Sunday, October 26, 2014

-Isms Galore

I "collect" images of vintage advertising on Pinterest, They are a treasure trove for ideas and historical cultural reference for creative writing classes. They were the first thing that came to my mind when I read this week's "-ism" Blog prompt.

Sexism: Not only have these pitiable women been rejected for a "stewardess" position, they have been judged solely by their appearance. The airline claims to take other factors into account, but we really all know better.

Heterosexism: The advertisements of bygone days are rife with the assumption everyone wants to have the perfect suburban Dick and Jane family lifestyle. White bread and a groovy sandwich will land her the perfect man to start a family. 

Racism: This sink advertisement implies only white folks can afford, and possible even deserve, to have such luxurious amenities as this lovely sink. 
Ageism: This one goes without saying. "Old bags" certainly won't be purchasing any of these old bags.
Able-Bodiedism: In a quick scanning over of any references to those with disabilities in vintage advertising, I wasn't shocked at its absence. Too taboo to touch for selling stuff I suppose. The only things I came across were that halitosis and body odor were a formidable "handicap" for pleasing your man, and even beautiful women would be a spinster if they didn't address the problem. A different search yielded this gem that I think goes without saying how derogatory it could be construed. 



2 comments:

  1. Wow, you found some good ones! It's amazing what people will come up with, and have the audacity to publish!

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  2. Great post! And I absolutely love Pinterest! I think that images say so much and then when you add words to these images, the messages that are portrayed can come across has pretty discriminatory!

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