Yesterday’s Sexism Today!

I don’t watch a lot of live television, so I only recently became aware of the TrueCar commercial. You may know which one I’m talking about – the one with a bunch of women talking about how empowered they are when they don’t need a man’s help to buy a vehicle because they went on TrueCar.com, which explained the car-buying process to them in a way their teeny little lady brains could understand.

It's okay, baby – Mr. TrueCar's gonna make everything allll right.
Don’t worry, baby. Mr. TrueCar’s gonna make everything allll right.

Yes, that date-rapey looking guy is the CEO and founder of TrueCar, Scott Painter. Looking at this guy, I can see how the chief ad exec at TrueCar must be the type of person who watches 6 seasons of Mad Men and never picks up on the cruel irony. This guy thinks the phrase “so simple even a woman can use it” is a tagline that will set my uterus all aflutter. “Why, little ol’ me? Make a major purchase just like a man? Tell me more, Mr. William Morris!”

Why is the makeup mirror stuck to the middle of the windshield? You should put it on this wheel thingie in front of me.
Why is the makeup mirror stuck to the middle of the windshield? You should put it on this wheel thingie in front of me.

How this commercial made it to air, I will never understand. Think of how many people it had to go through for approval, and every single one of them said, “This is a great idea! Nothing wrong with this line of thinking.”

Seriously, watch the video. It’s all women talking about how scary it can be to negotiate and buy a car.

This commercial is so ridiculous that not only do the YouTube commenters for the video agree on something, but the conversation hasn’t devolved into a religious argument.

Hell hath frozen over.
Hell hath frozen over.

So we’re not all going backwards, though you couldn’t tell from the general western cultural apparati. For more sexist hilarity, check out this article from Jezebel, which made me laugh until I squeezed out a baby. Best line: “WHAT IF MY CAR BREAKS DOWN AT NIGHT AND I DON’T HAVE A REFLECTIVE ENOUGH VAGINA?”

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