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    earl237's Avatar
    earl237 Posts: 532, Reputation: 57
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    #1

    Jul 28, 2012, 05:48 PM
    Sexist commercials
    Has anyone noticed that commercials these days are really sexist towards men? I think it's going a bit too far. Fathers are portrayed as idiots who can't do the simplest household tasks, and single men are shown as unemployed losers playing video games in their parents' basement. A few recent ones are the KFC commercial showing a man who appears to be about 30 playing video games in his parents' basement and one for some phone company which shows a teenage girl excited about being accepted into university and then a scruffy guy in his 20s coming in the door with a box saying that he is moving back in. It's insulting because me and many other guys work, then come home and cook, do laundry, clean, pay bills, do yardwork, etc. Plenty of girls get pregnant in high school and use drugs and get involved with crime and do nothing with their lives, so why are only men portrayed as losers?
    mogrann's Avatar
    mogrann Posts: 860, Reputation: 193
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    #2

    Jul 28, 2012, 06:26 PM
    I don't like them for another reason. Why are all gamers portrayed as overweight, dirty, adults living in their parents basement? To be honest now that I have become more aware of judgements I have noticed commercials seem to be very judgmental. It is not about selling the product any more as most commercials tell us nothing about the product.
    earl237's Avatar
    earl237 Posts: 532, Reputation: 57
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    #3

    Jul 28, 2012, 06:42 PM
    That's a good point, plenty of gamers are just regular people who have a life outside of the game and only play for a bit of fun, the majority aren't sitting there playing all day and having no life.
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    smearcase Posts: 2,392, Reputation: 316
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    #4

    Jul 28, 2012, 09:32 PM
    Commercials are designed to get your attention and plant the name of the product in your brain--that's what I think but certainly not an expert in that subject.
    They really don't seem to care how far out or offensive to some their theme might be. Maybe similar to the theory that even bad publicity is better than no publicity. But I am betting that you know the name of the company that was being advertised in the ones you think are biased-and when you are shopping for products you will see that name and you will think that it is the name brand for that product (The one the others should at least equal in features and quality)--unless you make a conscious effort to avoid that product because you think their commercials stink. The producers of the product are gambling that you will do the former.
    cdad's Avatar
    cdad Posts: 12,700, Reputation: 1438
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    #5

    Jul 30, 2012, 01:56 PM
    Start a personal campaign and write in when you see something that offends you. I worte a letter and got a national ad removed before. They also called to see if I would approve of the new ad. It portrayed fathers in such a negative light I found it extremely offensive. I offered my point of view on it and they actually got back to me on it. I was impressed by the end of it and it was a test of that ad that never returned. Bottom line is if you don't complain to the right sources then your going to keep seeing the offence over and over again.

    Also as far as gamers goes. Really, there is a reason for the stigma that surrounds games like WOW. The funny thing about stereotyping is that in part there is truth to what is being said.
    shazamataz's Avatar
    shazamataz Posts: 6,642, Reputation: 1244
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    #6

    Aug 20, 2012, 07:30 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by califdadof3 View Post
    Also as far as gamers goes. Really, there is a reason for the stigma that surrounds games like WOW. The funny thing about stereotyping is that in part there is truth to what is being said.
    Geek and Gamer Girls by Team Unicorn
    ;)
    ITstudent2006's Avatar
    ITstudent2006 Posts: 2,243, Reputation: 329
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    #7

    Aug 20, 2012, 08:01 PM
    I honestly don't find it offensive either way. I am both a gamer and a father. Here's why:

    You can take EVERY single commercial that you see on the television today and there will be a group of individuals that feel it is racist, sexist, etc... toward them. That's just the way it is. You cannot make everybody happy. Granted, effort speaks volumes but... in the end, it's just a television commercial for a product I am going to either buy or not buy regardless of the commercials for it.

    Now, obviously others feel different or this thread wouldn't have been started. That's OK. I am not saying you're wrong or I'm right. This is an opinion thread. However, I do have to comment on the sterotyping.

    Beings I have my degree in Computer Networking and Security and beings I work as a Security Administrator for a Global Chemical Co. I am often looked at funny/weird when I meet new people and I tell them what I do for a living. I always wondered why? Stereotyping!! I have a more solid/athletic build that I feel throws people off when I tell them what I do. Coupled with the fact that I am an Infantry Marine, people just can't grasp it when I meet them.

    I too, do not understand the stereotyping, but its something that's never bothered me personally.

    Just my thoughts...
    Alty's Avatar
    Alty Posts: 28,317, Reputation: 5972
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    #8

    Aug 20, 2012, 09:12 PM
    I hate to be the opposing view on this.

    I love my husband and son to death. Other than the days where I've forced his arse outside, my son has spent his entire summer vacation playing games on his xbox. I've expressed my concern to him, and my husband, many times. Neither of them see my concern as legit. I should mention that this same child of mine has missed more school than he attended last year. It's my job to get him up, get him going. He'll be 14 soon, and he's as tall as me. How do I physically force a child as big as an adult to go to school if he refuses? Maybe his dad could, but 2 weeks out of the month his dad is at work when I wake him up. The other 2 weeks he's sleeping, and getting him up is even harder than getting my son up.

    Should I do something about it? Hell yes! I should! But without my husbands support, what can I do? I say no, my husband says yes. My husband is a parent 6 months out of the year, he works split shift. I'm a parent 24/7. Hubby comes home, lets the kids do whatever they want, then goes to work. I'm left with two kids that say "but daddy said yes". It's a lose lose, for everyone but hubby because he doesn't have to deal with the consequences. I do!

    My hubby works 8 hours a day 5 days a week. So do I. I clean, I cook, I take the kids to school, I pick them up, I take them to the doctor, I do it all. My husband works. That's it. If I put a gun to his head I bet he couldn't even tell me the names of the kids teachers, much less what grade they're in. He works, he comes home, he watches TV, he naps, he does what he wants, eats the dinner I cook, and does nothing else. It's all on me!

    He's a good man. He cares about us, provides the major income for us, don't get me wrong. But the picture that's being painted on commercials, to me they're dead on accurate. At least in my life.
    earl237's Avatar
    earl237 Posts: 532, Reputation: 57
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    #9

    Aug 21, 2012, 03:25 PM
    I sent an email to KFC, and I haven't seen the commercial since, so maybe a few people can make a difference after all. Sorry to hear about your situation Alty, I have sympathy for you and others in the same boat, but not all men are like that.
    ITstudent2006's Avatar
    ITstudent2006 Posts: 2,243, Reputation: 329
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    #10

    Aug 21, 2012, 04:06 PM
    And that's something we all have to realize when talking about something that is generalized by stereo-types. They wouldn't be a stereo-type if some of it wasn't true. Now, does that mean ALL of us are that way? Not at all.

    This goes far beyond commercials and the arguments will always remain because there are people that fit the stereo-type and others that don't.
    J_9's Avatar
    J_9 Posts: 40,298, Reputation: 5646
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    #11

    Aug 21, 2012, 04:11 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by earl237 View Post
    Has anyone noticed that commercials these days are really sexist towards men? I think it's going a bit too far.
    It's okay to be sexist towards women though right? Commercials have been sexist toward women for decades. But that never bothered you did it?
    ITstudent2006's Avatar
    ITstudent2006 Posts: 2,243, Reputation: 329
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    #12

    Aug 21, 2012, 04:19 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by J_9 View Post
    It's okay to be sexist towards women though right? Commercials have been sexist toward women for decades. But that never bothered you did it?
    Oh Snap!!
    cdad's Avatar
    cdad Posts: 12,700, Reputation: 1438
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    #13

    Aug 21, 2012, 04:50 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by J_9 View Post
    It's okay to be sexist towards women though right?
    To use your words. Yes I try to be at my sexist when Im around women. ;)
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    J_9 Posts: 40,298, Reputation: 5646
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    #14

    Aug 21, 2012, 04:56 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by califdadof3 View Post
    To use your words. Yes I try to be at my sexist when Im around women. ;)
    That's why I love you!
    Alty's Avatar
    Alty Posts: 28,317, Reputation: 5972
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    #15

    Aug 21, 2012, 06:13 PM
    J beat me to it. I was going to say that commercials, and TV shows for that matter, have been sexist towards women forever.

    So, the next time you see a beer commercial with a hot blonde with big boobs and no brain, you may want to think twice about your stand on this, unless you're ready and willing to call the company of that commercial and get it taken off the air as well. It's only fair.
    cdad's Avatar
    cdad Posts: 12,700, Reputation: 1438
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    #16

    Aug 22, 2012, 01:19 PM
    Sorry I just can't bring myself to report this to Hooter's. ;)

    Hooters Girl Hula Hooper - Unbelievable - YouTube
    NeedKarma's Avatar
    NeedKarma Posts: 10,635, Reputation: 1706
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    #17

    Aug 22, 2012, 01:22 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by califdadof3 View Post
    Sorry I just can't bring myself to report this to Hooter's. ;)

    Hooters Girl Hula Hooper - Unbelievable - YouTube
    Well it's not really an ad, it's a YouTube movie done by the chain. It gets a little less exposure and it's not subject to regulations.
    Wondergirl's Avatar
    Wondergirl Posts: 39,354, Reputation: 5431
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    #18

    Aug 22, 2012, 01:24 PM
    Nice ummmmm background music.
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    dontknownuthin Posts: 2,910, Reputation: 751
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    #19

    Aug 22, 2012, 01:37 PM
    I see this post is a few weeks old but wanted to respond anyway because you're so spot on! As a woman, I take real offense to male-bashing. All men are not loser idiots who can't clean a house, diaper a baby, cook a meal or get dressed without female intervention. The men in my life are highly competent people who can readily do all these things and more without a woman's intervention. Even those raised in a more traditional time have caught up long ago.

    I take offense as well to the battering of people who have moved in with relatives. Many people in this economy have had to move in with friends, parents, siblings or their children due to job losses or to prevent financial ruin. Some have done so proactively to avoid foreclosure of their homes or defaults on debt or bankruptcy. Multi-generational homes are not only for "losers" but are a reasonable and practical option for many families and friends who need to combined resources to support themselves. People should not be shamed for giving up what they must to meet their financial obligations. I moved in with my family as a 48 year old parent in part for my benefit and in part for theirs. I took a big cut in pay due to the failure of my employer's business, though I never stopped working, and put my house on the market to avoid missing or late payments. My family had business losses as well and it made sense to contribute to their household rather than pay rent to a stranger. Yet even friends have, at times, thought it hilarious to make fun of me for sharing a home with my parents. What would be better - to have my home foreclosed and walk away from my financial responsibilities? To have my parents choosing between grocieries and prescriptions? We made a collective decision to pool our resources and there's nothing shameful about it - we all do our part and support one another as families should.

    The overall attitude in our country has become so vitriolic and spiteful, it's really a sad thing.
    Stringer's Avatar
    Stringer Posts: 3,733, Reputation: 770
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    #20

    Aug 22, 2012, 07:24 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by califdadof3 View Post
    Sorry I just can't bring myself to report this to Hooter's. ;)

    Hooters Girl Hula Hooper - Unbelievable - YouTube
    I am sorry but I had to bookmark that page...

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