South Park and women

This week I was at a lack of new commercials to critique, so I decided to critique the first episode of South Park's thirteenth season which first aired two Wednesday nights ago. There are several episodes which don't view women in a good way, but this episode is the latest and most blatant. The episode opens with Kenny's girlfriend being called such things as "slut" and "notorious whore". Such talk acknowledges and promotes that there is a double standard with regard to sex; men who have sex are cool, and women who have sex are sluts. This can also be seen with Kenny's reaction when he is told his girlfriend is a slut. He becomes overjoyed, and this once again shows the double standard because he wants to be cool, and if his girlfriend is willing as he is led to believe, he can achieve that status. Also, it brings to light that men think with their jeans, which is a common stereotype. In one scene Kenny even goes to the store to buy condoms, and the shopkeeper sells them to him without question. This shows that young males having sex is more acceptable to the public. The next scene is at the Jonas Brothers concert where all the girls start to go crazy and they say they get "tingly". This shows that females are more easily aroused and willing to give themselves. After the concert several girls are asked to go backstage. The girls are given purity rings by the Jonas Brothers and agree to wear them because of the masculine willpower they have over the girls, showing male dominance. However, this episode shows that girls are ones in charge in relationships. Kenny wears a purity ring because his girlfriend wants him to, and everything they do is determined by her, including going to T.G.I. Fridays. This episode shows men as the exploiter, in the form of Mickey Mouse, who uses the Jonas Brothers to make money off of the Christians and little girls by "selling sex to them". It is bluntly stated in the episode that girls are stupid, stating that men are the more intelligent gender, and that girls are dirty and disease-ridden, which further puts salt on the wounds of girls affected by the double standard.

Shamwow: I'll be saying "wow" everytime this commercial shows a traditional gender role

This week, I decided to critique a commercial most of us have seen and like to joke. I am of course talking about the Shamwow commercial, second in ridicule only to Billy Mays. The Shamwow commercial is mostly directed toward women because it is a cleaning material. This can be seen by how many more women appear in the commercial than men do. Also, whenever, women are shown in the commercial, they are seen in a traditional gender role. Women are seen cleaning the kitchen floor and counter, dishes, clothes, and the shower walls. Women are traditionally viewed as the homemaker that completes all of these tasks. In addition, when Vince mentions that you can clean it in the washer, a woman is seen placing the shammy in a washing machine, reinforcing the thought that it is women's job to clean clothes. Whenever men are shown in the commercial, they are either cleaning vehicles outside or testifying that the Shamwow is perfect for such activities. The rest of the testimonials on behalf of Shamwow were made by women, showing that either more women use them or that the male testimonials were cut to focus on the maker's intended audience. Amongst all of this, the person advertising this fine product is a male, showing that males have dominance over females, as was read in Beauty and the Patriarchal Beast, and that women will listen to him and buy the Shamwow. In short, there is not even the slightest snippet of this commercial that strays from traditional gender roles, and the gender ideological ideas that accompany them.