Thursday, April 9, 2009




Recently, it seems like I have an issue that has friends inquiring as to who pissed in my morning Cheerios.

It is how television commercials portray women. Since I've never been a big public TV watcher, I really never paid any attention to advertising methods. Recently I have been into a few network programs and catch a glimpse of a commercial before I hit the fast forward button.

I have never considered myself a woman's libber.

Mainly because I thought that club had been closed down with the windows boarded up long ago. I am aware that women still are paid less but those gaps are closing. I also realize that the majority of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are men but that is shifting as well as the good ole boy club is dying out.

So why the fuck is the person pushing the vacuum or spraying the air freshener to hide the dog shit smell always a women? I mean ALWAYS. Find any commercial that involves cleaning or cooking and it will feature someone with breasts.

I am 40 something years old. I have worked my entire life. I have been married twice and I have never done all the housework or been responsible for choosing all the cleaning supplies. Not to mention that if you see my stirring something on a stove, it is either a holiday or someone's birthday. I assumed most other families in the twenty first century are the same.

However, when I mention this outrage, I get deer in the headlight looks as if this is no big deal but worse, it makes perfect sense.

So I ask you, kewl kids, please enlighten me. Are the gals doing all or most of the laundry, polishing and vacuuming and I have just married very liberated men or are these commercials bullshit. I also would like to know if you work full time. I guess I consider it only fair that if one partner works full time, the other should work more in the home. But even then...is that STILL most often the woman and I have been living life as if I had a penis and was too stupid to notice?

What say you?

16 comments:

Bitchy McBitcherson said...

I will go ahead and apologize for my long winded response, but I have a lot to say about this topic.

The Husband works full time and goes to school full time to get his RN. He is also in The Army Reserves. I work full time but also have alot more free time.

It hasn't always been this way. When I was in school full time I bartended full time. He worked 70+ hours a week. He also spent a year in Iraq. It has always been our agreement that he cooks and I clean. Which is fine, except he is rarely home but the apartment still needs to be cleaned. And, Lord knows, I cannot starve to death.

It seems unfair but he is busier than I am. If he has time he does help. I guess I shouldn't complain. But I get tired of doing everything!

Anonymous said...

Good Topic. I have tons to say on this - I love good topics where I want to comment a mile long, and then I suddenly think - wait - I should blog this instead!

The reason all the commercials portray this is because there are still a lot of gender stereotypes out there, and I always say stereotypes exist for a reason.

Here's my take on it - and I think my situation is a bit unique.

I live with my boyfriend of nearly five years. We bought a house together two years ago. I can honestly say I very rarely clean up after him. But when it comes to the real cleaning ie mopping, scrubbing, dusting etc it's all me.

He's not sloppy, but I just think guys don't care that much about the other details like smells, hair and germs.

Commercials are just trying to sell and they are appealing to the skeevy squirmy in us ladies.

Anonymous said...

And yes I work full time! Somehow the uniqueness didn't come across in that post. I've had a shitload of wine. I'm not really sure what the unique part was supposed to be.

Just Me said...

We both clean but I usually get stuck with the bathroom. I do all the laundry, mostly because I am picky about how my clothes are handled. He does 80% of the cooking and 100% of the grocery shopping. I worked in a grocery store for 8 miserable years so I pretty much refuse to even go into one. The last time we went shopping together, sanitary napkins were on the list and when Hubby saw the kind I put in the basket he told me, "You got the wrong ones. That's not the kind I usually get for you." I am ashamed to say, he was right!

Coffeypot said...

Now little missy, don't you worry your pretty little head about things like that. Just go get me a beer and everything will be alright. Supper would be nice, too. Then later on we can sit and watch TV and I'll let you clip my toenails.

I can remember in high school the homemaker class books telling the girls how to be attentive and servicing to the man after a long hard day at the office. It said to greet them at the door dressed nicely and give him a hug and a kiss. Evidently neither of my wives took that class. Thus my love affair with the Waffle House.

Coffeypot said...

Oh, btw, my wife has washed my clothes maybe three times in 15 years. I don’t cook, but, since I have retired, I do the cleaning most of the time. We are a team and we accomplish a lot, but I get a kick out of watching Leave It To Beaver and Father Knows Best where the ladies of the house wore dresses and high heals and jewelry all day. I don’t thing any of them ever had their husband stop by during the day for a quickie.

Marni said...

Carl cooks most of the time and he does the laundry. We work together on cleaning the house, but are slowly training the kids to take on that chore.

I think it should be a partnership... we both work and we are both tired. It sucks that we have to do it AT ALL!!!

Christine said...

Well good to know that we are all generally in the same place regarding sharing housework.

I am thinking about vino's point about who cares the most to buy the expensive product that will do the best job. It is a very good thought. I have written in the past on the grocery list on the fridge for SCM NOT to get generic whatever because it isn't as good.

Libby said...

...chris, since i no longer have a husband or daughter in the house, it stays amazingly clean (and there's lots less laundry!) see yesterday's post for more..

razorbeck said...

Chris I live alone and always have and I hope you know by now I am a man. So heres my perspective

Men are just more able to ignore things. Plus I find women are more hyper sensitive to smells, I base this entirely on the 5 women who work in my office who complain about smells the guys can barely notice even when it is brought to their attention.

So yes women still do most of the cleaning as it bothers them when it is still at a level of mess fully ignorable by men

theres my 2 cents anyways

Burfica said...

When we both worked full time, we both did it all. When i worked part time after my son was born. I did most of it. I did the bathrooms, washed the clothes, and did dishes, only if he put the other dishes away and helped me fold laundry.

When I wasn't working I did all of everything. I work out of the home, but a sit down job now.

With my health problems I can't stand to do hardly any of it anymore. He works full time and comes home and cooks, but I do sit in the kitchen and help do all the prep work. He will wash and dry the clothes and I fold and hang them. So...I try to keep it a little more balanced.

namaste said...

i cook and wash dishes cuz i love cooking. hubby vacuums and does the laundry. he also does the yard work. i know i am a spoiled girl.

;)

The Traveling Salesman said...

I'm male, 47 and married 18 years and work full time with about 80% travel. I help at home (I'm doing laundry today,) do all the yard work, cook some, do dishes and stuff like that.

My wife works as a Realtor full time from home and will do 90% of the cleaning and vacuuming. We both help each other. Most men DO quite a lot around the house I find.

Come see my blog, too please.

Christine said...

TS I am sure means well by writing that he "helps" at home but that is what I am talking about.

Who exactly is he "helping"? He said his wife works full time. So what he is saying is that it is the WOMAN"S job to clean and if a man contributes he is helping and deserves a pat on the back.

That is total bullshit. I may check out his blog tomorrow because right now I feel like abusing him..and not in a good way :-)

Olly said...

We've been living here for 11 years. A couple weeks ago he asked where we keep the vacuum. 'nough said.

J Fab said...

Hubby helps WHEN I ASK HIM. He rarely just does random shit around the house. The kids have chores, but when they are grounded... they love to do MORE housework. Mostly though, it's me due to his work schedule. Sucks, but I'm used to it.