Letters to the Editor
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It's okay, really
Funny ad, and speaking as a man, um. Yes, the percentages are accurate. Don't sweat it, Tracy. Most men ARE pigs.
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OK
Ms Tracy -
No offense, but it really seems like you were trying, nay straining, to come up with a reason to be offended by this ad. Let it go, it's funny and though CBS and Fox aren't showing it, it's very likely that with their respective demographics, not too many of the watchers have any use for condoms. CBS because of age and Fox, well, just because it's rough out there for Republican men these days.
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How is this not health-related?
I don't see how the pig/man evolution stresses either pregnancy prevention or health issues over the other. Clearly if we saw a gay bar we would know it was about health issues. Maybe they should have used a gay bar. Would Fox have aired that?
I don't like the use of pigs as a pejorative because they are perfectly nice animals.
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The ad is screamingly funny
Even my husband who doesn't always appreciate pick up humor was laughin at it. We both found it funny, gently informative and were pleased to see an ad about contraception and STD prevention that isn't so dry the people who need to be reached turn it off.
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I'm glad to see
that TC-F recognizes that men are not animals, at least not pigs. Too bad Planned Parenthood doesn't get it. There are plenty of pop culture depictions of men that disagree with her such as Career.com commercials depicting men and not women as chimpanzees. Geico must be more advanced since it sees men and not women as "cavemen." It's amazing that more feminists don't speak out against the rampant misandry of popular culture. If they really believed in gender equality, they would. That said, thanks to TC-F for doing just that.
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The temptation
To draw an analogy to a nail salon full of hens, is of course enormous. Anyway, if that's the way you want to play, maybe you should grab the controls and fly solo, as it were.
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Who buys condoms?
The man has to buy the condoms on the first date, unless the woman knows the correct size, shape, texture, and material for the partner in question. He may be latex allergic!
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The nastiest of stereotypes is not that men are pigs, it's the swill you pump out day after day about women being victims
and victims of an evil mythical you can find it you can't describe a world without it patriarchy.
Let's just all agree that men AND women strive to be rational effective actors in a world large constructed by our predecessors and stop blaming men.
I own up to my sometime piggish behaviors. What I won't own up to is that by pointing out hypocrisy and inequities in feminism that I am somehow a misogynist. Can you own up to your sometime bitch behaviors?
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Tracy, sometimes you just can't win.
Here you are showing some sensitivity to and respect for the other half of the species and people still find something to complain about. Well, I think this entry was great and I'm tickled that you objected to the things you did. It's really nice to see. Thank you.
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That "Anonymous" Guy Sure is Mean, Huh?
Tracy, I haven't seen the ad, so maybe I'm way off here, but I don't understand how it's insulting to depict a bar full of men as swine. Maybe this is a profile of sex disparity-- I would find it offensive beyond words if a salon full of women were played by cackling hens, but not a bar full of man-pigs.
Why is that? As a dude, do I have the right to authorize others to mock and demean all of dude-dom, and then it's okay and in good spirit? Does a woman have the same right? Maybe. Does a black man? I doubt it.
Still, I'm unoffended. Maybe that's because there are some 3 billion of us dudes out there, and I can easily rationalize that a bar full of pigs isn't a realistic representation, and therefore it's whimsical.
But that same logic doesn't hold up when talking about depictions of blackface or woman-as-chickenhead.
Mind-boggling.
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Tracy, did you see
that Mike Nifong was disbarred, will resign as DA of Durham and that he, along with Durham, will be sued? Did you also see Duke settle (today) for an undisclosed sum with the 3 athletes? Still believe there was a rape? Still think the hooker, Crystal Gail Mangum, was telling the truth (the tough call is which version you believe)? Still believe the Group of 88/potbangers are anything but losers with too much time on their hands?
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It offends your sensibilities?
Great! Talk about it, make a big stink, remember the idea is to sell condom use not social comentary.
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Make that sale.
While I appreciate the idea that not all men are pigs (I'm not) I think maybe this one is overanalyzed.
Remember, commercials target the lowest common denominator, in order to sell something.
So if some of the patrons were pigs and some were not, the message would be "catch up, loser!"
With all the other patrons as pigs, and the "protagonist" evolving to human status, the message is "stand out from the crowd and be successful!"
The latter certainly is a better marketing pitch. To the extent that any commercial is "defensible" (a debateable proposition) this one is better than most. At least there is a good message with regard to health issues and responsibility.
It doesn't surprise me Faux wouldn't air it - they are a stronghold of the worst kind of backward thinking with regard to anything sexual. CBS' reluctance is disappointing, but not too surprising. Kudos to NBC and CBS for airing it.
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This...
...is the most perplexing bundle of letters ever.
The writer says she doesn't like depicting men as pigs, and that she finds Fox's reason for barring the ad as problematic.
In this we have the writer 1)Saying men are not pigs, and 2) Unplanned pregnancies are not good things.
And somehow this is problematic to people?
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Well I was offended and I am female.
I have to admit that I watched it with the sound off because I need new speakers. I am puzzled as to why the commercial would appeal to either men or women, although I do admit to a rather queasy smile when the pig turned so handsome. I also noticed that all the women were fashion-model gorgeous. I think maybe the usefulness of the commercial (to sell condoms) might be that it addresses lots of barely conscious ideas/stereotypes that many of us hold. Even without the sound, I assumed that the pigs might be using some pretty lame pickup lines. You can bet that lots of money went into not only the making of the commercial but preliminary research with focus groups. Clearly some people were not offended.
The real question I have is whether of not this sort of advertising actually works. Not just will it sell that particular condom but will it increase condom use generally since it is clearly aiming at a recalcitrant group that doesn't want to use them? Will it cause both male and female viewers to practice safer sex? Will the viewers understand that condoms alone are not sufficient to prevent pregnancy? They actually have a comparatively high failure rate.
About actual pigs: I have known pigs, having been a country gal. Pigs get a bad rap. They are quite intelligent and often have distinct personalities. If provided with the proper environment, they are also clean. Pigs can actually be housebroken.