sexism

Target Women: The Rise of the Sexist Media Stunt

Article by Jessica Wakeman, appeared in issue Old; published in 2010; tagged media, sexism.

You’ve probably never heard the term "cheetah," but that’s okay—no one else had, either, until New York Observer reporter Spencer Morgan coined the slur last December. A cheetah, according to Morgan’s trend piece "Rrrowl! Beware Cougar’s Young Niece, The Cheetah," is a thirtysomething single woman who’s "discovered that getting a man [is] no longer as easy as it once was." Her biological clock is ticking and her desperation for a real relationship is getting more pathetic—and, to Morgan and the cronies he quotes in the story, more comical. If you’re wondering why a leading New York City newspaper published a bogus piece of "news" about women past their prime, the answer is simple: The Observer was using the Sexist Media Stunt, a now-classic bit of media bait, to draw in readers and revenue.

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Douchebag Decree: Senatorial Edition

Social Commentary post by Sara Reihani on January 22, 2010 - 12:32am; tagged Arlen Specter, Douchebag Decree, James Inhofe, John Edwards, political mistakes, Scott Brown, senators, sexism.

Oh boy! So many douchebags to choose from this week. YouTube clips and transcripts abound, so come on down and take a peek into our quartet of Douchey US Senators!

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On the Map: Ella Es El Matador

Social Commentary post by Mandy Van Deven on September 2, 2009 - 3:04am; tagged animal rights, bullfighting, Latin America, machismo, matador, On the Map, sexism, Spain.

I’m vegan. I think cruelty to animals is unnecessary and unjust. I don’t eat animals. I don’t wear them. And I don’t kill them for sport. However, Ella Es el Matador isn’t a film about animal rights, and treating it as such does it an enormous injustice. I don’t believe in prioritizing a conversation about cruelty enacted on bulls over one about cruelty enacted on women while discussing a beautiful and melancholy film exploring the world of bullfighting through the eyes of female matadors—so I won't.

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Mad Men's Portrayal of Sexism Seeps Unironically into its Commercial Breaks

Social Commentary post by Kelsey Wallace on August 31, 2009 - 3:38pm; tagged Clorox, commercials, Direct TV, feminism, Lipitor, Mad Men, offensive commercials, sexism, television, Viagra.

Did anyone else notice the bizarre sexism during the commercial breaks on last night's episode of Mad Men? I can accept that a healthy dose of douchiness comes with the territory when I decide to watch currently airing episodes of a show instead of waiting for it to come out on DVD, but I honestly felt creeped out by how skewed all of last night's ads were toward a male (and sexist) audience. Could it be that, because the show itself portrays a stylized hypermasculinity, advertisers are missing the context and coming up with campaigns to try and match Mad Men's outdated sexism?

I saw ads for (and this is just what I can remember): Lipitor, Viagra, NFL Sunday Ticket, and more, all aimed at middle-aged men who I didn't think were following Peggy Olsen's rise to the top all that closely. Oh, and let us not forget this gem, from Clorox:

Because, you know, sometimes even MEN do the laundry! And Clorox apparently dragged that ad out of its archives (here is a Feministing post on it from two years ago) just for Mad Men. WTF?

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