For twenty years now, one of the highlights of North American advertising, especially on television, is what many call its male-bashing. Invariably, when TV ads show men and women together, the ads belittle men as ignorant, incompetent, loutish, or juvenile while heralding women as wise, mature, long-suffering adults. (For examples, see this Top Ten list from AskMen.com and for background (see this 2005 NY Times article). Men are always the butt of the jokes while women represent the smart consumers who are bound to follow the advertiser’s advice and buy the product sold by the ad. Critics often remark that were these stereotypes reversed, there would be a feminist uproar and the advertisers would be lynched in the streets.
Most broadcasting codes have laws against "sexist" portrayals, but few are enforced unless it is the portrayal of women in a demeaning fashion. In fact, I have never heard or read an example of an advertiser being charged or prosecuted for 'male bashing.'
It's about time they did.
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