10 Aug
Here’s a photo from French Connection’s latest campaign. They always seem to have over-the-top hilarious promo photos of men being stereotypically manly.
Pictures say a thousand words, so I’m going to let this one do all the talking. It’s all kinds of awesome!
And here are some older French Connection ads:
I think French Connection does a great job at making fun of gender stereotypes – totally love it when marketing teams exaggerate the ridiculousness of our culture.
7 Aug
Music gets me through everything. This is my latest obsession, and yeah, it’s an old song that speaks to me.
27 Jul
My life is falling to pieces. Personal and work life are horrible. I’m a strong person, but I’m really unsure if I’m strong enough to endure what I’m about to. Seems like ever since last year, I’ve been hammered down repeated with something new to stress me out.
We all worry about our inadequacies and what the future holds. For me, the future holds tough times ahead because Matty, my best friend (who also happens to be my ex-boyfriend, former roommate, and former co-worker), is leaving the country and will be living there for an indefinite period of time. We did so many things together – had fun and feuds!
He’s leaving because he doesn’t know what to make of his life, and he really hated the way things were going for him. It also doesn’t help that he has a significant amount of debt to pay off. He’ll be moving in with his parents and will try to find a new job (since today was his last day at work).
I want the best for him, but it’s hard for me because especially during this time when I’m still trying to cope with the death of my father and work is going pretty shitty, I feel like I really need him for social support. Two people have never been closer.
The last time I’ll get to see Matty is tomorrow. After that, it’ll never be the same again. Even the most exciting books you cherish come to an end.
I feel so alone.
Abandoned.
Weak.
Bitter.
Angry.
I’m certain that I’m going to bear a cross in the days ahead. But one thing I keep trying to remind myself of is that while everybody may let you down, you cannot let yourself down. Life is hard, but you have to put up with the bullshit if you want to make something of yourself.
Dear readers, I fully intend to write a proper blog post. It’s just that I’m going through a very difficult time right now. Don’t lose faith in me. I’ll return soon!
30 Jun
Back in April, I blogged about a funny Old Spice commercial that begins with a cocky man with a towel around his waist in a steamy bathroom. Then I analyzed it for kicks to see what kinds of gender stereotypes they were poking fun of. (If you missed it, read the post here, and check out the short clip, too.)
To my delight, I had the pleasure of viewing a second hilarious Old Spice commercial! Naturally, I had to share it with you all, and because I have some salsa kicking around in my feminist veins, I’m going to analyze the message behind the humour.
Of course it begins with a buff dude who’s well groomed and apparently very polite. (He speaks directly to his target audience – “Hello, ladies! How are you? Fantastic!”)
And just like in the previous Old Spice commercial, the ego has landed! “Does your man look like me? No. Can he smell like me? Yes.” He’s suggesting that he epitomizes the masculine ideal, and that even if your husband, boyfriend, significant other, fuck friend, or whomever can’t look like the stereotypical ‘perfect man’, the least he can do is smell like one. After all, cleanliness is next to godliness, right?
The bare-chested He-Man vocalizes the question you might ask yourself silently: “Should he use Old Spice body wash? I don’t know.”
Homer Simpson: The stereotypical male slob
Then he makes the answer seem like a total no-brainer: “Do you like the smell of adventure? Do you want a man who can bake you a gourmet cake in the dream kitchen he builds you with his own hands? Of course you do!”
No, I’d like everything to be a snooze. And I’d prefer a man who’d rather eat stale cake at a crummy pub where the lights are so dim, you can’t see the cockroaches scurrying to the kitchen. That’s hella sexy! (Obviously not.)
I love how a sense of adventure is portrayed by him walking on a rolling log on the water! (This imagery reminded me immediately of the Log Driver’s Waltz that was featured on a Canadian kids’ show I used to watch. And anytime I get to reference some ridiculous old song from my childhood is pretty damn cool.)
What’s this? After Mr. Sexy Stallion finishes with the rolling log, the sky is falling! No, it’s just a large (and yummy-looking) cake that says “You’re Beautiful” (there, there, women’s fragile self-esteem). It lands right into his studly arms as he miraculously walks across the water like Jesus while using a saw to slice a table. He makes it look like it ain’t no thang but a chicken wang. That’s my kind of man – a multi-tasker!
And ohhhh, a dream kitchen? No way! It’s what women have always wanted…to be stuck inside the home baking or cooking for our man. (Sarcasm drips like honey now.) Okay, seriously, I dig a man who works well with his hands. It shows me that he’s resourceful and perhaps physically fit. And a man who enjoys baking instead of just barbecuing meat all summer? Damn, he’s a catch if only because he defies gender stereotypes!
Then when you think the Old Spice commercial can’t get any more ridiculous, it does! “Swan dive into the best night of your life!” He says while jumping off the edge of a waterfall and ending up in a hot tub.
“So, ladies, does your man smell like an Old Spice Man? You tell me.” As the arrogant bastard smirks, the four walls of the wooden hot tub fall down and reveal a sexy motorcycle. He’s conveniently perched on top and posing in classic Modeling-101 fashion.
Ads like this not only keep me entertained, but also make me appreciate how marketing teams can seamlessly mix a bunch of random, overtly-stereotypical shit together yet make it work. And instead of using ‘hidden messages’ to brainwash us, they’ve brought full-blown gender stereotypes to the forefront so that as viewers, we become more conscious of how silly our society can be.
11 Jun
Nice guys. They are often subject to ridicule, and we’re quick to peg them as chumps or losers – they ‘have no balls’. This backwards way of thinking puts unnecessary pressure on men to live up to the stereotypical standards that they must be macho, aggressive, and egotistical to be respected.
Instead of rewarding them for talking about their feelings or being chivalrous, many men find themselves being the nail that gets hammered. And when you’re down for the count on more occasions than you care to admit, you wonder if it’s even worth it to get back up.
Even a feminist like myself is strongly attracted to the bad boy – the guy who you should never introduce to your mom, the person who cusses like a sailor, and the man who encourages your bad drinking habits. There’s something wrong here.
Sure, the element of danger is hella sexy, but how evolutionarily adaptive is this? There’s no future with men who are essentially assholes. They won’t stick by you through thick and thin. They’re all about the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am. Then peace out.
Why is it that nice men seem to finish last?
While you think about that, check out this funny short clip I came across on Funny or Die featuring The Karate Kid star, Ralph Macchio (all grown up, but still as sweet as ever). You’ll also see some other familiar faces including Molly Ringwald and Kevin Connolly.
The premise of the hilarious video is that poor Ralph Macchio is such a nice guy that his wife, friends, and even gardener are concerned and stage an intervention. They claim that he’s polite, kind, and gentle so there must be something wrong with him. He didn’t become an alcoholic or get tangled with prostitutes. He didn’t start taking drugs or have a sex scandal. Basically, he’s being questioned for being one of the good guys.
This is totally not meant to be taken seriously, but it’s interesting to see gender stereotypes brought to the forefront in such a comical fashion.
6 Jun
In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet Capulet says, “What’s in a name? / That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet”. But is it really true? I disagree. What you name something or someone definitely matters. Just ask Apple. No, not the fruit or the computer company. Apple’s the daughter of the boring, harmless-as-flies celeb couple Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow. Yawn.
Grenade. Seriously? Yeah. We were friends at summer camp, and we made quite the hilarious pair. She was this macho, big-boned girl who was nice enough but who also didn’t tolerate any crap. Everyone just knew not to mess with her. And there I was, this small, bony, happy-go-lucky girl who was always making gimp bracelets and friendship bracelets. We actually had nothing in common except total respect for each other. But an angel, I was not. I’d often make cracks about how her mom probably picked Grenade’s name because of the crude way she was delivered.
Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones, But Names Will Never Hurt Me
Names also play an important role in the cosmetics industry. Lots of women (including myself) are suckers when it comes to buying products with punny names. Allow this nail-polish addict to provide examples: OPI: Eiffel for This Color and China Glaze: Kaleidoscope Him Out. Gotta give props to the creative teams who come up with the names.
Normally mascaras have standard, boring names like Blackest Black and some cheaper brands even just use numbers to differentiate between colours. Then you get companies who try to blow the lid off the compost bin. Yes, it’s all in fun (and I did get a laugh when I heard about most), but if you look deeper than the surface level, you’ve gotta wonder if these names are a bad influence or not.
When does being sassy begin to colour outside the lines and paint its way into anti-feminist territory? I’m definitely not a prude, but sometimes I ask myself if some shocking colour names are really necessary. Aren’t there other (and better) ways to get attention from consumers?
Sex sells:
We Don’t See Eye to Eye on Being Cheek to Cheek
I own China Glaze Tickle My Triangle. And I was thinking about buying Cheeky Monkey Brazen Hussy, but the more I think about, the more I feel like I shouldn’t be supporting a company that sexualizes women. It goes against my feminist ideals that I’m trying to uphold (even though I am, of course, still human and hypocritical at times).
Cheeky Monkey is a cosmetics brand that I didn’t know much about until last week, so I did some research. According to their website, the Cheeky Monkey philosophy is all about empowering women:
“Cheeky Monkey is not conventional.
Neither are the women who wear it.
Sounds great, right? It makes women sound like the world is their oyster and that they have the freedom to change it. I don’t have any issue with that. My problem is that they’re saying one thing, but then doing another. We’re all hypocrites, and I’m certainly not one to stand on a pedestal to proclaim how morally superior I am, but c’mon…with a mission statement like that, how can they possibly justify nail-polish names like Cheap Whore and Back Alley Sally? Yes, they make us giggle, but what the hell is empowering about being a slut and being used for your body?
Cosmetic politics.
What do you think?
29 May
We live in a world where we tell people not to judge a book by its cover, but we’re actually obsessed with physical appearance because first impressions are lasting ones.
The fact that many women are preoccupied with keeping their youthful appearance is about as new as the Egyptian pyramids.
We strive to discover the Fountain of Youth amidst the drugstore aisles. Some, like Heidi Montag, take it farther and seek refuge in a plastic surgeon’s office as I blogged about here. And many women are even ashamed to admit their age, as if the older they get, the less appealing they feel they’ve become. All that knowledge and all those experiences you’ve gained throughout the years mean didley squat?
Kickin’ It Old School
Old women. Think about them. Chances are that you conjure up images of rocking chairs, knitting needles, evil queens, mean stepmothers, or anti-aging beauty products. And they’re often the butt of chauvinist jokes.
Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-a-Lam)!
Then a person like The Golden Girls sensation, Betty White, saunters in, and talk of her awesome monologue when she hosted SNL on May 8 goes viral. What is it about her that got people talking? How did she break the mould of society’s idea of old women sipping tea while watching reruns of Matlock?
I’ll tell you why she blew your mind.
Betty White wasn’t playing it safe. The Proposal star was candid, and she was proud of being 88 years old. (Seems like she mentions her age pretty often.) Betty White also had guts. She made fun of the youth culture (Facebook, anyone?), and for once the world learned to respect an old lady. Being fun-loving and funny, Betty White stole our hearts.
Betty White in Action
Betty White Says Glock You to Ageism
I’ve looked high, low, and upside down to find a video online that I could link to so you could hear her deliver the now-famous monologue. But no dice.
Instead, we can chew the fat on Betty White’s SNL monologue in black and white. Don’t worry – it’s lean cuisine.
Betty White:
“I really have to thank Facebook. I didn’t know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time. I would never say the people on it are losers, but that’s only because I’m polite.
People say, ‘But Betty, Facebook is a great way to connect with old friends.’ Well at my age, if I wanna connect with old friends, I need a Ouija Board.
Needless to say, we didn’t have Facebook when I was growing up. We had phone book, but you wouldn’t waste an afternoon with it.”
Check out the below clip that shows Betty White in her hay days.
Betty White is a living example that you can be old and happy. You can laugh at yourself and laugh at others. You can be comfortable in your own skin. And you can find humour in anything. Her playful attitude teaches us that what makes us forever young is our ability to be young at heart. In the end, that’s what really matters.
The fact that many women are obsessed with keeping their youthful appearance is as new as the Egyptian pyramids.
17 May
Today I came across a very interesting post written by Lynette Long that I had to share.
She wrote an eye-opening piece about street signs. At first glance, the topic may sound like quite the bore, but she digs deeper and uncovers an all too familiar skeleton in the closet – gender inequality!
How many streets do you pass on any given day? Did you ever give them much thought aside from using them to steer you in the right direction to find your destination? I didn’t.
Sometimes the things we see all the time are the things we overlook.
In Lynette Long’s post, Name That Street, she mentions how “street signs are inexpensive, highly visible, and long lasting” ways of commemorating people who have shaped history. The problem she noticed is that most streets are named after men.
What about women? Why don’t we pay tribute to them also? Haven’t they shaped the community around them, too?
How do you feel about this? Does it hit a feminist nerve?
9 May
First thing’s first – Happy Mother’s Day! Hope you spent quality time with your mom, called her, wrote a letter to her, or at least thought about her. To all those women who’ve struggled, sacrificed their wants, and exemplified unconditional love: I salute you!
Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty.
Periods. This isn’t the grammar police knocking down your punctuation doors. And it’s definitely not the Avon lady. Someone else is stopping by – your Monthly Friend (who apparently needs a condescending nickname).
It’s time to talk dirty – period dirty. Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis, there will be blood…just not the kind you were expecting. And no bowling pins are involved.
Before I go into how women perceive their periods and the media’s strong influence, let’s see how menstruation has been referred to as colloquially.
Redrum, Redrum!
Cher Horowitz from Clueless gets off the hook when she gives Mr. Halli the excuse that she was ‘surfing the crimson wave’. Crudely, having your period is also known as being ‘on the rag’. And then there are the nosebleed science textbooks that call the first period oh-so-fun names like menarche. (Zzz)
Even the word ‘period’ has negative connotations. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Stop. Right now. Stop. You’re in your period. Stop. (It’s like an annoying telegram!)
Women, when you’re in ‘That Time of the Month’, what do you think of? Cramps? Bloating? For some reason, girls are taught from a very young age to fear and loathe getting their periods. They’re told that it’s messy, painful, and uncomfortable. Special over-the-counter medications like Midol have been formulated to help women get through it.
For many years, females have been ashamed of this normal bodily function. Instead of celebrating this, we’re taught to essentially hate it.
Miracle on Elm Street
In television commercials, we see people in lab coats pouring blue liquid over pads to show us how well they absorb.
There are also women who testify that they’re able to play sports and resume normal activities when they’re in their periods because of pads or tampons.
‘Period’ical
Many years ago pads were bulky…like wearing a pillow between your legs. Now they’re ultra thin and even come in petite, regular, and long lengths. Tampons have transformed over the years, too, with a sleeker silhouette and with the invention of applicators.
Ever since I got my period and became a member of this ‘secret society’, I’ve noticed the packaging of pads and tampons. Years ago wrappers were usually pink. How stereotypically girly! Now, you might think that wrappers aren’t important. After all, you just throw them in the garbage anyway, right? Wrong. There’s been an evolution (and a revolution) that speaks volumes of a feminist movement.
After seeing pink and discrete wrappers all the time, I found it interesting when one day, Always started putting out pastel wrappers in non-traditionally feminine colours. Interesting! I sensed a change, and it was one I liked.
Rainbow Brite
Fast forward several years, Marty McFly. A few months ago, when I walked down the aisle for feminine-hygiene products in the pharmacy, something caught my eye. It was a rainbow. It was vibrant. It was U by Kotex.
Bright yellow, blue, pink, and green wrappers in fun boxes? They stand apart from their competitors because instead of trying to remain discreet, they’re flashing us!
Traditionally, talking about periods or drawing attention to your period isn’t very ladylike. I love how U by Kotex throws this out the window. (Not talking about something just leads to misunderstandings and even unnecessary fears.)
Check out the awesomely sarcastic 46-second U by Kotex commercial:
And here’s another goodie. At just 31 seconds, it does a great job at poking fun of absurd tampon commercials:
Fellow Canadians, you can get a free U by Kotex sample. (I requested mine.) And if you’re American, go here for the freebie.
What do you think about the U by Kotex commercials? Are you also intrigued with how this company took a blatant stand against commonly unchallenged gender stereotypes? Will you be supporting this by switching brands? Or do you think that it’s just another marketing strategy to make money and that it has no other agendas?
20 Apr
Guess who finally got her first domain name ever? That’s right – yours truly! To visit Glockoma, all you have to do is type http://www.Glockoma.com.
Since landing the domain name, I’ve considered getting hosted. There’s a smorgasbord of things I want to modify to really personalize the look and feel of Glockoma. Nothing’s engraved in stone yet, but it’s definitely something I’m eagerly researching. (If you know of any good web-hosting deals, please let me know.)
Glockoma 