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[daemonic]

While the commercial doesn't say anything about homosexuality out rightly, it's pretty damn obvious what it's implying just by the way the guy is walking. Not to mention the fact that Mr. T is telling him to walk like a man. What does that even mean? Gay activist groups are just tired of being portrayed like this in the media. So I can see why it was pulled.

 

[GhettoGamer]

If its about preception of what "manly" why didnt they pull that Buger King ad?

"I am man hear me roar, Ill admit I ate quiche"

 

[Mumei]

That's just about everything, apparently. Just try and offend me.
Try.

You're missing the point. It does not matter if nothing offends you at all. It doesn't matter if you are amused by a white coworkers hanging a noose in the closet of the workplace when a black employee begins working there; the point is that the black employee is probably offended by that (assuming, at least, that he had no prior relationship with his current coworkers and might perceive it as being at least vaguely threatening).

Edit: Mumei, were did you get those media quotes?

The first quote comes from Maureen Dowd's NYT column, February 24, 2008. The second, third, fourth, and fifth quotes from come Tucker Carlson (an admittedly amusing source for that sort of criticism), and the last quote, obviously, comes from Joe Scarborough.

There's other things, like Laura Flanders saying on Lou Dobbs:

"They like Barack, but he's kind of become the female on this race. It's very interesting. He's seen as the weaker cute, attractive. And Hillary is the one with the balls.[...]

He's female enough for Oprah, and she's male enough for a lot of voters out there. It's fascinating. I mean, I think this is going to be an amazing election."

Or from a New York Post (I know) cover story:

"Yet it's not only Obama's policies and strategies that appeal to women. He is like a woman: slim, good looking, with long elegant fingers, appealingly dressed - all terms more typically ascribed to female candidates.

Those shots of Barack and Michelle sitting with Oprah on stools had the feel of a smart, all-women talk panel: Obama fit right in for reasons beyond race."

Or Matin Linsky's Newsweek editorial:

"But whatever happens from here on out, this campaign will always be remembered for the emergence of the first serious woman candidate for president: Barack Obama."

Kathleen Parker after Edwards' endorsement of Obama:

Well, at least they didn't kiss.

I was bracing myself for the lip lock Wednesday when John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama.[...]

Obama and Edwards look and talk pretty, but Clinton, unflinching and steely, exudes pure brawn.

Monica Crowley

If he is this prickly, he is way too much of a girly man to be president of the United States.

There are also various political cartoons which portray him as a woman, or being in the woman's role.

There's a pretty damn clear undertone in the media narrative of Obama's supposed effeminacy, because the things that a lot of people on here say they like about him are things that are associated with being effeminate, at least according to what the media tells us masculinity and femininity are supposed to be.

 

[MaddenNFL64]

I don't know, Obama looked pretty manly on his overseas trip.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Is this better?

 

[Stuneseht]

The commercial was very funny and over the top:lol :lol :lol
The commercial is just a play on male masculinity.
"Real men don't speed walk, they run" is equivalent to the saying "Real men drive stick and not Manual". The commercial is just a play on male masculinity. I think people are also forgetting who the target crowd is; I might not have any numbers to back this up, but correct me if I'm wrong- aren't there more straight men in this world than effeminate or even gay ones.
"Why so Serious"

 

[laserbeam]

 

[McLovin]

I've checked this out after I've caught the tail end of a segment on CNN.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hi4DEdUmA6A

:lol :lol :lol I want some snickers now
Kinda ironic that this group is now labeling speed walkers as gay.

 

[Mumei]

I think people are also forgetting who the target crowd is; I might not have any numbers to back this up, but correct me if I'm wrong- aren't there more straight men in this world than effeminate or even gay ones.

Oh, everyone understands that; that's why they feel they can get away with this. It is okay to offend a minority so long as in offending a minority you do not offend - or even better, amuse, the majority. Mars succeeded in that, if nothing else, in making this commercial.

"Why so Serious"

:lol

Good show.

 

[itxaka]

I wonder what feminist groups will think of this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyEHvlNhX-c

Pretty funny for me

 

[Fusebox]

Oh, everyone understands that; that's why they feel they can get away with this. It is okay to offend a minority so long as in offending a minority you do not offend - or even better, amuse, the majority. Mars succeeded in that, if nothing else, in making this commercial.

I'm still confused - exactly which minority was offended? Was is the speed-walkers, the gays, the straight metros who just look like to look gay, or all three?

 

[cyclonekruse]

Because biological explanations, especially ones with no actual evidence - like yours, often only serve as excuses not to change unfortunate aspects of society. Biology was used as support for white superiority and male superiority. Mumei wrote an excellent post on how hyper-idealization of masculinity is a problem, which I most certainly agree, and your response was that idealization of masculinity is probably intrinsic to human behavior. To me that sounds like at best an excuse not to change it, and at worst justifying its unfortunate existence.

My best guess is that it's intrinsic to human behavior. It seems like it would promote the reproduction of genes and therefore might be selected for. As such, I don't think attempts to change the behavior will be very successful. That's all I was saying. And, no, I wasn't justifying the promotion of masculinity. I'm not quite sure why it needs justifying, to be honest. Nor do I understand how its root being in our evolution would go about justifying it. There's some evidence that rape is an evolved behavior to some extent. That doesn't justify raping someone.

I've had a biologist explain to me that dancing ability in males is a preferred trait, because it displays sexual ability to women. Yet socially men dancing has been considered effeminate, or at least the past several decades, and seems to go against that. So which is it?

Only some dancing is considered effeminate. I assume you were talking about things like ballet and tap? Few people call hip hop dancers or break dancers effeminate. Also, just because something is preferred in women doesn't make it masculine. Look at sensitivity.

My point is that what is considered 'masculine' varies from times to time, culture to culture. Today wearing makeup and the color pink would be seen as effeminate. Yet centuries ago pink was identified as a masculine color, and wearing makeup was routine for men of privilege.

Hey, I'm not saying that specific traits are considered masculine/feminine based on our biology. I'm saying that promoting masculinity in men (whatever we decide that is) is what might be selected for. I'm not surprised it changes over time. Just like what is attractive to women. Women are attracted to higher-class men. Before, that meant fat guys because being fat meant you were able to eat well which meant you had money. Now, when food isn't so much of an issue, obese guys aren't as attractive. Similarly, pale women were attractive because it meant they were high class and didn't have to work outside. Now, tan women are displaying that they are high class by showing they have enough free time to go to the beach and get bronzed. Two different behaviors at two different times achieving the same goal (showing one's class level).

And during the hunter-gathering days, it was the gathering, not the hunting, that procured most of the resources,

Doesn't matter. The man who looked like he could get MORE food from hunting than his competition on the mate market was still the most attractive.

and certainly a case could be made that matriarchy and idealized femininity certainly has a place in early human civilization, and that it's more fairly recent that masculinity became idealized.

Before we learned that men had a part in reproduction and that women didn't just magically get pregnant on their own, yes, we idealized femininity. We're concerned with passing on our genes and when we only saw the woman's part in it, we revered it. When we discovered the male contribution to the process that all changed.

 

[dog$]

So this whole fiasco was mentioned on NPR this morning. According to them, laughing at this ad is analagous to being a Nazi who laughed at the German 1930's cartoons which demonized the Jews.

No, really, they said that.

 

[laserbeam]

So this whole fiasco was mentioned on NPR this morning. According to them, laughing at this ad is analagous to being a Nazi who laughed at the German 1930's cartoons which demonized the Jews.

No, really, they said that.

Well shit I guess gaf is gonna get shutdown. Were a Nazi website too many people laughed

 

[Shrennin]

Thanks to this topic, seeing the commercial, and finding out the reason it got pulled - well, I'm buying me some snickers! I really despise this "political correctness" stuff where nothing can be portrayed in fear that it "offends" somebody.

 

[Kapsama]

That's an awesomely funny commercial. But I could see why gays would be offended.

 

[Blueblur1]

I have, on South Beach. They're called queens, but the guy in this commercial was simply an effeminate speed walker.

And I'm glad I stay away from South Beach in the mornings. Lighthouse Point FTW.

 

[Gorgie]

Where do people get the idea that they have the right to not be offended? This is like that Dutch newspaper cartoon all over again.

 

[wackojackosnose]

I remember seeing this commercial on TV.

Hell, I didn't even notice a gay undertone - I only thought they were making fun the stupidity of speed walking.

Still, was it actually gay groups that pulled this or was it a bureaucratic response to perceived offensiveness?

 

[Dr_Cogent]

O'Reilly interviewed Mr. T over it yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXap2twPc-0

I'm blown away that people are offended by this. It's fucking hilarious.

 

[evilromero]

Speed walking is the most ridiculous thing in the world and that commercial was awesome. I guess they should ban the Malcolm in the Middle episode where Hal gets into speed walking.