Electrolux

Kelly Ripa is no stranger to the media world. Since the late 1980s, Ripa has been all over television. Whether it was her teen role on the Soap Opera All My Children, a co-host with Regis Philbin on Live With Regin and Kelly, or as her role as a spokeswoman, she seems to pervade almost every form of media representation. She can be viewed as a strong, empowered woman who has reached the pinnacle of business and entertainment success. Married with three children, Ripa continues to actively balance her work and family schedules, a task with which many women continuously struggle. Being in her position, Kelly Ripa is in a great position to speak powerfully on behalf of women and advocate for their rights. Unfortunately, as a spokeswoman for the Electrolux Group, Ripa promulgates certain stereotypes and acts in an enlightened sexist manner which, instead of promoting the role of women, further subjugates them to a subordinate, domestic role.

The ad in question is for the Electrolux Group, a company for which Ripa is the most popular representative’s face. This Swedish company is one of the largest manufacturers of home goods and appliances. This particular television commercial features the Electrolux “Washer and perfect Steam Dryer.” Kelly Ripa walks into a perfectly clean laundry room which has pristine hard wood floors and bright white cabinetry. The voice over asserts now that Ripa has her new washer/dryer, she can “juggle more things in her day!” Continuing to walk through her house, she is suddenly able to perform impossible tasks with incredible ease. She tosses her daughter’s shirt which magically goes to a hanger in a closet, perfectly folds and stacks dozens of shirts in seconds, is able to feed the dog with a dance-like maneuver, all because the washer and dryer is ready in just 36 minutes (a feat presumably as impossible as Ripa’s tasks around the house)! The commercial ends with Ripa claiming that with the extra time she can juggle more tasks and be “even more amazing.”

According to Douglas, standard misogyny and sexism is no longer the only form of poor media representations of women. The standard sexist media is now supplemented by enlightened sexism which states women have achieved the goals of feminism and thus there is not a need for the movement anymore (Douglas, 5). With this new, often times subliminal, form of sexism, retrograde images of women are re-entering the mass media scene (Douglas, 9). This retrograde image is in accordance to the ideal wife and mother that Ripa portrays in this commercial. Again, the audience is being shown that the most valued woman is one who takes care of the house and family. Along these lines, every woman should be able to do all the impossible tasks Ripa performs, all-the-while smiling and being personally fulfilled!

Sexism in America is a cultural phenomenon which we, often times as consumers, promulgate. Both men and women are involved in this phenomenon. In the case of the Electrolux ad, much of the sexism is promoted by women. As Douglas illustrates in her chapter The New Girliness, the fact that women are giving these messages validates the sexist themes and makes them resonate even more with viewers. It is Ripa herself, a seemingly empowered, modern woman, who is spreading the image of the traditional domestic woman gaining fulfillment solely through housework. It is almost ironic that Electrolux chose such a successful business woman to portray the classic housewife in their advertisements. Ripa, who gained most of her fame and fortune from acting and being a keen businesswoman, ignores that entire part of her life in these commercials. She completely disregards the notion that women can gain empowerment outside of the home. On an even more disturbing note, the fact that Ripa, who works long and hard hours outside of the home, is then expected to come home and do all this work in addition to, sets an absurd and unrealistic standard for the women of the world who are trying to balance both a career and a home.

Ideology of womanhood is a 19^th century concept which affirms that women and men are inherently equal but they are very different. This ideology can be used to promote the idea that women and men belong to, and function in, very different spheres (Class Notes, Jan. 27). Men belong in the public realm whereas women exercise power within the private and/or domestic sphere. The major problem with this ideology is that it traps women in the home and only values their work in the particular domestic area. This, although it stems from the 19^th century, seems to be very applicable to this commercial. I think Ripa would be very opposed to anything which outwardly says that women are less valuable than men, but based off of her performance in this ad, it can only be assumed that she might agree with the idea that the work of the house falls solely onto the shoulders of a woman. Of course, disseminating this representation can have serious consequences, especially to a young or impressionable audience. Overall, I think this ad highlights that part of the role of a woman, wife and mother is that she is to perform all the household chores. This adds pressure to the modern woman and insists that they conform to a traditional image of gender roles which they may or may not feel comfortable filling.

The commercial is also disconcerting, as I think Douglas would agree, in the sense that Ripa does not perform one chore that benefits herself. Instead, she is taking care of the rest of her family’s duties. Her daughters are not responsible for folding or hanging their own laundry, and her husband is not expected to take is own crisp, dry shirt out from the dryer. By having a woman perform all these tasks, the advertisement is effectively asserting that these are the duties of the wife alone. Even if a woman has her own chores to worry about, now she must also perform nearly every task in the house. A shocking statistic is that even if a woman is working in a workplace, in addition, she still does 80% of the household work (Class Notes, Feb 8). This is means that women are being bound to the traditional roles within the house despite the fact that they are also working other jobs. It is unsettling to think that men, and some women, are so uncomfortable with the idea of men doing the typical household chores, many of which are represented in the Electrolux ads.

On a final Kelly Ripa side-note, she also falls into another area of dangerous female media representation. As Douglas points out, me pressure for women to look a certain way is stronger now more than ever. As young girls and women watch television and look at print advertisements which features bodies past the point of perfection, they are being shown unrealistic and unhealthy representations of the ideal female form. Ripa has fallen into this category in numerous ways. Apart from this commercial, numerous magazine and online celebrity sites have targeted her for her body. While some commend her for being strong and “ripped,” others make harsh comments about her “disgusting” or masculine muscles. It seems that even for a beautiful, successful, healthy women who is a part of the media still cant escape its scrutiny. On a more applicable note to the advertisement, the image of Ripa in the commercial is one that is damaging to women. While she could be portrayed as the skilled business woman that she is, she instead taps into her more ditzy blonde persona. She bops around the house, sometimes almost skipping, which makes her seem totally carefree and only concerned his issues such as laundry or entertaining her dinner guests. This persona totally disregards a huge portion of Ripa’s personality and in effect contributes to the false notion that housework is the only concern of women and if they are lucky enough to be in the public eye, it is because of their ability to perform their household duties exceptionally well (and smiling all throughout).

In conclusion, Electrolux targets a very specific consumer in its advertising campaigns for its home appliances. In this case, selling its washer and dryers, along with spokeswoman Kelly Ripa, Electrolux harkens back to the traditional household roles of a 1950s housewife. This commercial, in addition to a few others of a similar nature, feature the happy, beautiful, put-together, energetic, bubbly housewife and mother taking care of husband, children and home. The ad clearly asserts that women are in charge of the domestic sphere and are responsible for performing all the household chores which are required to keep a clean home and happy family. It also makes the claim that even a working woman (an area of Ripa’s life which should be lauded and admired, but is instead ignored) are still responsible to do the household work in addition to the rest of their career responsibilities. As Susan Douglas would say, the retrograde image and enlightened sexist themes of this advertisement is detrimental and dangerous. Hopefully, women will soon be released from the shackles which constrain them to maintain an entire household alone while husband and kids look on.