The Case of the Stolen Identity

There was an intriguing ad on MSNBC's web site the other day. You hear about those "visual graphics tricks" that advertising people pull, and you have to figure this is just another example of it. I think it's one of those 'subliminal' things they talk about.

Which gender is this person?

Now, before you say 'guy', take a closer look. Guys don't usually wear frilly blouses with cute bows on the front and rounded collars, do they? And that hair looks kind of coifed for a guy, doesn't it? And do you see any chest hairs? Couldn't this just be a nice healthy German or Russian girl?

Or perhaps the ad agency is going for that 'artistic musician look', where it's okay for guys to wear sissy clothes as long as they're being musical about it?

But the fact that we're discussing it at all says something, doesn't it? It's still possible the question could go either way � if not both ways. Which gender IS this person??

Well, back to that "subliminal" stuff I was talking about:

Posted by Dr. Mercury in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 08:13 | Comments (20) | Trackbacks (0)

Trackbacks

Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments

Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

In many cases I would agree, but in this case, the character is from a popular TV ad. He worked in a seafood restuarant and complained that this was the only job he could get, dressed as a pirate, because his credit sucked.

#1 Me-Y'all on 2010-08-20 08:19 (Reply)

Press the Lily Pad to Hear this Message in Metrosexual

#2 Irish Cicero (Link) on 2010-08-20 08:25 (Reply)

Well, that's an unexpected twist to the story. You mean this is a real guy, not just some model from an agency? Was he aware he was identifying himself with FreeCreditReport.com, one of the biggest scams on the Internet?

Of course, despite it being a real person, the point of the post holds true. That hair looks mighty coifed for a guy, and did they Photoshop out his chest hair? Whatever the background story, they sure found the right person.

#3 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2010-08-20 08:28 (Reply)

Somewhere on the innertubes, there is a Photoshop demonstration where the artist takes a woman without makeup and turns into a gorgeous model, elderly man, little girl and a few other things. All from a base image.

Quite fascinating.

#3.1 Tom Francis on 2010-08-20 09:00 (Reply)

Yes, he does know he is identified with freecreditreport.com, he actually sings their jingle in the commercial and there is a whole series of them. Freecreditreport.com is now running a promotion of local bands to create new jingles to replace this tired promotion, which has been around a good five years now.

#4 Me-Y'all on 2010-08-20 08:37 (Reply)

Link to the original video, now on youtube

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-269712225088911031#

#5 Me-Y'all on 2010-08-20 08:40 (Reply)

Well, so much for reputations.

But I suppose the money's good.

#6 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2010-08-20 08:40 (Reply)

It's a guy but he's Canadian and who really knows what goes on up there as far as gender specificity is concerned.

#7 Suzette (Link) on 2010-08-20 09:09 (Reply)

Suzette -

I think you just implied that Canada is the most metrosexualized country in the world. :)

And 'Cripes Suzette' earns my "Clever Blog Title of the Week" award. Loved the rant about Facebook. Here's the solution. Simply go spend an hour reading YouTube comments. It'll make that Facebook crowd look like geniuses!

#8 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2010-08-20 09:20 (Reply)

I guessed guy right away from the neck. Male and female necks are different, as some sculptor pointed out.

#9 rhhardin (Link) on 2010-08-20 09:39 (Reply)

Incidentally, as a bike commuter with lots of time to look at things, you can determine male versus female on pedestrians ahead at enormous distances.

Shading on breasts, and hips, I figured out.

That it's easy and automatic must have had survival value for early bicyclists.

#10 rhhardin (Link) on 2010-08-20 09:42 (Reply)

Thank you. The fact that you "guessed" at all proved the point of the post. :)

Interesting point about the neck, though. Males tend to taper outward near the bottom and females don't?

#11 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2010-08-20 09:43 (Reply)

Right.

(added line to bypass spam filter)

#11.1 rhhardin (Link) on 2010-08-20 13:13 (Reply)

He has male eyebrows. Female eyebrows arch more than that.

#12 feeblemind on 2010-08-20 09:58 (Reply)

If it's a lady, it's the bearded lady :)
The hairstyle was all the rage for parts of the 1970s and '80s, and the clothes could well fit that era too.

The sissy look is no doubt deliberate as well.

#13 J.T. Wenting on 2010-08-20 11:37 (Reply)

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/08/anthony_weiner_is_not_ashamed.html

#14 Tom Francis on 2010-08-20 11:52 (Reply)

"Nobody puts Anthony Weiner in a corner."

Great line. Like a lot of cases, it'd be fun to go back to the filming of 'Dirty Dancing', gather everybody around, and say, "In 20 years, one line from this movie is still going to reverberate throughout the culture. Any guesses?"

#15 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2010-08-20 11:58 (Reply)

Dr. Merc ... Yes, the "girly man" [the Terminator's phrase] in the pic has a guy neck, but the usual way to tell a feminine-looking man from a masculine appearing woman, a prominent Adam's apple, is not in evidence in the picture. Harking back to the 1970s, as I'm well qualified to do, men's hairstyles made things difficult then too.

Maybe with the return of some of our military heroes from the sandbox, clean-shaven and short-haired as they are, maybe the hero look will come back into fashion. It's such a relief to see those clean-shaven faces smiling at us.

Marianne

#16 Marianne Matthews on 2010-08-20 12:39 (Reply)

I'm with #13, if it has a five o'clock shadow, don't bother looking for adams apples or frilly blouses. Run !

#17 Brock SOE Toro on 2010-08-20 13:52 (Reply)

A long as I am not required to hear or see this b!**h it can be anything it desires....

#18 dorf on 2010-08-20 20:33 (Reply)

Add Comment

Name
Email	(Your e-mail will not show in your comment)
Homepage
In reply to
Comment	By commenting on this site you agree to the site rules listed here. Email addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for email notifications. Quick reference guide: [i] italics [/i], [b] bold [/b], [u] underline [/u], [url] (web address) [/url]. More tips here. Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (word), underscore are made via _word_. E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications. To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly. Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above: BBCode format allowed
	Remember Information? Subscribe to this entry

Maggie's Farm

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Categories

Quicksearch

Links

Blog Administration

RSS Readers

Friday, August 20. 2010

The Case of the Stolen Identity