German ads for a Men’s Health magazine:
In both cases, the text says: “It’s all about men.”
So much for health and personal self-esteem.
Via Copyranter.
Comments
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Ron
I would like for readers to comment about how smart and clever I was, but I fear I wait in vain for such confirmation. I suspect, rather, that readers, shrewd folk that they are, will tell me that anyone who has watched Rick Perry for the last eight years, or is it eighteen, would know exactly what he would say, because it is what he has always done: pander to the Republican primary voter. Or they will remind me that I forgot to mention that he would backpeddle from the margins tax by raising the small business exemption.
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Cassie
ok….i really really dont get it…read mens health – it makes women sweaty and tired? WTF?
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Sara
I think the idea is that women exercise for the sake of impressing men, so men should also exercise for themselves/to impress other men.
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T B
Check out this fitness company -
“Booty camp” -
http://www.bootycampfitness.com/It strikes me as doubly patriarchal -
in that I think the whole “booty” notion is very patriarchal, and I think the whole militarized discipline involved in this “booty camp” is very patriarchal -
T B
With the pink camo, the women seem like silly ‘girly’ soldiers, I think –
which would be consistent with my claim about highly patriarchal militaries, given how women are included and yet marginalized in this pink play military. -
Ryan
I saw this over on Neatorama and thought that there might be something lost in translation. It doesn’t really make sense…who are they selling to?
I mean It’s a men’s fitness magazine, are they trying to say “yeah these girls are working hard for you”?
I think that there is a lot of bias on Soci Image comments when it comes to advertising that deals with “fitness”. I think fitness is important and being healthy is important. I don’t think that looking like a model or doing it all for the “men” is important…but I’ll be curious to see how many commenters on this post drag out the old “why are they telling us we have to work out to be valued”?
You don’t need to work out to be valued. But you should be interested in being healthy. Whatever that means to you…meaning excercising and eating healthy is important. It doesn’t mean you have to be skinny or “look healthy”. Oy, a big rant here that’s totally off topic.
Secondarily, you don’t often see women cyclists in advertising, it’s usually joggers, swimmers, or yoga types an interesting “fitness bias” perhaps.
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dreikin
Her legs aren’t missing – she’s not sitting on the bike, she’s straddling the bar a bit forward of the seat. The perspective covers her legs up with her torso, arms, bike handles, etc., and the black-on-black bit doesn’t help, but they’re present. They may also appear a bit smaller than you’d expect due to the rather large foreshortening effect going on there, but not a photoshop disaster.
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L. G.
Ryan:
You’re missing the point. The point is women and men should have the agency to look however they want and not be shamed for it.As to this particular ad:
I exercise and take care of my body for my own benefit, because I know how I want it to function. The problem with this ad is that is implies that women should be doing that for men, not for their own benefit. This is especially problematic because this dialogue of female submission of agency to the will of men has been one spanning, literally, millenia. -
hoshi
those women look completely exhausted. i want to send them to soak in a hot tub and then get some sleep.
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Womenofwillendorf
Yeah these adds are sending a message I’m not very cool with, as a woman. I bust my ass Swimming, Running and Cycling. Do I do it for men though? Absolutely not. I do it for myself and the way it makes me feel. Yes, I feel exhausted at the end of a work out, but it’s a good exhaustion that I derive satisfaction from.
A more appropriate picture for a Men’s Health add would have been a sweaty dude enjoying his work out. On the other side, a good picture for a Womens’ Health add would be to have a sweaty chick enjoying her work out. These women do not have healthy muscle tone, are loaded with makeup and look just plain unhappy. These photos make it seem that we do it just for guys. Hell to the no. Personal happiness through workout is, in my opinion, the best goal for any person, regardless of gender, and not to impress the other gender.
© 2010 Sociological Images
