When trying to find commercials or ads related to romance and women, I came across an old Subway ad where they try to promote how much healthier their food is, compared to other fast-food restaurants. This on it's own is fine; however, in showing the negative side of greasy fast-food, they also push this negativity to being overweight. When asked what the fast-food meal comes with, the worker at this particular restaurant says that eating this fast-food will result in "...regret, remorse, a bigger waist, loss of self-esteem, loss of boyfriend..." (emphasis mine). In saying these things, Subway is implying that, if you eat fast-food (especially if you're a woman) you should feel guilty. You should feel horrible about yourself for giving in and eating something that might make you fat, because God forbid you offend others with your fatness. Oh, especially your boyfriend! Because eating fast-food, and becoming fat, will make him leave you. However, it's only men working at this restaurant, and therefore they are the ones passing judgement on your lunch choice. Better go eat at Subway, so you can continue to be admired under the male gaze, and so you're not left by your shallow boyfriend.
(Disclaimer: I'm in no way speaking against eating healthy - I do agree that eating healthy is clearly better for yourself and for your body. However, I also believe in health at every size, and do not feel that fat = unhealthy and skinny = healthy, and I do not think that anyone should be made to feel guilty for what they eat.)
Mr. F
Oh Subway.
ReplyDeleteI do agree wholeheartedly with this post though. I must say though, sometimes I get the feeling of regret and remorse when I eat fast food. Though that does not mean I want to be told that. We should be free to eat what we want without prejudice and fear of losing boyfriends. Male gaze be damned.
-Eternal Drive
Sometimes I wonder exactly how advertisements like this (the paris hilton commercial included) are aired. Is any thought not taken into the messages they are trying to send, and that they can be extremely offensive to a huge population?
ReplyDeleteBut thank you subway, ill remember to stay away from fast food for the sake of my relationship...
(sarcasm intended).
-Meryle Girl
This post is right on the money. The commercial does present a guilt ridden image of a woman being judged by what her diet is like and it is obviously presented through a male gaze of patriarchal society. While this is bad in itself, it also promotes heterosexuality and reinforces dominant discourses of women as feminine and emotional; therefore needing therapy to deal with the emotional stress of eating fast food that will make her fat and unappealing to her boyfriend, as well as men being portrayed as masculine= not caring about diets, appearances, keeping their woman as the cute feminine thin side dish to their beefy meet entree. :)
ReplyDelete-Dougie
This post definitely is an example of the important topic of romance in the food industry. The male gaze has forced too many women to be extra self conscious of their bodies and very careful of what they are eating. We talked about this in class, about how women look at themselves through another set of eyes (a man’s) and how that makes them make choices dependent on what that man would want. Many commercials suggest that women should take notice of the healthier choices offered, like a salad. Many fast food commercials show their healthier choices being enjoyed by women. The idea of women losing her boyfriend over being fat is not a new idea by any means. Women are a main target for this up and rising healthy food industry. Healthy food choices go right along side dieting. Companies are using women as their target and using boyfriends, husbands and casual heterosexual relationships to help boost the need for their products. Women have been trained to think in terms of what their man will think of them. Many chick flicks even use the theme of pretty skinny girls getting the man, so women start to believe that’s what it takes. Romance has become an important sales technique for companies. This technique has left women feeling venerable just like they wanted. The idea of purchasing 100 calorie snacks and 100 calorie yogurts has become go too snacks for that reason! If you want a successful relationship, you need to be skinny. The way to get this skinny, is to eat our tiny snack packs and fat free yogurt. Enjoy ladies…
ReplyDelete-goldilocks
This post is a perfect example of how women are taught to feel guilt when eating. Many commercials that i have come across while researching this assignment have done just that. Companies make women their target audience by using what society has taught women is one of the most important things in life: "having a man". The only way to accomplish this is by being pretty (and the only way to be pretty is to be skinny of course *sarcasm*). In media, when the target audience is women, often enough the message is about finding a man. Even if the women is a successful business women it portrays her as sad (until she finds a man). This subway commercial relates what this lady chooses to eat for lunch to if she is going to keep her boyfriend or not! Although I am very pro-healthy eating I do not consider keeping/loosing my boyfriend when making food choices...no one should!
ReplyDelete-Molly
I really agree with the point you are making here. Especially in your disclaimer. It is most assuredly not okay that anyone, let alone women are expected to worry that the food they are eating is going to affect the relationship they are currently in, or are looking to have. The fact that it is a male telling a women the horrible things that will happen if she eats fast food reinforce patriarchal roles and the male gaze. That the men can work there (and be assumed to eat there as well) but it is not okay for a women to eat there.
ReplyDeleteI think the only thing going for this commercial is they are "trying" to promote healthy eating, albeit in a rude and rather sexist way.
~ Rosebud
Nice find - also, the fellow working the counter is a bit chubby. Work on 'beefing up' the analysis in terms of connecting the ad to romance tropes; some commentors here do that well.
ReplyDeleteThe Doctor
The Doctor