just an observation; both Mr. Clearn and the Brawny man are white men. Yet I don't recall any Brawny or Mr. Clean TV commercial featuring a white man. In fact, it's always a woman (equally likely to be black as to white?) The understood message is that cleaning is the realm of mom. (or the maid) But to keep mom company and feeling equal to hubby, they give her a man figure on her cleaning bottle; the man shares her job, and therefore she is not really being slighted, not really doing "women's work." But, we can't threaten dad can we? He'd be threatened by giving mom this manly man, who probably has bigger pecs and bicempts and sticks around the house and helps mom with household chores. So, it's tacitly understood that these men are gay. Thereby while obstensibly women aren't really less than men, because they're working with Mr. Clean, but since we know that he's really gay, we understand that cleaning is "the woman's job," and, moreover, gay males have the same status as women. Heterosexual White Patriarchy at its finest. You'll notice black men are strangely absent from the cleaning industry (at least as far as I, as a consumer, am aware).
well, i see the picture.
just an observation; both Mr. Clearn and the Brawny man are white men. Yet I don't recall any Brawny or Mr. Clean TV commercial featuring a white man. In fact, it's always a woman (equally likely to be black as to white?) The understood message is that cleaning is the realm of mom. (or the maid) But to keep mom company and feeling equal to hubby, they give her a man figure on her cleaning bottle; the man shares her job, and therefore she is not really being slighted, not really doing "women's work." But, we can't threaten dad can we? He'd be threatened by giving mom this manly man, who probably has bigger pecs and bicempts and sticks around the house and helps mom with household chores. So, it's tacitly understood that these men are gay. Thereby while obstensibly women aren't really less than men, because they're working with Mr. Clean, but since we know that he's really gay, we understand that cleaning is "the woman's job," and, moreover, gay males have the same status as women. Heterosexual White Patriarchy at its finest. You'll notice black men are strangely absent from the cleaning industry (at least as far as I, as a consumer, am aware).
Posted by Michael | Link to this comment | 03- 2-04 4:33 AM