All women need is a wild cherry steam thing.

[ccharles000]

http://www.feministing.com/archives/011170.html

I really don't even know what to say about this, but it was too bizarrely sexist to not post.

[tridim]

1. Well, I'm a hetero male and I want one of those wild cherry steam things.

But I'm not going to pay what I'm guessing they're selling them for.

My washer and dryer are both really awful.

[MadrasT]

2. I have to admit a weakness for shiny red appliances...

...but that ad would make me look for a different brand of wild cherry steam thing.

[Skittles]

17. I WILL KICK YOUR ASS WITH SHINY RED BOOTS

YES INDEED

[MadrasT]

18. Woohoo! Shiny red boots!

:woohoo:

[Recursion]

3. I'm presumably missing something obvious

What's sexist about this?

[ccharles000]

4. The ad says all a woman needs is a washer and dryer.

[Recursion]

5. Where?

The sentence that says "all" was written by feministing.com; it's not part of the ad.

[ccharles000]

8. a comment on the site.

"This add is strange. So they're making it seem like women live for appliances and that appliances are totally our gender's domain, part of "a woman's needs," but then the chick with the great hair in the ad calls the washer and dryer a "steam thing." She doesn't even know it's technical name? I can't decide whether she's being portrayed as ignorant and I should be offended by this portrayal, or the girl's tone is supposed to be flippant and casual. Damn print ads! They make sexism that much harder to detect! Still, given that print ads are harder to interpret, one's message should be made clearer. The ambiguity of this woman's response to the appliances (ie. Whether she actually is supposed to sound stupid) is troubling to me."

[Recursion]

16. I think it's appallingly consumerist, like every other ad

I just don't get linking this to the 1950's housewife idea of a washer and dryer. Then again I've always done my own laundry.

[Fuzz]

6. Ridiculous. They also need a vacuum cleaner and a bucket.

Think people!!!


;)

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Strictly, the ad says that one of the needs of that woman is the red thing

It doesn't say "all a woman needs ... ", or "all women need is ...". There's no 'all' in the ad at all.

[ccharles000]

9. see post #8

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Well, "the chick with the great hair" is hardly a feminist call to action

so I'm not sure I'll take much feminist advice from that commenter. Yeah, advertising a washer and dryer to women may be stereotyping; but that doesn't make it sexist. Would advertising beer to men be sexist?

[AlCzervik]

12. this is the same blog that claimed Tampon commercials werre sexist.

I really resent being told how i should feel about tampons.

[bemildred]

10. I thought it was a sex toy or something.

Ha.

[GirlieQ]

13. I'll admit that I was a bit afraid to click on that from work...

But it's pretty funny. Especially since in my house, my husband does all the laundry. I work 50-60 hour weeks, and he's a student with massive free time.

He's even pretty good at it. Maybe some of my things could use a touch of the iron, but a girl can't have everything.

[Gwendolyn]

14. I think it's supposed to be satire...

as in making fun of all dumb women-oriented ads, i.e. tampoon, monistat, pregnancy, and yogourt keep you regular ads.

Or maybe it's supposed to conjure up the image of sex on the dryer in a whole new, steamy way! :)

[AngryAmish]

15. "All a woman needs is a wild cherry stem thing."

I misread the OP.

The cherry stem thing got me thinking of "Twin Peaks" when the one girl was trying to get a job in a whorehouse.

[ColbertWatcher]

19. I've noticed how ridiculous women are depicted in commercials.

There was one a few years back for some dishwashing liquid and the spokesmodel practically had an ORGASM because her soap had lemon in it.

Who writes these things?

[Gwendolyn]

20. 20-something, geeky guys who can't keep a girlfriend...

last time I checked. :P

But seriously, the ad isn't sooo bad. It's consumerist sure, but you'd have to be to need such an appliance.

I have a normal washer/dryer and don't really know which is the steamer thingy re the new versions... I think it's the dryer. But what DO you call it? A steamer dryer? The ad then goes on to say that at Best Buy they'll explain all the new technology in detail.

[ColbertWatcher]

22. So, ads are now rickrolling consumers? Wow. n/t

[rockymountaindem]

21. So are men

I mean, watch a beer commercial. If those guys can't tell their beer is cold without having an indicator on the label, then they're not even smart enough to drive to the liquor store. Another example are the many commercials from food companies (Hungry Man, Nutrisystem, Taco Bell), telling us to "eat like a man". Apparently, if you eat a salad, then you don't have a full set of balls or something. I'd say that stereotyping is pretty bad for both genders.

[ColbertWatcher]

23. True, stereotypes aren't good for anyone.

The worst example of the "how stupid can people be" was the two women talking about dentists and one recommends 1-800-DENTIST. The second one asks for the number so she can call, which is bad, but--get this--the first one has to look it up in her rolodex.