This Artist Swapped Women out for Men in Old Ads for a Powerful Reason

Mustafa Gatollari - Author
By

UPDATED Nov. 18 2019, 2:37 p.m. ET

PUBLISHED Jan. 18 2018, 11:43 a.m. ET

cover ads
Source: twitter

One of the craziest things I noticed watching Mad Men for the first time was the sheer amount of sexism in every episode. It was a major theme of the show and one of the reasons why the AMC series was such a hit is how it handled such complex social commentary.

Article continues below advertisement

It's also whacky because none of the dialogue or prevailing thoughts that male characters had in the show about women, at the time, were out of the realm of reality.

All it takes is to look at some of the old school advertisements from back in the day to see how true that is.

Article continues below advertisement

I mean, they're pretty terrible and share the same theme.

Article continues below advertisement
Article continues below advertisement

Like, what the heck?

Article continues below advertisement
Article continues below advertisement

To highlight just how problematic these ads are, photographer Eli Rezkallah tweeted out some altered images of some classically sexist ads with men as the objects of idiocy and subjugation.

Article continues below advertisement

The result: images that turn old school sexist gender norms on its head.

Article continues below advertisement

What really shone through for me were feelings of isolation.

Article continues below advertisement

And the infantilization of the women in the ads.

Article continues below advertisement

"Golly I can't wait to just clean for you!"

Article continues below advertisement

Some people joked that the gender norms of the '50s and '60s didn't seem like that big of a deal.

Article continues below advertisement

While others seriously thought there was nothing wrong with the original ads.

Article continues below advertisement

And got steamrolled for it.

Article continues below advertisement
Article continues below advertisement

Rezkallah's pieces got a lot of people talking about the role of sexism in advertising.

Article continues below advertisement
Article continues below advertisement

And people were pointing out that although these ads are old, not much has changed. As one person put it, "Sometimes when I see retro ads I cringe, but just how far have we come?"

Article continues below advertisement

Objectifying women = profit, apparently.

Advertisement
More from Distractify

Latest Trending News and Updates

    Opt-out of personalized ads

    © Copyright 2024 Distractify. Distractify is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.