What We’re Up Against

Have you seen this one?  It ranks up there with the Carl’s Jr commercials, if you ask me.

This Bud Light commercial paints a picture of the “cultural man”… and the rest of us have to fight this stereotype in order to function as gentleman in society.  Don’t get me wrong… I enjoy playing sports, spending time with my buddies, letting my wife have some time with her girlfriends and so on… but how insulting to be depicted by these guys.  What am I talking about?  Well, take a look, then continue reading on so I can explain what I mean.

• First, a TrueMan doesn’t leave his wife (or girlfriend) by being a wink-and-shooter-guy.  He properly respects her, tells her he loves her and gives an affectionate sign of that love, being sure not to embarrass her in front of her guests.  He doesn’t perform offensive PDA, but shows that he’s secure enough to kiss his woman in a public setting.
• Secondly, why can’t this neanderthal match his clothing?  Are men so inept that they can’t figure out what shorts go with what shirt?  Granted, he’s going out to play a game, but I think Bud Light purposely showed that this guy is fashion-illiterate.  They wanted to paint the whole picture.
• Next we dive right into the heart of the commercial… the beer.  “Ugh, me like beer.”
• Then, as if men aren’t smart enough to hold an intellectual conversation without talking about sex, sexual connotations and sexual innuendo.  Another classic case of “cultural manliness” – which states – “If you want to be a “real man”, you have to like lesbians and want to see them thrusting on each other, even when there’s no lesbians around and thrusting is used not as a verb but as an adjective in the sentence where thrusting was used.”  How ridiculous.
• And, a TrueMan never hits on other women! Regardless of whether his wife/gf is sitting right next to him!
• Obviously, you must have beer to have a good time! (Sarcasm.)  “It’s a sure sign of a good time.”  (Don’t get me wrong, I like an ice cold beer, but what a stupid sentence!)
• Then, to cap it all off… as the young lady wastes her time talking to this unkempt, itchy, poorly groomed sap, he demonstrates the typical “cultural man’s” outlook on life… “If it moves, I’ll do it.”  Again, not smart enough to understand what she’s saying.

The thing that frustrates me about these sorts of depictions of men is that people begin to believe that they’re true.  Now, some men are quite neanderthal.  Some men aren’t capable of having an intellectual conversation.  Some men don’t know how to treat women.  Why glorify that?  Why do women settle for these men?  Instead, why don’t we (all of us) hold men to a higher standard of behavior?

Man up!