So I finally got around to watching the horrifically misogynistic Peleton commercial that was the cause of the company’s massive devaluation.
Please explain to me how this is in any way, in the least way, misogynistic? Is it now considered body shaming to promote fitness of any kind? I am truly befuddled.
Between this kind of bizarre ‘wokeness’ and a GOP defending a president’s getting in bed with a Russian dictator, I don’t feel at home in this world anymore.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
I've thought a vacuum cleaner would be a suckier gift than an oven, if that's what you're going for. If you really want to score points (in the wrong column), a gift of a self-help book is the clear winner and not all that costly . . . at the till anyway.
Really? Isn’t that up to each couple to determine? One of the best surprise gifts I ever got, in terms of happiness inducing, was a very expensive Dyson vacuum that was fantastic at picking up pet hair. I’d wanted one for a long time but didn’t want to spend that much and was thrilled my partner was thoughtful enough to fulfill that wish for me.
I think it’s a hell of a lot more sexist to assume every woman needs jewelry or clothes or perfume to be happy. I’d have been equally thrilled to have been given a KitchenAid mixer, another very spendy item I’ve never splurged for myself. Or some Le Creuset cookware! I love to cook - I don’t consider it misogynistic for the man in my life to recognize my domestic tendencies and provide me high quality tools to pursue them.
I’ve a number of highly educated female friends who have been very happy to receive such gifts from their loving spouses.
eta: a Peleton bike would be a terrific gift for a fitness enthusiast to have in the comfort of her own home. I think it’s fucking ridiculous that some of the ‘woke’ are calling this fictional woman in the advertisement an abused woman because she got a $2500+ exercise bike as a Xmas gift. They have no fucking clue what domestic abuse looks like and it’s stupid and insulting that they don’t bother to educate themselves.
Last edited by BoSoxGal on Thu Dec 12, 2019 6:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
BoSoxGal wrote:So I finally got around to watching the horrifically misogynistic Peleton commercial that was the cause of the company’s massive devaluation.
Please explain to me how this is in any way, in the least way, misogynistic? Is it now considered body shaming to promote fitness of any kind? I am truly befuddled.
Between this kind of bizarre ‘wokeness’ and a GOP defending a president’s getting in bed with a Russian dictator, I don’t feel at home in this world anymore.
Here she is after the workout that her husband strongly infers she needs.
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
The ad has no context. One upon a time in a house long since sold, I spent an hour three times a week riding my regular road bike mounted on a training stand with a wind resistance fan. On the handle bars I had a primitive electronic gadget that measured my cadence and speed. I had a stand on the bars that would support a book or magazine. But I soon learned I could not read while working because it took away from my concentration required to keep up with my own self-planned training program. This work definitely improved my riding out on the road. But I still hate hills. I never learned to ride on rollers.
HOWEVER . This set up was noisy and sent a rumble through the whole house. The rest of the family hated it. I would have loved the Peloton equipment and so would my my family.
Again, the ad has no context. We have no idea what was going on in this household before Peleton showed up. This woman may have already been doing Iron Man competitions. There may be a nearly worn out Bow-flex on the other side of the room which she was using regularly.
snailgate.
Last edited by Burning Petard on Thu Dec 12, 2019 8:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I don't understand why so many people have it in their heads that the Peloton wouldn't be something the woman wanted. She probably asked for it so she could get into better shape to scrub the floors, clean the bathroom and all that other stuff women do that men don't.
BoSoxGal wrote:Please explain to me how this is in any way, in the least way, misogynistic? Is it now considered body shaming to promote fitness of any kind? I am truly befuddled.
It's Twitter.
The Twitterverse is ever on the lookout for something to be snarky about, and Peleton frankly worsened their own PR situation by taking it so seriously. Kudos though to Ryan Reynolds and his Aviation gin company for wholly embracing the zeitgeist and seizing a marketing opportunity by responding with a pitch-perfect ad for their own product. I especially love Friend #2's sotto voce "It's gonna be a fun night."
Burning Petard wrote:The ad has no context. One upon a time in a house long since sold, I spent an hour three times a week riding my regular road bike mounted on a training stand with a wind resistance fan. On the handle bars I had a primitive electronic gadget that measured my cadence and speed. I had a stand on the bars that would support a book or magazine. But I soon learned I could not read while working because it took away from my concentration required to keep up with my own self-planned training program. This work definitely improved my riding out on the road. But I still hate hills. I never learned to ride on rollers.
HOWEVER . This set up was noisy and sent a rumble through the whole house. The rest of the family hated it. I would have loved the Peloton equipment and so would my my family.
Again, the ad has no context. We have no idea what was going on in this household before Peleton showed up. This woman may have already been doing Iron Man competitions. There may be a nearly worn out Bow-flex on the other side of the room which she was using regularly.
snailgate.
I agree; she looks pretty much the same at the beginning of the commercial and after a year of concentrated cycling; if she was shown as grossly overweight at the beginning and then an anorexic at the end, I could see the complaints, but to me it's like giving someone a gym membership--if that's what they wanted or they enjoyed it, what's the big deal?
I find nothing offensive in the ad. It is senseless to say that giving someone something which is good for them is automatically insulting and has a subtext that any gift is an implied criticism.
Dumb, just another opportunity for people walking around with a great deal of anger and hatred in them finding an excuse to vent.
Crackpot wrote:It’s on par with buying your SO an oven. It’s not the type of present you surprise someone with.
Not even if they'd long dropped hints that; "I'd love one, but we cannot afford one"? Virtue signalling idiocy.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
I recall one Christmas getting a food processor which I had wanted (and hinted about); it's something I would have bought myself, but my wife wanted to give me something I'd use. I used and enjoyed it for years; a lot more than some of the gifts I received which just went into the closet and never saw the light of day again. I'll admit I am very difficult to buy a present for (mainly because anything someone is likely to give me I could just buy myself, unless I deferred the purchase as with the food processor), but I'd rather get an oven that I'd use than a sweater that I would not.
Last Xmas I bought Hen some rather splendid stainless steel saucepans she'd long wanted. I suppose I censure myself for having offended some male snowflake by doing so.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Is it now considered body shaming to promote fitness of any kind? I am truly befuddled. 
