Atrios wonders when advertisers are going to catch on to the fact that women watch sports.
Which reminds me that Shakesville regularly wonders when advertisers are going to catch on to the fact that women are people.
Which reminds me of this Klondike bar commercial, seen most recently at the in-laws' this weekend during some marathon or other of a crime show. The theme of these commercials is, natch, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? for a Klondike bar, and this slobby, John Belushi-looking guy's supreme sacrifice was "listen to your wife." No, seriously, he had to listen to her speak for a full 5 seconds. When the clock hit 5, confetti and balloons and hotties appeared. And an ice cream bar.
Marriage SUCKS, y'all. You have to be all listen-y to stupid bitches all the time! I bet this commercial is a continuation of a movie in which this guy gets married because of a hilarious contest involving women fighting over a ring or something, since Furry McSweatynuts here is such a prize. And I'm sure there could be an equally hilarious version in which a girl has to do something like go to a Monster Truck rally and sigh because her husband is such a child. It is the height of married life, after all, to do what your partner wants, but only with such Herculean effort that the other person notices and feels guilty for wanting anything at all.
Look, I get sometimes you have to do stuff you don't like when you're married. That's not the point. The point is that the mainstream portrayal of marriage is always this punishing bullshit ritual of man vs. woman, Mars vs. Venus, that makes me yell at the TV, "Just get DIVORCED already! It doesn't take an act of Parliament anymore! If you are with someone whose voice makes you break out in hives, that is a SIGN FROM GOD that you should leave this person and go out and find your own way in the world."
I wonder why anybody gets married at all, I really do sometimes, since this is the kind of recruiting poster we lawfully wedded folks are slapping up everywhere.
My favorite YouTube comment:
Did Klondike make Mark's wife marry the biggest prick in the universe for a Klondike bar? Because that would explain their relationship.
A.
One of the first blog-based books, the anthology Special Plans examines Feith's role in misleading America into war. Buy from 
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Posted by: PWL | May 10, 2011 at 14:02
My sweetie is a gamer. We are about to shack-up together, which means many nights of him going on 'missions' w/his group. That's just a fact. He's a top notch fellow who is generally free of deal-breaking flaws. I accept his gamer-ness and appreciate that he asked me if I would like to join them. I did respectfully decline so that he has his 'spaceshipping time' and I can do 'my thing' whatever it is at that point. Granted, this may necessitate some wireless headphones so that I can watch tele/movies in the same room as mission nights, but hey - he's not an asshole, I can easily deal...and don't need an ice cream bar to feel solid about it. I love him...and he does listen to me so SCORE! :)
Posted by: Elspeth Ravenwind | May 10, 2011 at 14:28
What bothers me most about this is that, according to "popular opinion" the bar is set so goddamn low for men, especially married men. As if you win spouse of the year for just getting your fat-ass off the couch and into pants with a zipper. Infuriating.
Posted by: Ben | May 10, 2011 at 14:49
Ben, exactly. This isn't really a compliment to men in any way, acting like they've won the lottery when they manage to not set themselves on fire while loading the dishwasher. It sets the expectation that men are dumbasses, while giving women a pass to treat men like pets they have to scold and control.
Life is too short to live in a relationship where one of you's the prisoner and the other one's the guard. Unless you like that, you perverts.
A.
Posted by: Athenae | May 10, 2011 at 16:18
Yeah, that guy doesn't look like he's been too deprived of Klondike bars.
Posted by: dr2chase | May 10, 2011 at 16:19
dr2chase: Well, he only has to listen to his wife for a whole minute in order to score a dozen. *headdesk*
Athenae: No kidding. I used to get looks of admiration from my friends' wives because I would VOLUNTARILY cook, and clean, and do laundry. Shit, if I were single I'd have to do all of that anyway...
Posted by: Jay in Oregon | May 10, 2011 at 16:30
A, do not encourage my brother. He lives in Alaska, which means he's probably been infected with Palinism. It's dangerous to us all.
Posted by: Jude | May 10, 2011 at 17:08
WOOO! *wildly fires a shotgun into the air*
Posted by: Ben | May 10, 2011 at 17:24
To be fair, A, I have in the past managed to set myself on fire doing far simpler things than loading a dishwasher.
I'm a guy, and I have a fairly low opinion of guys because, well, I am one. We can be fantastic, romantic, thoughtful and compassionate... we can also be a useless pack of utter pillocks.
But I cannot imagine marrying anyone that I did not actually want to listen to. Do I sometimes tune out a little when I'm listening to my girlfriend? It happens, especially when I'm tired and just about ready to pass out... but the rest of the time I will listen and talk for hours about anything at all. Why? Because we acually interest one another.
Amazing, I know.
For my next trick, I'll finish the dinner dishes and tell my gal that I love her. I won't ask her opinion of advertisers, because we both share Bill Hicks' opinion that the world would be a happier place once advertising and marketing people take their own lives.
What a wonderful world that would be: no commercials, we all get to buy what we need or want without being huckstered at every time we open our eyes. Marvellous.
Posted by: Uncommoner | May 10, 2011 at 23:36
As I do most of the cooking in the Feral household, I also do the grocery shopping which means I have to pick up many other household items as well. I constantly get amazed looks and comments from women when I check out and am buying tampons. It shouldn't be that big of a deal.
Posted by: FeralLiberal | May 11, 2011 at 07:34
This reminds me of when I had to move out to California for a while, while I was still dating my now spouse. A woman I knew seemed very surprised that my boyfriend would go all the way out to the coast with me to help me get settled. She seemed to think I should consider myself extra lucky that he would want to spend the time with me. I couldn't, and still can't, figure out what she thought the point of having a boyfriend was (or for him having a girlfriend) if he *wouldn't* enjoy being with me more than other things he might be doing. The notion that men and women only belong together for nearly anonymous sex in the dark is still a pretty common one even though every day people get married or move in together because they actually want the total package: person, cooking, laundry, sex, gossip, back rubs, bike rides, kids, parents, etc...
aimai
Posted by: aimai | May 12, 2011 at 15:42