Government withdraws 'sexist' Stay at Home advert

[cheeseismydownfall]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55844367

This is so patently awful that I don't think think it even merits discussion.

When I showed it to DH, he shook his head in disbelief, but then said "Ah! But perhaps all those people are transwomen, except for the one on the sofa, and she is actually cuddled up to her GNC girlfriend! So actually this is depicting the terrible oppression of trans women by cis women!".

I'm pleased to see he has been listening :)

Oh ffs. First time I had seen the advert. Throw back to the 1950s. Idiots.

That is shockingly, heartbreakingly awful!

They managed to not make everyone white, so that women of every creed and colour are still doing the shit work. Equality!

Wankers.

It may be sexist but it is also probably accurate

@Enb76

It may be sexist but it is also probably accurate

All the key workers are men? I doubt it.

@MrsTerryPratchett

They managed to not make everyone white, so that women of every creed and colour are still doing the shit work. Equality!

Wankers.

I shouldn't laugh at this, but I did

The BBC use stereotypes...never..

All the key workers are men? I doubt it.

Most key workers are women I think - but also true is that the burden of what I consider scut work also falls on women

@Enb76

All the key workers are men? I doubt it.

Most key workers are women I think - but also true is that the burden of what I consider scut work also falls on women

Not in my house but I take that point.

It's more the assumption that the people with a reason to be out of the house are men, because they aren't there. When actually the men would be in the majority in the houses.

It's the old 'public world male private world female' trope.

It's actually illegal as it's against advertising standards. Shameful that it came from the government.

I used to live in Italy and the amount of sexist adverts was astounding. The women were also always at least 20 years younger than their husband/partner.

@KasparKat

It's actually illegal as it's against advertising standards. Shameful that it came from the government.

I used to live in Italy and the amount of sexist adverts was astounding. The women were also always at least 20 years younger than their husband/partner.

I did too and I remember people complaining about an ad with breastfeeding, when they didn't about all the boobs everywhere for sexual titillation. Very strange.

I think at some level the government believe that if all women and children stay home and “do their part” then half the social contact and risk around the country is removed which means men can go about doing their own business, fishing, golfing and playing football as normal.

Only it turns out covid is more serious for pensioners and middle age men than women and children.

So the model falls apart.

Which leads to higher hospitalisation rates and deaths.

Then stricter lockdowns and adverts imploring woman and children that if only they stayed home doing ironing then everything would be better.

I don't know, I think it just needs to be relabelled as a fair depiction of this government's attitude to women in this pandemic and the roll back of progress women have made since the 1950s.

They have even got the little girl doing the sweeping. Is this the train them young message?

@MrsFogi What do you mean by "the government's attitude to women during this pandemic?"

Only it turns out covid is more serious for pensioners and middle age men than women and children.

So the model falls apart.

Good point.

How do we know theyre women? Surely we aren't allowed to make assumptions based on the way they look?

@Enb76

It may be sexist but it is also probably accurate

I was thinking the same - it certainly seems reflective of many threads on Mumsnet. Women doing all of the work while the man has his feet up.

Surely the backlash against this advert just proves that people know what a woman looks like and what a man looks like, even in cartoon form, and we are being gaslighted (gaslit) when we're regularly told that isn't the case?
Am I truly the only one who sees this?

@StealthPolarBear

Surely the backlash against this advert just proves that people know what a woman looks like and what a man looks like, even in cartoon form, and we are being gaslighted (gaslit) when we're regularly told that isn't the case? Am I truly the only one who sees this?

Yes, we can all see that the figures are all 'coded' as being women or girls except the bloke on the sofa. Both by appearance and role.

Errol, I get it, I agree. Completely. I just can't marry this up with the messages from elsewhere about how you can't tell gender from looking. When lots of people say yes, you can tell someone's sex, almost always, from the way they look, and it means something.

You're quite correct Stealth.

We see it.

In real life, women and men are more varied in dress and role (though still with both skewed) but you can generally tell what sex they are regardless. Is that what you mean?

Yes of course you can. But the official line is that you can't tell someone's gender (sometimes called sex) by looking at them, and plenty of people identify a different way from how they were born, and that is what matters, not the way they were assigned at birth.
And yet on something like this lots of people call out aexism. I completely agree with them, but this is no longer how we're meant to reference gender

In shott
This thread proves that the majority of people, no matter how earnestly they nod when asked to affirm that how you feel inside is most important to ascertain whether you're a man or woman, know that in reality it is, in fact, rubbish.