Well, the New Orleans Saints have finally come marching into the Super Bowl winner's ring, and we can all be happy that the city which is synonymous with Katrina’s disaster now has some big celebrating to do.
The other annual Super Bowl competition for the best television advertisement was also intense, and the overall themes of the ads left some wondering – is feminism dead? Let me explain that somewhat provocative statement.
Consider first that the professional feminist organizations tripped up big time on the “controversial” life-affirming ad by Tim Tebow and his mom. When the ad was first announced by the evangelical group Focus on the Family, the National Organization for Women and other like-minded ones turned up the volume to screech level, and made a huge issue about abortion and choice. I am sure Focus on the Family and all pro-lifers are now saying “Thanks for all the attention!”
The 30-second Tebow ad was so soft and warm that the pre-game hype by the feminists made them appear a little odd – yet another off-key clamor by groups that apparently had their last original thought 20 years ago. Do we need to wonder why young women of today are quick to say they are not feminists, if the public leaders of the movement are so out of touch as to criticize decent people like Tim Tebow and his mom?
But the Tebow ad was not the only one playing off the feminist intrigue. Did you notice the Snickers ad with Betty White, the “Golden Girls” icon? She epitomized the hip feminist movement of the 80s, getting what she wanted from men and the world with tough Southern charm, even into her golden years? In the ad, Betty is smacked down in the mud by some weekend footballers, who urge their teammate to eat a Snickers bar and stop playing like Betty White. By magic, the old Betty figure turns into a powerful young guy ready to block and tackle. So now Betty White is a figure of macho derision. Another chip in the feminist mantle.
Then there was Dockers, which months ago premiered the “Wear the Pants” campaign, challenging guys to step up, be real men and reclaim the order of the universe. In the Super Bowl ad, a dumb mob marches through the fields in their boxers or briefs, chanting “I wear no pants.” Not sure what that means, but the ad ends by telling guys to be a "real man" and wear the pants - Dockers, of course.
Wait, there’s more!
The Dodge Charger ad didn’t have beautiful women draped over the hood. It presented a more real-life tension and resolved it in favor of the man. After men are shown promising their beloved to be good and dutiful companions (including putting down the toilet seat in the shared bathroom), they are said to draw the line at their car. No matter what his significant other says, a guy will drive his expensive, impractical super-stocked Charger, because he's a man.
And don't miss the wussy guy being dragged by his girl through the mall, quietly carrying bags through all the feminine stores, helpless even to remove the red bra draped over his shoulder. This ad is for FloTV, which apparently would help this guy raise his testosterone level, by allowing him to watch football and other masculine shows on a handheld gizmo.
The message throughout these ads is this: the feminized guy, whose wife keeps him from masculine cars or whose girlfriend is his shopping buddy – is a big loser. Real men wear pants, play tackle, drive fast cars, and defend moms who birthed them despite dangerous odds.
Maybe it's not the end of feminism. But certain cultural icons are being recast, and men are ascendant again in mass media. Yet there's a deeper story. With the advertising business being all about public perception and money, you have to believe that the Madison Avenue execs would not have signed off on this theme if the majority of mainstream American women would be offended.
Maybe the ads are catching on to the "New Feminism" that Helen Alvare talks about in this exclusive Fathers for Good five-minute video, posted on You Tube.
As long as chauvinism is not dead, and some of those commercials show it alive and well, then the reaction called feminism will thrive. Militant feminism is an over-reaction whose author is no friend of women or children; but noone counters militant feminism (sometimes called feminaziism) by way of silly notions that the masculine is just sweaty escapism. That's my take on mind-numbing tripe that tries to sell you a disconnected lifestyle.
Posted by: Gary Knight | February 09, 2010 at 11:50 AM
Feminism is simply the right and pursuit of women to hold equal rights under the law and culture. It is, like anything else in this world, sometimes taken too far. But if we are the most advanced, prosperous, and humane country in the world (or at least purport to be), why are women still only making $0.80 to the dollar for every man in the same job? We still have further to go for equal rights; not just on the gender front but also on the ethnic/racial one. -- The whole issue with the Tim Tebow ad and everything else that followed is equal access to the debate we should be having in every home in this land with regards to issues of life, liberty, and access to the Dream that used to be the cornerstone of this country. If the Tebow ad had been one for Planned Parenthood, how would we have reacted? Everyone has the right to speak and turn the channel for 30 seconds or 3 hours. But arguing about petty things like ads when there are 50 million people without access to the great healthcare we have in this country, or 10 million children who go hungry every night, or the millions of homeless veterans, or the millions of kids being left behind in schools because of antiquated educational policies and the desire to fund unethical wars instead of investing in our schools, we show how we really have our priorities all wrong.
Posted by: Gonzalo | February 08, 2010 at 05:42 PM
Brian, you're taking these ads WAY too seriously (should really turn the sound down.) You're spot on with the Tebow ad, it was almost as if the feminist movement got punk'd (but more of a soft word turning away anger.)
But Betty White a feminist symbol? Well, maybe 35 years ago as Sue Ann on "Mary Tyler Moore." But as a Golden Girl (her touchstone this generation) she was presented as not only weak but clueless, hardly a feminist icon (you were thinking the late Bea Arthur, whose Maude character chose abortion and who those footballers might have feared.)
The rest of it was long examples of the exceptions proving the rule; men enjoying their status even as women appear to ridicule it (Megan Fox for Motorola such an example, who was really the butt of that joke?) It has nothing to do with Fatherhood, or our roles as Knights or Catholics or anything else. Ideas will discredit feminism and raise loving family relationships to their rightful place. With a lone exception, 30-second sound bites on a sports telecast won't.
Posted by: Tony Pizza | February 08, 2010 at 04:26 PM