Sexism on television

Panthro

I wonder is this worthy of it's own thread.

Sexism on telly, should we have a discussion thread about what shows portray men in a negative light? From shows to adverts there are plenty of examples.
I'll share two off the top of my head:
I think "Don't tell the Bride" is one of the most sexist tv shows going at the moment. Every single episode the Groom is made out to be "one of the lads" thicko who goes drinking at every opportunity, while the future bride panics over what the groom has planned. Then when you think he's about to eff it all up monumentally, he some how turns it around. Just for the sake of it RTE, try showing us an episode where the guy actually gives a fiddlers about the Big Day. (Of course, that show probably wouldn't pull in the ratings)
I think it's one of the most fabricated BS shows going at the minute.

The second example is "Take me Out". Now, I know it's a game show and supposed to be a bit of a laugh and light entertainment, but Jesus, some of the absolute tripe the lads are subjected to is beyond ridiculous. Again, for once, lets change up the format a bit, have 30 lads verbally tear strips off one girl, commenting on every thing from her clothes choice to her physical features and see what the reaction is. You can bet your bottom dollar there would be a public outcry.

The lads seem to set themselves up for what can only be described as a monumental pish taking on National television, I can't understand why anyone would allow themselves to go through that. Are the oul 15 mins of fame really worth it?

PingO_O

I know what you mean, whoever narrates that show has a really condescending tone of voice!

Like when they cut to see what the groom to be is up to and she says something like " meanwhile Barry has other things on his mind" she may as well be saying "lets see what the useless man man is up to, probably nothing".

I find the UK take me out to be alright though, I've seen the Irish one and its just bloody cringey.

I think men are very poorly portrayed in advertisements. From being useless, inept housekeepers for whom the simplest of tasks, like operating a mop or washing machine, is a huge challenge they need instruction in from a woman, to their portrayal as the 'fun, but slightly reckless and irresponsible parent' who tells them to keep secrets from their mother.

As for the Lynx ads...

Panthro

Panthro wrote: »

The second example is "Take me Out". Now, I know it's a game show and supposed to be a bit of a laugh and light entertainment, but Jesus, some of the absolute tripe the lads are subjected to is beyond ridiculous. Again, for once, lets change up the format a bit, have 30 lads verbally tear strips off one girl, commenting on every thing from her clothes choice to her physical features and see what the reaction is. You can bet your bottom dollar there would be a public outcry.

I think it was Paddy McGuinness actually said that exact same thing, people wouldn't stand for it. Despite people arguing that women are judged more etc. etc., people wouldn't go for something like that.

Probably my pet hate is crime shows. Guys are manipulative, controlling and completely in control of what they're doing, women generally are either righting a wrong or under someone's thumb. There'll be a rare case when they'll have a woman being portrayed as a supreme manipulator but it's not often.
Actually another point on that is similar to real-life portrayal of things. Have a couple who regularly beat the crap out of each other and it's the guy who's the bad one. Self-defence is a lot more readily accepted when it's a woman who claims it.

MaxWig

Candie wrote: »

I think men are very poorly portrayed in advertisements. From being useless, inept housekeepers for whom the simplest of tasks, like operating a mop or washing machine, is a huge challenge they need instruction in from a woman, to their portrayal as the 'fun, but slightly reckless and irresponsible parent' who tells them to keep secrets from their mother.

As for the Lynx ads...

I hear you, but I think they're slightly more offensive to women.

While the men are portrayed like egits, its the women who continue to clean because us men 'just aren't up to it'.

It reminds me of getting a kid to do an errand for you, and you say 'I'll time you, to see how fast you are'.

The implication is that women are so naturally adept at cleaning houses, that they should just be left to it

um7y1h83ge06nx

Yeah, two shows that are quite sexist alright.

Don't Tell the Bride really portrays men as secondary to the whole proceedings. The portrayal being that if they weren't put on the spot in this programme to do things all they would do for the wedding is have a stag and turn up on the day.

It's not just Don't Tell the Bride, any young guy brought up watching TV is told that however mental a woman goes about a wedding it's perfectly acceptable and sure **** it, who needs savings?

shopaholic01

I've never watched 'Don't Tell The Bride' so can't comment. I have seen 'Ask Me Out' a couple of times. When I do see it I criticise the female contestants though!

The make-up, hair and false tan - I just want to get a scrubbing brush at them.

Their attitude and how they portray themselves really makes me cringe though. It's a bitch-fest, in fact it's so extreme I have to wonder how scripted the whole thing is. I think it also shows 'herd mentality' at it's finest. We're all attracted to different looks, styles, personalities etc., but it seems that a lot of the time none of the contestants want to admit to it. In saying that, the guys must realise what they are signing up for.

As for ads, yes, a lot of them are sexist. Women = competent and mad for house work/men = incompetent or ruled by their penis. It's just a sign of lazy advertising though, so I don't find it offensive.

Standman

It's not necessarily the sexist tv itself that bothers me the most -there is all kinds of mindless drivel on tv that I don't need to watch - it's the double standard and the people thinking that it's all ok as long as the man is on the receiving end.

nicowa

Mavis Glamorous Designer wrote: »

Yeah, two shows that are quite sexist alright.

Don't Tell the Bride really portrays men as secondary to the whole proceedings. The portrayal being that if they weren't put on the spot in this programme to do things all they would do for the wedding is have a stag and turn up on the day.

From what I've seen of the Irish one, that seems to be true. From the one episode I remember of the British one the groom was well into it, and created a wonderful themed wedding for about 10,000 for a largish group of people. Though he got the dress really wrong and the bride was very upset. She ended up paying for the dress he choose and then borrowing/renting a different one from the same shop....

As for the portrayal of scheming women and men, it's easier to still "like" the scheming man, but for some reason I can't "like" the scheming woman. Though it can depend on the actor. Watching the Following at the moment and while I don't "like" the nanny I do like watching her. She's interesting. But (and I don't really watch soaps) any of the schemers on the likes of Eastenders turn my stomach - but that could also be the acting...

Zulu

During the olympics the P&G "Proud sponsors of mums" always left me thinking that british dad's must be terrible. Either that or all families are single families over there. Heathens.

source

The double standards in advertising really annoys me.

Take for example the minstrels ad with two women at a male strip show, or any of the diet coke ads. These show men as nothing more than sex objects, but apparently it's okay for women to stare at a topless man.

Then you have the likes of the hunky dorys ad or club orange ad with scantily clad women, and there's outcry, the ads are deemed sexist and pulled.

RDM_83 again

source wrote: »

The double standards in advertising really annoys me.

Take for example the minstrels ad with two women at a male strip show, or any of the diet coke ads. These show men as nothing more than sex objects, but apparently it's okay for women to stare at a topless man.

Then you have the likes of the hunky dorys ad or club orange ad with scantily clad women, and there's outcry, the ads are deemed sexist and pulled.

I agree with your point but I thought a lot of the stink about the hunky dorys ad was about the objectification of woman in sports (still shouldn't have been pulled though)

speedboatchase

One moments spring to mind from reality TV. Don't baulk, those types of shows are teaching people how to act, dress, speak etc.

Made in Chelsea: I don't watch it but remember about a guy called Spencer was accused of cheating by her girlfriends on a night out. One of them, Millie, absolutely wallops him with a slap out of nowhere. A few headlines on it:

Let's watch Millie Mackintosh slap Spencer Matthews again and again in this Made in Chelsea preview

Slapintosh!

Top Daily Mail comments on their article on it:

'She hit the perfectly dressed Matthews so hard it knocked his gelled back hair out of place'-LOVE IT!
- mk, brighton, United Kingdom, 25/12/2012 4:56

Wheather he cheated or not....nobody deserves a slap more than that arrogant so and so!
- Tracy, Chelsea, 25/12/2012 13:04

it was amazing, millie made my christmas wish come true!
- Cat, London, United Kingdom, 25/12/2012 4:23

this is the best thing to ever happen. her whole body weight went behind that smack too. love it.
- Hannah, London, 26/12/2012 17:39

Panthro

Panthro wrote: »

Sexism on telly, should we have a discussion thread about what shows portray men in a negative light? From shows to adverts there are plenty of examples.

I would say that almost all TV is sexist. We're all living in a sexist culture, and TV is going to reflect our culture. Everything from how the men in Desperate Housewives are treated like pawns, to more extreme examples of cleaning products suggesting that every household needs a woman to clean it, contain and propagate sexist ideas which have often totally innocently slipped into the broadcast. I think it's a great idea for a thread to point out examples of this kind of discrimination, because IMO sexism's strength is in how it is not always being recognised.

Again, for once, lets change up the format a bit, have 30 lads verbally tear strips off one girl, commenting on every thing from her clothes choice to her physical features and see what the reaction is. You can bet your bottom dollar there would be a public outcry.

I have to say, while I have said that I think most TV contains some sexism, I don't really see the huge problem with Take Me Out. The man puts himself out there to a room of women, who then answer questions they might be asked about him. Once the women who aren't interested are eliminated, it's then the man's turn to critique and choose from the women. So it goes both ways. While I can imagine it's more uncomfortable for the guy than for the women, he does choose to put himself in that position and I don't think it's really a sexist issue. As for verbally tearing strips off women causing a public outcry, you must never have seen America's Next Top Model! Women are criticised right down to the pixel on that show. I think it's probably more helpful to examine sexism against men in media as a single issue rather than wrapping it up with the idea that women aren't experiencing similar discrimination.

Keith300

true-or-false wrote: »

I would say that almost all TV is sexist. We're all living in a sexist culture, and TV is going to reflect our culture. Everything from how the men in Desperate Housewives are treated like pawns, to more extreme examples of cleaning products suggesting that every household needs a woman to clean it, contain and propagate sexist ideas which have often totally innocently slipped into the broadcast. I think it's a great idea for a thread to point out examples of this kind of discrimination, because IMO sexism's strength is in how it is not always being recognised.


I have to say, while I have said that I think most TV contains some sexism, I don't really see the huge problem with Take Me Out. The man puts himself out there to a room of women, who then answer questions they might be asked about him. Once the women who aren't interested are eliminated, it's then the man's turn to critique and choose from the women. So it goes both ways. While I can imagine it's more uncomfortable for the guy than for the women, he does choose to put himself in that position and I don't think it's really a sexist issue. As for verbally tearing strips off women causing a public outcry, you must never have seen America's Next Top Model! Women are criticised right down to the pixel on that show. I think it's probably more helpful to examine sexism against men in media as a single issue rather than wrapping it up with the idea that women aren't experiencing similar discrimination.

Women criticising women's appearance is acceptable.

Women criticising men's appearance is acceptable.

Men criticising women's appearance is GASP!

I wonder if one of the men on take me out broke down in tears as the women criticisized his appearance what the reaction would be.

Keith300

Keith300 wrote: »

Women criticising women's appearance is acceptable.

Women criticising men's appearance is acceptable.

Men criticising women's appearance is GASP!

I wonder if one of the men on take me out broke down in tears as the women criticisized his appearance what the reaction would be.

And I wonder if one of the women on take me out broke down in tears as the man rejected them what the reaction would be. I don't see the sexism.

There's definitely an argument for Take Me Out being a cruel show, but I don't see where you're getting the above claims from. Not only do I think they're untrue, but they're also not at all constructive. If you want to talk about sexism against men, it's hardly helpful to focus the conversation on "women have it easy". Men and women have their appearance criticised all the time, it's hardly a novel concept.

Anyway, I came on here to say 'According to Jim' was on this morning. I don't think either gender is represented well on that show. Jim and his brother in law (the only two men on the show), bumble their way through life trying to drink as much beer and eat as much food as possible. While Jim interacts with his kids and loves them, he's never seen to be trusted to care for them, he's never given any real responsibilities, and when he does get a simple task to do, he messes up and inevitably ends up having to grovel to his wife to forgive him/fix it for him. He's the main breadwinner, but once he gets home he's treated like an over-sized child. He fits into about a billion unhealthy male stereotypes and he's constantly belittled for being unable to break out of them.

Zulu

true-or-false wrote: »

Men and women have their appearance criticised all the time, it's hardly a novel concept.

Indeed, it is well accepted/established that when women are objectified it is "sexism". Yet, weirdly, your position seems to be that the same can't be true for men (as pointed out by Keith): it's simply "untrue". Why is that?

OnTheCouch

Keith300 wrote: »

I wonder if one of the men on take me out broke down in tears as the women criticisized his appearance what the reaction would be.

Unfortunately I feel the general reaction in the populist media would be one where he is told to 'man up' or something equally stupid. Even though there would be a substantial minority who would have sympathy for him.

You can argue that Take Me Out works both ways all right, but the man is generally criticised at the start, often quite harshly and he is seen as a figure of fun. Whereas a successful man who succeeds in all the rounds does get to choose a woman at the end over others, the rejected woman usually gets some sort of meek apology and a general excuse of 'Well I would have chosen you but...the other girl is so stunning etc etc.' Shrug of the shoulders and so on. I don't think it's quite the same as the man who gets publicly mocked and laughed at because he isn't tall enough or wears dodgy clothes.

Keith300

true-or-false wrote: »

And I wonder if one of the women on take me out broke down in tears as the man rejected them what the reaction would be. I don't see the sexism.

There's definitely an argument for Take Me Out being a cruel show, but I don't see where you're getting the above claims from. Not only do I think they're untrue, but they're also not at all constructive. If you want to talk about sexism against men, it's hardly helpful to focus the conversation on "women have it easy". Men and women have their appearance criticised all the time, it's hardly a novel concept.

Anyway, I came on here to say 'According to Jim' was on this morning. I don't think either gender is represented well on that show. Jim and his brother in law (the only two men on the show), bumble their way through life trying to drink as much beer and eat as much food as possible. While Jim interacts with his kids and loves them, he's never seen to be trusted to care for them, he's never given any real responsibilities, and when he does get a simple task to do, he messes up and inevitably ends up having to grovel to his wife to forgive him/fix it for him. He's the main breadwinner, but once he gets home he's treated like an over-sized child. He fits into about a billion unhealthy male stereotypes and he's constantly belittled for being unable to break out of them.

You don't see the sexism?

It is acceptable to harshly criticise a man's looks yet not acceptable to harshly criticise a woman's looks. That's the sexism.

Can you imagine the roles were reversed and a guy said that a woman was too fat or skinny or lanky or strange looking for example. Then can you imagine it being a light hearted atmosphere after he said that where people chuckled at the slagging.

I certainly can't realistically imagine that.

stoneill

source wrote: »

The double standards in advertising really annoys me.

Take for example the minstrels ad with two women at a male strip show, or any of the diet coke ads. These show men as nothing more than sex objects, but apparently it's okay for women to stare at a topless man.

Then you have the likes of the hunky dorys ad or club orange ad with scantily clad women, and there's outcry, the ads are deemed sexist and pulled.

Exactly - I was going to use the minstrels ad as a prime example of blatant sexism.

Galwayguy35

Various TV series and films I have watch over the years:

Woman says or does something a man doesn't like and he hits her, he rightly gets charged with assault.

Man says or does something a woman doesn't like, she hits him and nothing happens or everyone feels he "deserved it".

Galwayguy35

The Damien/Suzanne story in Fair City being a prime example, if it was him battering her and there was no charges brought against him there would be uproar.

GalwayGuy2

Man says or does something a woman doesn't like, she hits him and nothing happens or everyone feels he "deserved it".

Yes, it's especially annoying when you see a woman kicking a man in the testicles because "he deserved it." I only really realized how much of a big deal that was after reading about testicular torsion. :eek:

tempnam

true-or-false wrote: »

And I wonder if one of the women on take me out broke down in tears as the man rejected them what the reaction would be. I don't see the sexism.

There's definitely an argument for Take Me Out being a cruel show, but I don't see where you're getting the above claims from. Not only do I think they're untrue, but they're also not at all constructive. If you want to talk about sexism against men, it's hardly helpful to focus the conversation on "women have it easy". Men and women have their appearance criticised all the time, it's hardly a novel concept.

Anyway, I came on here to say 'According to Jim' was on this morning. I don't think either gender is represented well on that show. Jim and his brother in law (the only two men on the show), bumble their way through life trying to drink as much beer and eat as much food as possible. While Jim interacts with his kids and loves them, he's never seen to be trusted to care for them, he's never given any real responsibilities, and when he does get a simple task to do, he messes up and inevitably ends up having to grovel to his wife to forgive him/fix it for him. He's the main breadwinner, but once he gets home he's treated like an over-sized child. He fits into about a billion unhealthy male stereotypes and he's constantly belittled for being unable to break out of them.

Not just 'According To Jim'.... Also 'Everybody Loves Raymond' & 'King Of Queens' are more or less the same format.

Doctor DooM

To be fair, I find the most sexist TV is also the lowest common denominator TV, in general, whether it's aimed at men or women. I hate it from either side. It's lazy and stupid.

I do have to say I had a little titter at someone reading a brain dead woman's magazine and laughing at the men in the "aint fellas daft" section. Least they don't buy the same magazine with different names every week that tells them how independant they are on one page when the next has 5 top tips on how to keep your man.

tsiehta

Keith300 wrote: »

Women criticising women's appearance is acceptable.

Women criticising men's appearance is acceptable.

Men criticising women's appearance is GASP!

I wonder if one of the men on take me out broke down in tears as the women criticisized his appearance what the reaction would be.

There have been several male judges on America's Next Top Model.

Encrustment

Stop watching shyte on TV. Problem solved.

Panthro

Few off topic posts have been deleted folks, lets all try sticking to the thread title, please and thank you.

Gandhi

I saw something very subtle on TV a few hours ago.

I was in the gym at lunchtime, where they have the TV on with the sound off, and one of those Jerry Springer-type shows was on. I think it was Maury Povich.

At the start of the show they were showing a man and woman (separately) backstage who were going to have their dispute on stage, and were interviewing. At first, I thought the man was being interviewed from inside a prison cell, and then I realized that the backdrop was a black trellis against a blue wall.

The woman was sitting in front of part of it with some vertical, horizontal, and diagonal beams that actually looked like a decorative trellis. The man was sitting in front of part of it that only had horizontal beams, and the more I looked at it the more I thought it was meant to look like prison bars. The thickness and spacing were bang-on, and there was a cluster that were out of sequence and looked like a prison cell door.

They also had all these incidental shots of the man standing there with folded arms and an angry look on his face, while the incidental shots of the woman were of her sitting in a chair with a forlorn woe-is-me expression.

I couldn't hear what they were actually saying, but it was interesting how they were using camera angles to frame the man as the villain before they even got on stage. Obviously, they were also being sexist to the woman by portraying her as a helpless little victim.

Sulla Felix

Candie wrote: »

to their portrayal as the 'fun, but slightly reckless and irresponsible parent' who tells them to keep secrets from their mother.

If that's the ad I'm thinking of, the very last "scene" has the tables turned with the mother doing the very same thing, so, 50/50 on that I reckon.

iwantmydinner

The sexist tripe that ad-makers come up with drives me insane on a daily basis, on radio and TV. The men are thick and the women are eye-rolling naggy types in sooo many ads... it's actually scandalous. I remember my mum giving out about the way both men and women are portrayed in ads when I was a very young child - how in the name of god is it still happening??

Anyone seen the ad where the woman is in a bath and being sexually pleasured by a man with a fire hose? Seems a bit much.

The Black Oil

A lot of the TV I watch is fictional drama, and funnily enough, most of the characters I've liked over the past 3-4 years have been female. And actually, their being female wasn't really the main reason I liked them. It was that they had confidence, intelligence, balls and were capable of making decisions.

I tend not to watch as scheduled, so a lot of the time I'm not really aware of the reality stuff. I hear the odd bit here and there. With most reality stuff, isn't it basically scripted, by the numbers to cringeworthy levels anyway? Not that this makes it OK if there's sexism involved.

As for advertising, again I may be a little sheltered here as I don't watch a lot of stuff with ads. Mr. Muscle oven cleaner ads have been pretty stupid over the years, iirc. Cinema ads are sometimes a bit off, though. For example, the Club Orange 'bits' one, which is heavy on cleavage. It just seemed a bit…'is that the best they could come up with?' (on my personal offend-o-meter :P), which is usually what they're trying to do half the time - to stir a reaction, and that this can end up with greater media exposure than how the ad was originally packaged. Like a Ryanair stunt that becomes a bit more known for something O' Leary says or does rather the original message.

It's a bit odd that we're living in the Mad Men watching generation, hearing people wince at some of the comments by its characters, usually directed at woman. Some of that has changed in the workplace, of course (with exceptions, obviously), but advertising probably has a long way to go re men, women, and children.

Daveysil15

Sexism on TV is nothing new. Take me out is not the worst of them, and I do recall Jennifer McGuire hosting a dating show where a group of guys got to judge one woman at a time and they were fairly blunt in their opinions. Although I think it worked both ways in that show. At least they mixed it up a bit.

cantdecide

I remember watching Grey's Anatomy because a housemate was a fan for a while. I'm not a big TV fan and was happy to stare at the TV at that time of evening. I don't have examples or evidence. I don't even remember the characters but I just remembering the women were mostly portrayed as proactive go-getters and the males were shown as spineless, fickle or borderline sociopathic. It got too annoying too quickly so I went for evening walks instead!

wallycharlo

Peppa Pig sums it up perfectly for me.

Silly Daddy Pig :-)

brianwarren

HI, Good Topic for discussion.
My opinion is the there is too much Sport on TV, Radio aimed at men, and too much Sexist trash programs aimed at women. The women who watch these programs should be giving out that small minded stereo typed programs are all they have to choose from.
While I have never seen these programs, I think the men are ridiculed to make the female audience feel good about themselves. Not everyone has a good job, not every one has good work mates, not everyone has a good family life, and not everyone has a good marriage. Some women unfortunately see men as an easy target to relieve what ever problem they have.

It is like the joke, did you hear about the Female Gay couple who broke up, it was the mans fault.

Sometimes our attitudes are made by rubbish programs like these which is the dangerous thing, especially for young kids growing up.

An example of attitude is the following;
There was a critical report on Madrid TV last week. The question was regarding whether women should be the home makers in a family with children.
Both women and men were asked, and both agreed women were better. Which is a compliment to women. But the reporters commented that the attitudes were sexist.
This was especially aimed at a young guy, who to be fair gave the impression of not having much of a clue. But for those who are in the know, until you get to a ripe old age one really doesn't have a clue.
While the guy was whole heartily in favor women being the home makers, what a few years will help him realize is that he should have added, but he would prefer it was him.
If we are to learn from our Scandinavian brothers, one of the parents is best based at home ( although present living patterns make that is impossible. )

Sexism is a very important thing, especially what women have been through, and continue to go through.
As James Connelly said, Women are the slave's slave, and it was true. But what he forgot to mention was that Children were the slave of the slave's slave, often sold in Ireland right up to the 60s.
What I think he meant to get across by this was that while women of means fight for equal rights, what they should be fighting for are equal rights for disadvantaged men, as this would benefit their wives, and hence their children.

Amirani

brianwarren wrote: »

HI, Good Topic for discussion.
My opinion is the there is too much Sport on TV, Radio aimed at men, and too much Sexist trash programs aimed at women. The women who watch these programs should be giving out that small minded stereo typed programs are all they have to choose from.

Sky Sports should be closed down...:rolleyes:

You do know that women like sport also?

Guyanachronism

Have people seen the new ad for Paco Robanne cologne ad? It has some stupid name like excelsior. But basically at the end the guy walks into a locker room with a trophy on his shoulder and there are five women waiting for him.

It's just insulting that they think they can sell cologne with such a stupid ad. I know the lynx ads were bad, but they were tongue in cheek, this is one of those serious artsy looking cologne ads, but still has the same stupid tropes.

brianwarren

HI

Of course Women follow sport, but as all sport on TV is male based, most people who watch are men, so the shows are focused on men.
If more women were as daft as some men, watching so much sport, rather than practicing it, then there would be Women's Golf, Football and more on prime time TV. As generally women are less attracted to sports programs, the Dope Men's programs are focused on them.
It really is a sad and lazy type of broadcasting as well. If Rugby is in season, RTE lives and breaths Rugby, while most people couldn't care less.
If it is football, football everywhere. Is it so narrow minded and lazy.
There should be more information on TV, given by interesting interested people.

Like a program on Africa and the countries that are still not independent.
A program on the Democrat Party in America on how they fought against American Slave Rights, only to become the Party of the African American.
A program on how women were treated as 2nd class citizens until very lately.
How social progression for the Poor, is social progression for Women and Children
A program on how spoiling our children does not make them better people.

wallycharlo

brianwarren wrote: »

...Of course Women follow sport, but as all sport on TV is male based...

It's not.

Take a look at Eurosport, they have plenty of women's sport on.

Arawn

Currently watching a film atm with Kirsten Bell called the lifeguard, She's almost 30 hooking up with a troubled teenager in school and yet it's portrayed as a mutual relationship and not her preying on him. Only one mention of it being illegal so far and the movie is 70 mins in

Galwayguy35

The Diet Coke ad, yer man out mowing the lawn and one of the women throws a can in his direction, it splashes all over his T shirt and he slowly takes it off while the women watch.

Reverse the sexes and it wouldn't last long on the tele methinks...

jaffacakesyum

I agree with most of what has been said on the thread. Advertisements to do with cleaning products, cooking etc. in particular drives me nuts. The man always portrayed as the stupid one, the women always the one who does the cooking and cleaning.

But with regards to diet coke ad, minstrels etc. I see no problem with it. And I see no problem with the club orange ad either. The club orange ad did get a lot more complaints than any ad objectifying men, but the thing is, if men feel offended at the diet coke ad or minstrels ad they have every right to complain. It's not womens fault that these ads are still on there. I personally see no problem with the ads but if a lot of men complained and it got taken off the air I'd say no problem, fair play, you guys obviously think it's inapproriate and it's your right to complain about it.

Tv soaps do nothing good for domestic abuse and physical violence against men either. But there's a load of rubbish on soaps in general.

source

jaffacakesyum wrote: »

But with regards to diet coke ad, minstrels etc. I see no problem with it. And I see no problem with the club orange ad either. The club orange ad did get a lot more complaints than any ad objectifying men, but the thing is, if men feel offended at the diet coke ad or minstrels ad they have every right to complain. It's not womens fault that these ads are still on there. I personally see no problem with the ads but if a lot of men complained and it got taken off the air I'd say no problem, fair play, you guys obviously think it's inapproriate and it's your right to complain about it.

It's not about that, it's about the very obvious double standards that are at play on our TV screens.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander doesn't hold true when it comes to the portrayal of the two sexes on TV.

um7y1h83ge06nx

Remember the RSA's "Slow Down Boys" campaign?

People here, myself included, complained about that one on the basis that it was a gross generalisation, sexist and sought to demonise men.

Nothing was done about that.

Zulu

Mavis Glamorous Designer wrote: »

Remember the RSA's "Slow Down Boys" campaign?

People here, myself included, complained about that one on the basis that it was a gross generalisation, sexist and sought to demonise men.

Nothing was done about that.

I was one who complained. No one wanted to entertain the complaint. The ASAI are useless and do not wish to hear from men re sexism. They are only happy to work with feminist lobby groups.

I have yet to see one single ad be pulled for being sexist towards men.

GalwayGuy2

I's day this video would be portrayed differently if Frank was female.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1bYABgsmlI

jaffacakesyum

source wrote: »

It's not about that, it's about the very obvious double standards that are at play on our TV screens.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander doesn't hold true when it comes to the portrayal of the two sexes on TV.

Do you mean that the same women who would have no problem with minstrels and diet coke ad are offended by club orange ad and that's a double standard? I'd agree with you there if that's the case. I don't know, I can't really comment as I don't know any men or women offended by either ads.

But my point stands. Men have every right to complain about ads objectifying them but they don't. Why? Men are either upset about the ads or they're not. I don't think they are, I think they're just annoyed at women complaining about ads objectifying them? Am I right do you think?

newport2

jaffacakesyum wrote: »

Do you mean that the same women who would have no problem with minstrels and diet coke ad are offended by club orange ad and that's a double standard? I'd agree with you there if that's the case. I don't know, I can't really comment as I don't know any men or women offended by either ads.

But my point stands. Men have every right to complain about ads objectifying them but they don't. Why? Men are either upset about the ads or they're not. I don't think they are, I think they're just annoyed at women complaining about ads objectifying them? Am I right do you think?

You are right when you say this. I think a lot of these ads don't really bother men (not all), it's what is perceived as double standards that's annoying.

How men are portrayed in ads doesn't bother me, what bothers me is how this effects kids. Boys grow up being told via TV that they're useless around the house, arrive home with the wrong child when they're looking after their children, that they're stupid and women are smart, etc. Any chance that influences what some of these boys will become and how they see themselves? I think so.

Women tend to see themselves as a "group" for want of a better word. My wife might be outraged by seeing a woman getting a raw deal on the other side of the world - because she's a woman. I on the other hand, do not get angry if Joe Smith down the road gets slighted. I only really care when it's someone - male or female - that I know.

I think straight white men are the only "group" that don't see themselves as one, usually don't take offence on behalf of each other. They have no recognised "ism" to apply to themselves in the same way that women, black people, gay, etc do. It's far easier to make a complaint when you can identify yourself with a group and apply an "ism" to it. Generally when men make complaints they get belittled or just laughed at, so they don't do it.