Double standards
S
uper Bowl LIV gave football fans all they could ever want with a fourth quarter comeback by the Kansas City Chiefs led by Patrick Mahomes who struggled early, throwing two interceptions, but then rallying for the win.
Whether you’re a Chiefs fan or not, their win gave all the feelz because it was only the second win for the franchise and the last one was 50 years ago in Super Bowl III.
Anyone who had 0-0 on their Super Bowl Board were dancing in their living room because they won two quarters.
It was all fun and games!
And of course we were all glued to the tv to see what amazing commercials were lined up for the day. Those ads sell for millions of dollars and over the years, we have all built up an expectation for ads that entertain, captivate, as well as move us.
Though I will admit that I was a little underwhelmed by several of those ads, there were a couple that really drew a reaction from me.
For entertainment purposes, my fave was Sam Elliott in the Doritos commercial. The song is great, the black horse that Lil Nox X rode was gorgeous, Sam’s dancing mustache was a show stopper, and the fact that his horse just said no to that dance challenge and Sam tipping his hat in gracious defeat was priceless.
Two others that drew some serious emotions were the ones that featured women pushing boundaries.
The first was the Secret All Strength, No Sweat commercial where the player holding the ball and the player kicking the game-winning field goal were both women. It was about equal possibilities for strong women, and an acceptance of them on a field of male competitors.
The other was the Microsoft Surface Tablet ad featuring San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers who is paving the way for women coaching
in an all-male dominated industry. What I loved about this one is her saying that her goal was not to be the best female coach, but the best coach.
She is blazing a trail for women that is new and so exciting.
I was feeling so happy and so good about the messages being sent in a media event that is watched by countless people around the world.
And then the halftime show happened.
I loved it. Shakira and Jennifer Lopez showed their incredible talent as singers, dancers, athletes and performers in an action packed show.
I was feeling so proud of the impact women were making in a predominantly man-centered event!
And then the attacks started to come in against the halftime show.
Gillette Representative Scott Clem shared on Facebook that Shakira and J.Lo behaved like whores.
The derision from all over social media for these amazing women was repulsive.
They were accused of exposing
themselves in a family friendly event. However, both women’s costumes completely covered their bodies.
Professional cheerleaders wear less on a regular basis. Last year, Adam Levine was half naked in his performance at the halftime show and no one raised an eyebrow or called him a whore.
So why the double standard?
The United States is 244 years old. Women fought hard to acquire the right to vote in a nation founded on democracy and they were finally granted that right 100 years ago.
Yet still here we are in 2020, judging women for attempting to do as men do. As a woman, I was so impressed with Shakira and J.Lo for their talent and athleticism, especially at 43 and 50 years old respectively. As I watched them, one of the first thoughts that came to my mind was “goals”. I can promise you that “whore” never entered my train of thought.
Isn’t it time we just let people be people instead of holding the genders to different standards when it comes to behavior? I would sure like to think so.