I normally tune out commercials and sit there with a rather vacant expression on my face. For some reason today I was paying special attention to these "mind controlling" advertisements, and you know what started to "grind my gears"?
Well I'll tell you..... laundry detergent commercials. Actually anything associated with household cleaning products. Why is it that women seem to be the only sex in these commercials capable of doing a load of laundry, mopping the floor, or washing dishes? Is it really that rare for a man to help with household chores?
I know my husband does the laundry more than I do. He's actually more diligent with the dishes as well. We each have our "cleaning responsibilities" and share an equal role in keeping our home a clean and sanitary environment. It is an unspoken equality. My husband knows that I do not enjoy hand washing dishes because the "floaties" in the sink make me feel nauseous. I know that my husband becomes frustrated when he cannot get the hoover lines on the carpet to look even and orderly, so that is my responsibility. This system works well for us. Well, that is until our child labor kicks in (wink).
My husband often jokes with me about how lucky I am to have a husband who will help around the house. And the rebuttal is always that I wouldn't have married him if he thought he was above offering me assistance in the simple task of cleanliness.
But those commercials today really got me thinking. Am I really "lucky" that my husband will aid in the daily upkeep of our home? Maybe, wives prefer doing the housework themselves because they get the job done right? Are the household cleaning product companies simply, and possibly unconsciously, reinforcing a common stereotype? Hmmm.......
Then, a commercial for a stain remover came on the television and I thought "Yay! Redemption!". But alas, the only reason the man did the laundry was because he had stained his wife's table cloth eating something which he shouldn't have been eating and therefore, did not want to get caught.
The more I pondered on these simple commercials the more I began to realize.... this whole situation is not so much an offensive and sexist attack on women, but more of a slander on the character of men. You guys are all a bunch of sneaky lazy bums who refuse to help your women around the house. I suggest you start a petition to have more men appearing in these commercials in order to regain your helpful and handy character. Maybe they'll start a masculine cleaning product line just for men. I'll be on the lookout for brooms with studs and dish soap that smells like bacon.
