11/20/2005: Woman is your friend

[BigV]

Maybe.

I've read this thread and viewed the picture every time there's been a reply, and frankly, that vibe never occurred to this man. Maybe it's the insensitive male chauvinistic pig blinding me to the message you're describing...

But I don't think so.

Originally Posted by BigV

Maybe.

I've read this thread and viewed the picture every time there's been a reply, and frankly, that vibe never occurred to this man. Maybe it's the insensitive male chauvinistic pig blinding me to the message you're describing...

But I don't think so.

No, I don't think so, either. A guy whose mind doesn't work that way probably wouldn't pick up on it. Women are more likely to see the subtext in the message because we get to deal with it. For example, women tend to be the ones who get raped, not men (outside of prison, anyhow).

[tw]

One look at that billboard - and I see an ad that encourages wife beating. Look, for the message to have effect, the message must convey to the man an emotional distress at what he has done. That billboard - without any text - only glorifies the wife beating - or at least makes it appear to be something that men can do.

Appreciate that I was raised watching commercial created that Americans believed - such as smoking cigarettes does make one healthier. Yes, eliminate the current bias, and that is exactly what most Americans believed in the early 1960s even when the Surgeon Generals report confirmed in 1964(?) what was proven sometime in the 1940s.

I see an ad that actually does just the opposite of what is intended. I am sure most all do not see the same. But then I was raised to see the mindset of an advertising executives - propaganda expert.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by marichiko

No, I don't think so, either. A guy whose mind doesn't work that way probably wouldn't pick up on it. Women are more likely to see the subtext in the message because we get to deal with it. For example, women tend to be the ones who get raped, not men (outside of prison, anyhow).

First, thanks for the credit, marichiko, I appreciate it, really.

But I don't agree with your conclusion that women are more likely to see the subtext in the message, because they're women. I think someone, male or female, who sees the world as populated by threats would be more likely to see this subtext. To the extent that more women are beaten by men than there are men beaten by women (or men combined), more women see the threat here.

xoB is right, this is normal behavior, not my norms, but normal in the sense of common. And it is sad and tragic.

Well, BigV, I think we are fundamentally in agreement. I did not mean to imply that the xx chromosome bestows x-ray vision to read between the lines of society's messages in general.

However, women are taught to view the world as populated by threats from men. "Don't wear suggestive clothing or you're asking for 'it.'" "Don't talk to strangers - especially men." "Don't go do things alone after dark."

Women are continually being warned how to avoid danger from men, whether real or percieved. When I had jobs that caused me to work until after dark, the security guards would always escort me and other female employees to our cars. They didn't do that for the male employees. Women are treated to stories of charming serial killers and rapists and told to "watch out". When I go out on the weekends selling roses, bar patrons and staff, especially the women, will admonish me to "stay safe." I seldom, if ever, hear anyone telling a man who goes out alone at night to "stay safe."

This is, indeed, society's norm, and, as a result, women are more quick to pick up on such subliminal messages.