One example of the pervasive sexualization of beer is the ubiquitous personification of “blond” ales as blond women. Tom Megginson at Change Marketing made this observation and collected a number of examples of this particular example of the gendering and sexualizing of food:
See more at Megginson’s post. See also our other posts on gender and beer here, here, and here.
—————————
Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Comments 21
Zahara — June 6, 2010
As a woman who enjoys beer, I tend to get pretty annoyed at marketing which a) assumes only men drink beer and b) attracts their attention with scantily-clad ladies. Even otherwise reputable real ale/craft beer producers use this cheesecake/seaside postcard imagery to get their customers to Carry On Drinking. You can see examples of this and other UK beer marketing/design disasters on the Pump Clip Parade blog
http://pumpclipparade.blogspot.com/search/label/scantily-clad%20ladies
E. Hatton — June 6, 2010
Hi Lisa! Hi Gwen!
Is this really the sexualization of beer, or is it the sexualization & objectification of women for the purposes of selling beer (and about a zillion other things)?
Love your blog!
-Erin Hatton
Jessica J. — June 6, 2010
Here's the beer menu from my local brew-pub - BAR in New Haven, CT:
http://barnightclub.com/beer_menu.html
Please note description of Toasted Blonde including, "This is not a heavy blonde, but once in a while, we like to dress her up and get her toasted..." I love everything else about this bar, but have always taken issue with that description.
And agreeing with Zahara on annoyance as a woman who enjoys beer!
Ariel — June 6, 2010
Change Marketing's other post on the "Skinny Blonde" beer is also worth noting since that beer is in a league of its own in terms of objectifying women with beer packaging. http://workthatmatters.blogspot.com/2009/07/stay-classy-australia.html
I remember hearing about it and the site on another (mostly male audience) blog first and just... Yeah. I've only recently really tried beer and after reading this post and thinking about it, it was probably the marketing that put me off in the first place. I feel really stupid that I bought expensive, extra sugary drinks all this time. I also tend to wonder how it is that they're willing to mostly alienate half of the marketable audience (those over 21), but when I think about the amount of money I spent on "girly" drinks... hmmm...
Pauline — June 6, 2010
I don't any of those 'blondes' in the top picture are an actual, natural blonde. It drives me crazy as a natural blonde to be constantly shown images where fake is depicted as the 'proper' blonde. To the point that I've felt pressured numerous times to bleach my hair into an artificial colour.
So much clothing, as well, that's described as 'for blondes' is really for 'unnatural blondes' - I can assure you that candy pink colours do not work with fair skin and champagne blonde hair...
*sigh* sorry for the rant, but it's just that 'blonde' has gone from meaning someone with fair hair to someone with artificially fair hair.. and that just depresses me to no end.
Sue — June 7, 2010
I teach a first year University Course on the Sociology of Sex and Gender. In a class discussion, one young woman (whose presentation I would call high femme) informed me that amongst her circle of friends, she was considered somewhat masculine because she drinks beer! From the ensuing discussion we could have constructed a gender continuum for the various types of alcohol consumed by young people in Brisbane. The amount of agreement within the class was pretty amazing.
abitha — June 7, 2010
Maybe i have been reading too much socimages and become overly suspicious, but i wonder if the 'blonde bombshell' advert also comes close to deserving a place in your post on 'subtle sexual imagery in advertising'. Is that a descending bombshell, or is it a (slightly misshapen) penis pointing vaguely in the direction of the woman's breasts and/or crotch?
No? I guess i'm just paranoid...
Tamre — June 7, 2010
I have long struggled with the objectifying marketing in the beer industry, including craft beer along with the lack of acceptance as a female craft beer drinker. So I started a beer education group for women in Indianapolis and I'm helping women in cities all over the country start their own group. Girls' Pint Out gives women an opportunity to try craft beer and learn about it in a non-threatening relaxed atmosphere. In July, we're having "Pints and Pedis" at a salon that allows BYOB so we're bring in craft beer for a tasting while we get pedicures.
I recently wrote a post about Flying Dog's "Doggie Style" panties for women and how I think it's ridiculous marketing. Women need to speak up that this kind of marketing isn't okay. We have to stand our ground against objectifying and insulting marketing like this. It's just wrong and I don't want my daughter to have to ask why half naked women are on beer cans.
Zahara — June 10, 2010
Good for you Tamre - something like that might be an idea here.
An acquaintance was a member of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) a few years ago. She was the only 20-something woman in a group of predominately middle-aged men. At one meeting, they were discussing how to make real ale more appealing to women. Their idea? Put a picture of an attractive woman on it. Sigh.
For a bit of historical perspective, Tennents Lager Lovelies ran from the 60s to the 90s:
http://www.cannyscot.com/
p.s. I set up a Twitter account @glasgowbeer to retweet what beers are on draught around the city. I'll be organising a meetup soon for people who tweet us beer updates. I'd hope they wouldn't be surprised a woman set it up, but I expect they will be.
This is Your Girl Brain on Beer « I'll Make It Myself! — June 4, 2012
[...] into our food. I love vegetables, but I am not a woman laughing alone with a salad. I am not a sexy blonde beer nor a tool by which to sell it. I am a human being who likes good food, dark beer, and being [...]
Environmental Sociology and Sociological Images | John Girdwood — January 9, 2015
[…] THE SEXUALIZATION OF BEER: BLOND EDITION […]