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Mechanical Brides

2009 April 2
by Laura Blankenship

Zuska pointed to a book that accompanied an exhibit of technology used in the home and office that affected gender norms or otherwise served to maintain them.  It’s called Mechanical Brides: Women and Machines from Home to Office and it looks fascinating.  The Haverford library has it (yes, I checked), so for anyone who’s interested in pursuing this topic, I’d say this is a must have.  I might have to have it for my own enjoyment.  I grew up with some of the ads pictured in the book.

I saw that Sarah posted a site that explores gender in contemporary ads.  There are some really interesting ads there.  As someone who skips through ads on tv and who doesn’t read a lot of “women’s” magazines, I am missing the message that many of these ads send. Often when I see one, I’m particularly taken aback.  I have been known to write companies that have offensive or even just stereotypical ads. 🙂

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