition:


Presumably the fact that I'm posting these means I don't understand humor. Of course, these could also be useful for a discussion of what is "funny" and who gets to decide that.



Liberals are emasculated sissies; conservatives are real men:



Torture is funny:

So is lynching:

Some about guns:



Thanks to Breck C. for sending us the link!

Horribly Misguided Anti-Animal-Cruelty PSA Uses Images of Domestic Violence

Stumblng Tumblr sent along this PSA from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, along with this comment:

I am confident that the animal-protection video to which I've linked in this
post...will astonish you.

Indeed it did.

Thanks, ST!

Representing International Disproportions

Worldmapper offers maps in which the actual land area is morphed to represent various disproportionalities across the globe. The website has over 300 maps! Thanks 73man for the tip!

I borrowed a few examples and pasted them in below. The first map is an actual land area map for reference.

Territory size shows the proportion of worldwide net exports of toys (in US$) that come from there. Net exports are exports minus imports. When imports are larger than exports the territory is not shown.



Territory size shows the proportion of worldwide net imports of toys (in US$) that are received there. Net imports are imports minus exports. When exports are larger than imports the territory is not shown.



Territory size shows the proportion of carbon dioxide emissions in 1980 that were directly from there.



Territory size shows the proportion of all territory level decreases in carbon dioxide emissions between 1980 and 2000, that occurred there.



Territory size shows the proportion of state military spending worldwide that was spent by that territory in 2002.



Territory size shows the proportion of species worldwide that became extinct between 1500 current era and 2004, that became extinct there.



Territory size shows the proportion of all people over 15 in the world living with diabetes who live there.



Territory size shows the proportion of all people aged 15-49 with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) worldwide, living there.



See more alternative maps here.

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Schoolgirl Outfit for Your Dog

One of my students took a picture of this outfit at the mall--I believe she said it's for sale at Spencer's. For the sexy Catholic (?) school-dog of your dreams!

Thanks, Blanca M.!

Romanticizing Colonialism

Rachel from Pop Feminist asked us to consider this new Hermes fashion shoot (see all the pics here). Hermes, as far as I can tell, is a French company gone international. Rachel argues that these images invoke our colonial past. She writes:

These images imply colonialism and glamorize a destructive imperial past (though it's hard to say we're "post colonial"). The choice to make the model Indian wearing British clothing -- at least the riding outfit -- symbolizes the primacy of class power to trump racial "inferiority."

So the images draw on the eroticization of the Other (the Indian model, the elephants, and the exotic fabrics and decoration), but one who is subject to a civilizational project (the riding outfit). And this project has, in these images, turned out beautifully indeed! Nice find, Rachel!

Sexualizing and Gendering Food

I especially like this one of a turkey in a bikini:

And I guess this cow is sexy because she's got her tongue out and her butt turned toward the viewer:

Organic food is sexualized too:

I think this one creeps me out the most:

Connecting cars, masculinity, and meat:

These all come from Carol J.Adams's website. She's the author of The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory.

There's also this ad. And these images.

"Spear an Indian, Save a Fish": Racial Conflict over Natural Resource Use

In the late 1980s a controversy erupted in northern Wisconsin over spearfishing by the Chippewa nation. The Chippewa are guaranteed a certain number of fish each year under a treaty they signed with the U.S. government. In the late '80s the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reduced the annual harvest available to both American Indians and non-Indians. When non-Indians (overwhelmingly whites) saw Indians out spearfishing they were furious, since the number of fishing permits they could get had been reduced. Protesters showed up at the lakes where the Chippewa were spearfishing, carrying fake spears with plastic Indian heads on them and holding signs saying things like, "Spear an Indian, save a fish." This poster also appeared.

Do You Desire White Meat?

Are you hungry for some lovin', er, lunchin'? Do you have an all-American appetite for chick(en)s? Or are you secretly ravenous for pig? We think we might have just the thing to satisfy your lust for breast, thigh, and rump:

These ads were designed by a marketing firm in Thailand. Found via copyranter.

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I Love My Roomba, But...

This commercial affirms the notion that only women can be expected to do housework because children and husbands are absolutely useless.



I find the wife's acceptance of her husbands ass-ish behavior (still her "best friend") particularly disheartening.

Ethnicity and Accents in Super Bowl XLII Ad

Here are two ads for http://www.salesgenie.com/SalesGenie/Index.aspx?bas_vendor=99831, both aired during tonight's Super Bowl and both, for no apparent reason, using animated characters with thick accents--in the first Indian, in the second, Chinese.

SalesGenie Superbowl Commercial: Boss Threatens to Fire Salesman

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Sales Genie Super Bowl Commercial

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Doing our best here at Sociological Images to provide immediate commentary!

"DDT Is Good For Me-e-e!"

DDT was a pesticide marketed to housewives (and many others). We later discovered it to be a horrible environmental toxin. Below are two of the propaganda posters (Via Mindfully and KnowDrama and noticed thanks to John L.):

Text:

“The great expectations held for DDT have been realized. During 1946, exhaustive scientific tests have shown that, when properly used, DDT kills a host of destructive insect pests, and is a benefactor of all humanity.

Pennsalt produces DDT and its products in all standard forms and is now one of the country’s largest producers of this amazing insecticide. Today, everyone can enjoy added comfort, health and safety through the insect-killing powers of Pennsalt DDT products . . . and DDT is only one of Pennsalt’s many chemical products which benefit industry, farm and home.

GOOD FOR FRUITS – Bigger apples, juicier fruits that are free from unsightly worms . . . all benefits resulting from DDT dusts and sprays.

GOOD FOR STEERS – Beef grows meatier nowadays . . . for it’s a scientific fact that compared to untreated cattle beef-steers gain up to 50 pounds extra when protected from horn flies and many other pests with DDT insecticides.

FOR THE HOME – Helps to make healthier and more comfortable homes . . . protects your family from dangerous insect pests. Use Knox-Out DDT Powders and Sprays as directed . . . then watch the bugs ‘bite the dust’!

FOR DAIRIES – Up to 20% more milk . . . more butter . . . more cheese . . . tests prove greater milk production when dairy cows are protected from the annoyance of many insects with DDT insecticides like Knox-Out Stock and Barn Spray.

GOOD FOR ROW CROPS – 25 more barrels of potatoes per acre . . . actual DDT tests have shown crop increases like this! DDT dusts and sprays help truck farmers pass these gains along to you.

FOR INDUSTRY – Food processing plants, laundries, dry cleaning plants, hotels . . . dozens of industries gain effective bug control, more pleasant work conditions with Pennsalt DDT products.

Food And The Environment

This graphic from the New York Times illustrates the different environmental costs of meat and vegetable production (click on image to enlarge):

World Statistics

Click here for a "world clock" (by http://www.poodwaddle.com/) that constantly updates the total number of, well, lots of stuff: births, abortions, deaths of different types, prisoners, marriages, divorces, extinct species, gallons of oil pumped, and computers, cars, and bicycles built. You can choose to display it by how much has happened in the last year, month, day, or even from a moment, like right... now.

Thanks, Mom!

Trophy (Wife) Hunting: Ad for Men's Slacks

Ad for men's slacks. Thanks to Dorotha for finding it here.

Here's the text:

“Though she was a tiger lady, our hero didn’t have to fire a shot to floor her. After one look at his Mr. Leggs slacks, she was ready to have him walk all over her. That noble styling sure soothes the savage heart! If you’d like your own doll-to-doll carpeting, hunt up a pair of these he-man Mr. Leggs slacks. Such as our new automatic wash wear blend of 65% “Dacron” and 35% rayon—incomparably wrinkle-resistant. About $12.95 at plush-carpeted stores.”

Destabilizing Heteronormativity

Click here to read about Silo and Roy, gay penguins. They were together for six years before they broke up. One of them paired up with a female.

These two male storks, living in a Dutch zoo, are raising a chick together. The zookeepers don't know how they came across their egg, but somehow they did, and now they're parents! Click here for the story and a video.


About 20 percent of all black swan couples are male/male according to this study:

Carlos and Fernando just celebrated their fifth anniversary (see here):

A museum in Oslo has gained some attention for their exhibit, Against Nature?, featuring homosexual behavior among animals. Check it out.