The woman behind the counter. Or for the washing machine. Or at the kitchen table listening to your child who has just come from school. Or on the iron. Or the beds changed and was hanging. Or she does the shopping. Today's TV commercials still stigmatize. How are 'we' women supposed to change that image towards our daughters if the marketing and advertising don't keep up with the times?
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NRC recently wrote a nice article about it, confirming once again that gender roles are still clearly present in society. Some brands do their best to turn things around every now and then in the hopes of putting a humorous spin on the ad. But the majority are still completely wrong and are constantly stigmatizing. Consciously or unconsciously, I have no idea.
Rabobank is one that 'dares' to stick its neck out by, for example, talking to a lesbian couple in an advertisement about mortgage loans, where the majority of the advertisements show traditional families. With a daddy, a mommy and children. But how often is it different? For example, how often are mom and dad not divorced these days? I can't remember an advertisement where this is fully portrayed?
And when I look at all the washing machine commercials I know, my stomach turns. Each and every one of them blissfully smiling moms who happily pick up a dirty piece of clothing from the floor and then put it in the washing machine with a gray from ear to ear, looking almost nonchalantly at their offspring.
HOW THEN?
Standing in my house always 4 overflowing laundry baskets with laundry to be washed, 2 laundry baskets that can be folded and some more 'ironing shit' which goes to grandma because I'm the fuck to iron. Well, I'm a motherfucker too. However, I am not familiar with the picture I paint above. Who would be happy if there was EVEN more dirty laundry in the pile? Why are you still happy with your children? I always grumble. And threaten that I will learn to wash them myself 😉 . Or that I let them go out without clothes. No kidding, it's not that bad, but I do want to indicate that the stigmatization and glorification of reality may now be over.
No one believes that anymore, right? Or does it make you happy when you see those commercials?
When I talk about stigmatization and gender roles, I am glad that I was given a completely different example from home. My mom was a stay at home mom, though. But my father was still involved enough in the household. When my mother had cooked, he would do the dishes. He cleaned the windows, just to spare my mother and did, for example, the bathroom (true love). Never too busy to lend a hand. A top example. Not only for me, but also for my brothers! After all, they don't know any better and their wives are undoubtedly happy with that 😉 .
I met a man who does the same. Or maybe I didn't hit it, but selected it, that's also possible. Of course I understand that you do more in the household if you work less than your partner. But if you both work, then you also divide the tasks at home, right? One may be a little more than the other, that's possible.
Why are the TV commercials so hard to follow? Somehow I think that they too should play a role in emancipation. If my son were to constantly see those commercials, I can just imagine that the image in his head is unconsciously formed as a result. We don't want that, do we? Fortunately, the younger generation is no longer so into watching TV, but more into Netflix, which makes the worry a bit less.
But if all advertisers would now stigmatize a little less and produce a little more—as in the advertisement below… it might just become a lot easier to accept reality. The grass isn't just greener elsewhere. At least… usually not. And if it does, it is often because it is better cared for. And not automatically.
Enjoy the video below… it brought tears to my eyes and I am moved to the bone.
https://youtu.be/OD0tlRRzS9M
I'm betting that you understand what's going on here even without translation, but if not, just a quick explanation:
A mother comes home from work and immediately darts through the house to do the necessary household chores, while her husband is sitting on the couch. From pouring a drink to putting laundry in the machine. And from cleaning up toys to preparing the food. This while she is still on the phone and also has to open the laptop.
Her father (the little one's grandfather) sees all this and says 'I'm so proud and so sorry'. With this he wants to indicate that he regrets that he (and all other fathers) never set a good example. That he regrets that she now also has to do everything alone while her husband is sitting on the couch.
With the danger that this is also a form of stigmatization 😉 I am happy with this foreign advertising. There should be more of those!
