Image via Complex Original
Lead
Thanksgiving looms, a holiday defined by some ignorant shit. Oh, sure—Pilgrims and Native Americans pleasantly broke bread. Some other ignorance: a food-defined holiday perpetuating stereotypes about women needing to have fixed positions in the kitchen, slaving away for their families. In the world of advertising, food offers some great opportunities for sexism to have a bright-lit full-frontal moment. Thank you, advertisers.
We've compiled some of the most horribly sexist food advertisements from the early twentieth century to now. Enjoy.
All-Bran
All-Bran
Product: Cereal
Circa: 1931
The text reads, "When they first married, all their friends agreed they were perfectly matched. But as time went on, things changed.
"He kept his youthful energy, was always full of life, always ready for a swim, a tennis match, a dance. She became listless, was always tired, and wanted to stay at home. Her complexion lost its freshness. Her eyes became dull. Soon her girlish beauty and health were things of the past."
The ad tells us this had everything to do with a lack of All-Bran in her life, and not the fact that her husband probably backhanded anytime she tried to express herself.
Kellogg's Pep
Kellogg's Pep
Product: Cereal
Circa: 1930s
This is a parody. Nah, just kidding, this is just a snapshot of the perfect world we dream about after jerking off into a sock in the basement apartment our mom leases to us.
Campbell's Soup
Campbell's Soup
Product: Soup
Circa: 1940s
Will the ladies really like the soup? Or will the manly soup muscles just break their precious little jaws?
Heinz Soup
Heinz Soup
Product: Soup
Circa: 1940s
And here's a housewife having the worst moment of her life; no, she hasn't realized she's sacrificed her individuality and happiness at the expense of a well-manicured lawn and verbally abusive man—she realized he doesn't like the brand of tomato soup she bought on a whim at the store. In the rejected version of this, she has a gun in her mouth. And her mascara is running.
Chase & Sanborn Coffee
Chase & Sanborn Coffee
Product: Coffee
Circa: 1950s
Really, the only reasonable response to not "store-testing." We don't even know what "store-testing" is, but we know it's some shit a woman—excuse us—"broad" should get smacked for not doing.
Schlitz
Schlitz
Product: Beer
Circa: 1952
No words, no thoughts.
Betty Crocker
Hunky Dory's 2
Product: Cake Mixes
Circa: 1960s
"Husbands beat wives." Dead.
Nando's
Nando's
Product: Portugese food
Circa: 1960s
At this chain of South African restaurants, all the food is served on women, just the way it should be. (When the irony becomes too much for you, just turn off your computer.)
Total
Total
Product: Cereal
Circa: 1960s
This ad reportedly caused a woman to burst into flames. Spontaneous combustion is real.
Trix
Trix
Product: Cereal
Circa: 1960s
This comes from the less successful "It Doesn't Get Better" Project.
Underwood Deviled Ham
Underwood Deviled Ham
Product: Lunch meat
Circa: 1960s
First! It's sexist to think that all men can be lured into a woman's clutches with the promise of shitty refrigerated meat and Satan. Okay, back to the misogyny.
Arby's Roastburger
Arby's Roastburger
Product: Burger
Circa: 2009
Because the impulse to bite into a burger is just a misplaced Freudian desire to suckle your mother's tits, right?
Hunky Dory's 1
Hunky Dory's 1
Product: Chips
Circa: 2010
Every single time we go to eat chips, we forget and just go abuse ourselves instead. It's probably this ad's fault.
Milk
Got Milk?
Product: Milk
Circa: 2011
And then this "Got Milk?" campaign put the nail in the mislabeled coffin of progress. We've come so far. We've come so far we've walked in a circle, and fuck each and every one of us for that.