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!

Gee, Thanks Kentucky Fried Chicken

Julie C. caught this assumptive KFC ad:

As Julie says: "Because, of course, only moms cook..." Thanks Julie C!

Also in women are responsible for cooking and cleaning: a commercial montage, Italian dye ad with a twist, women love to clean, homes of the future, what's for dinner, honey?, liberation through quick meals, and my husband's an ass.

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NON-DEPRESSING ADVERTISEMENT!

I hear around the blog-o-sphere that we are "depressing" and "increase blood pressure."

Ah ha, I say! Something we like!

Behold a Skittles ad that problematizes the idea of stereotypes in a hilarious and tasty way:


Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Actually, I tried those skittles when I was visiting Gwen. Not exactly tasty. Gwen concurred.

Nonetheless, well done Skittles! (The commercial, not the candy.)

Weird Company American Bistro Ad: Intentional or Accidental?

A reader sent me an email about this image, found at Photoshop Disaster. I thought it was an interesting image, but I was also suspicious that it might be a hoax ad--I mean, could someone really fail to notice they'd photoshopped a white head onto a black body? It also occurred to me that maybe it wasn't a photoshopping mistake--maybe it was on purpose. Either way, if the image was real, that would be fascinating--the idea that though a black woman's body might be attractive enough to use in an ad, a black face wouldn't be.

But as I said, I wasn't sure about the image, so I went through the comments from the Photoshop Disaster post and discovered that the creator of the ad said it was nothing like the original and the difference in tones must be due to a crappy camera. He provided a link for the original:
Although not nearly as obvious as the original, her head and body still don't really match, but whatever.

But another commenter pointed out that the ad had been posted on LasVegasVegas.com and, though not as dark as the first one, was definitely darker than the original.

Another commenter, the one who took the photo of the ad and sent it in to Photoshop Disasters, added that the photo she took was exactly what the actual poster that was displayed around Vegas looked like--that the body was in fact that dark. Whether somewhere along the line it had been intentionally darked or there was a printing problem she couldn't say.

I'm not at all sure what's going on here--has the original image been manipulated to make the head/body contrast more obvious? If so, why? Or was it an accident, and in that case, why didn't anyone notice? What do you all think?

Thanks to Peter H. for pointing this image out!

Quickie Burger

Found here. Thanks for another one, Pitseleh S.!

An Alternative Image Of Love

Miguel in Barcelona sent us this government-sponsored poster aimed at promoting egalitarian relationships. He translates the text as:

The love has to be free
Free of machismo
Free of fights
Free of jealousy

This image, as a representation of idealized egalitarian love, is a nice contrast to the representations of love common in the U.S. (and in Spain?) that make power asymmetry sexy, desirable, and constituitive of love. Consider the love affair between this apple and pear and these two images (which look more like the fruit than Miguel's image above):

Thanks to Miguel for sending us our first image from Spain!

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Suicide by Butter

These images are from a fake PSA series created, as best as I can tell, by Brandon Knowlden. According to him,

It's no secret that the American culture is known for overindulgence. This
public service campaign dramatizes the effects of poor eating in a way we can
all understand.

It's interesting the way food and eating are linked to suicide and terrorism. Also, the two images with men make it clear they are fat, whereas from what we can see of the woman, there's no indication she's obese.

Thanks to Pitseleh S. for pointing these images out!

Fruit Is Hot

It seems the food-and-sex-themed images just won't stop coming! In these astroglide ads, women (and men?) are nothing but a slick, tasty slit and hole (found here):


And Andrew sent these Puma ads (found here) (look closely):


Also in sexualized food: mustard and ketchup are sexy, do you desire white meat?, hot dog!, and a whole slew of examples.

Polysemy And The Marketer's Aim

These three ads for yogurt ran in Brazil. They are supposed to inspire revulsion. Their tagline is:

“Forget about it. Men’s preference will never change. Fit Light Yogurt.”

Many have commented that these women look hot, not repulsive. So the images might be useful for inspiring a discussion about polysemy and the fact that advertisers can't control how their images are perceived.

Alternatively, they might work differently in Brazil than the U.S. Any thoughts?

Drink Milk, Be Thin

The text:

Drink it in. Pop star? Not exactly. Milk is more my move. Some studies suggest that teens who choose milk tend to be leaner and the protein helps build muscle. So, shut up and drink. Body by milk.

This ad campaign includes a teen-oriented website with pictures of "milk mustache celebrities" and a feature where you can "make your own ad."

MIssissippi Law Would Ban Obese People from Eating at Restaurants

Click below to download the text of Mississippi House Bill 282, which would prohibit restaurants from serving individuals defined as obese by the State Department of Health guidelines.

DOWNLOAD FILE

A summary with a link to the complete text is also available here. MHB 282 is currently before the State Legislature. The author admits it is unlikely to pass but that he is bringing attention to the issue of obesity.

This could be useful for a discussion of our views of fat people, how it is ok to ridicule or openly stigmatize fat people in a way that is not acceptable for other social characteristics, and the way fat has been turned into a sign of a weak character (i.e., a fat person just doesn't, or won't, have the self-control to stop eating).

Thanks for the tip, Kelly V.!

From Pale To Pumped With Racial Stereotypes

If whiteness is the neutral category (that is, people of color are commonly understood to be raced while white people are not), then to be non-white is to be different in some way. The "bad" difference is the deviant (for example, the "welfare queen," the "thug"), while the "good" difference is the exotic, the interesting, the hip, the cool. Those that do difference in this good way add a certain spice to life. This two-page spread beautifully illustrates the way in which whiteness, since it is neutral (that is, nothing) is sometimes characterized as boring, bland, vanilla, whitebread, while being of color is, quite literally, more exciting.



Notice the way the ad goes from black-and-white to color, from a white model to a model of color (but not too dark-skinned), from straight to curly (but not too curly) hair, from a rather plain dress to one that looks vaguely ethnic, and from awkward standing to dancing (of course).

Mustard and Ketchup Are Sexy

Another from Las Vegas Living.

Pair with these ads. And these.

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.

Masculinity Summed Up

Truthfully, I don't think I have ever seen so many symbols of masculinity mobilized in so short a time. I had to watch it three times:



Thanks a bunch to Christine who recommended this in our comments.

Does Orientalism Make You Hungry?

This image, getting lots of negative attention in the blogosphere, is advertising a new Chinese restaurant in Rhode Island:



Reappropriate offers a nice analysis. She writes:

...the ad relies on Orientalist fetishization to sell the store: the message of the ad is that the Asian food of the restaurant — like Asian women — are exotic and different, and will represent a new experience. Diners are urged by the ad, then, to come and consume the Eastern food much as they would hope to consume and conquer the Asian woman.

While Alvin at Hyphen notes that "...the Chinese characters on her side are awkward translations that a native speaker wouldn't use."

The ad is extremely similar to the one for a restaurant/nightclub in Las Vegas posted by Gwen.

Thanks to Penny R. for sending us this link!

Hungry Man: Eat like a man and be full like a man

Sexism in commercials is sadly just so, well, typical. But every once in a while a commercial comes along that goes above and beyond, like this one from Hungry Man. Take note of the ending where the Hungry Man meal crushes the feminized fruit drinks.

This commercial has multiple layers of sexism. One is obviously gendering food choices. Why are healthy foods (fruit and yogurt) feminized and unhealthy meat and potatoes in large quantities (sans green vegetables) associated with masculinity and being tough? And what kind of prescriptions about class and work are made as well? Why are these blue collar "working men" when drinking fruit shakes and health drinks are typically associated with white collar, upper class women (and men)?

As the commercial says... you are what you eat.

I wonder why a recent study found that "the gender divide starts over dinner."

Racist And Ethnocentric Jello Ad From the 1960s

When You Buy Organic, Where Does Your Money Go?

Due to the consolidation of food distributors, when we think we're making socially and environmentally responsible food choices, we are often just still just lining the pockets of the big 30. See chart below, click to enlarge:



Found at lawgeek.

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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