Poor Me

Does the world know how hard it is to be a serious person faced with sexist bullshit on television like the new breed of Taco Hell commercials featuring Carmen Elektra? It just is not easy being me, let me tell you. Pity party starts at 4. Somebody please bring the Sun Chips. db's pouring the margaritas.

I was going to identify Ms. Elektra in the sentence above, but what modifier to use? What exactly is her job? Sex Kitten Throwback? Charo Redux? Animatronic breastbot?* But this isn't about Carmen E., per se. Well, it is, but only in the sense that the commercials are also about her, which they are not. She is there to be the punchline as 1) the rejected (and pining) porn fantasy girlfriend of some dork white guy or 2) the impossibly available and willing porn fantasy girlfriend of some other dork white guy. See? There are many facets to the porn star fantasy storyline in Taco Hell commercials. They contain multitudes.

The commercials break down thusly: Dork white guy (subject) stuffs phallic substitute into mouth while ignored sex object stands ostracized at the edges -- behind glass, outside of doors, on the perimeter of the action -- safely outside the bounds of subjecthood but well w/in the parameters of object to be regarded (and degraded). Object then attempts to assert subjecthood -- in the guise of sex toy for real subject -- only to be reminded of real status and remanded to the periphery once again.

@#$%&!!!

[*I am aware that I have also labeled Ms. Elektra and that's neither nice nor cool, but she's not helping me w/ the pigeon-toed, "sundress," cocked-head, hair twirl, pouty-lipped, whisper-voiced porn babydoll schtick. All she's missing is the fellated lollipop, &c., though I'm sure some "writer" will be sure to include that in the next Taco Hell commercial. Multitudes, ya know.]

Comments

[ja]

You know Carmen E has some videos out--there's Carmen Electra's Fit to Strip, Carmen Electra's Lap Dance and Hip Hop, Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease (apparently there are multiple volumes of this one), and (somewhat like a greatest hits compilation, I guess) Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease Collection - Carmen's Fitness Collection. My, how I am looking forward to trying to raise my daughter w/ this kind of shit out there. Also, just for a look at sexin' our preteen girls, check out my blog post called "Random Holiday Thoughts."

[Congogirl]

Thanks for keeping us posted. And thank goodness I have no TV.

[Diane]

Haven't you heard? The "new" feminism frees women to flaunt their "sexuality" any way they want. By using their sexual power over men, using their bodies to make money, and freeing themselves from the ridiculous notions of the Second Wave, they are liberated.

That's what the kids on the message boards tell me. I'd love to tell them they've been deceived by the patriarchy, but I wouldn't want them to be inconvenienced by having to look up a word.

[ae]

ja, please tell me you made those up. Please, please, I beg you. Aerobic striptease? Somebody kill me now. You, come down here, and kill me w/ margaritas. And the blog is back? Woo! Hoo!!

Congogirl, you are so smart not to have a TV. Apologies for bursting your reverie. AS you can see, those of us w/ TVs are routinely punished for not reading a book instead.

Diane, quit making me love you! Yeah, we've come a long way, baby. Such a long way that now it's our "choice" to solicit the male gaze and to think the pinnacle of our achievement is to remain the objects of leers rather than subjects in our own right. It is killing me that women's empowerment (so-called) and female sexuality is always this f*cking performative objecthood. What would a subjective female sexuality look like to these girls? Does it even occur?

[dharma]

If only ja was joking but alas, no. Congogirl, I tried to live without one, I did. For almost 6 months I did and in many ways it was a good thing. Diane, I so hear you. Sigh.

I tend to be surfing or knitting while watching tv so I miss a lot of commercials. Also tend to hit the mute button. Those advertiser people hate me, they really do. I suck at remembering the product and/or company even while I remember visual details.

[handdrummer]

And here I was being pissed because the commercial made us geeks look too stupid to know the difference between a 'taco' and a real woman.

The recent spate of ads by Vonage also include a clueless geek turning down a scantily dressed hottie to go play with his 'phone' and a blond bimbo who goes swimming with sharks under the delusion they're dolphins.

This is pure old school patriarchy. A bunch of white preppy adboys dishing everyone who isn't them. The sexism is appalling. The condescension toward anyone not a manly man is also.

This kind of crap is one of the many reasons I rarely watch commercial driven TV.