Let’s Talk About What’s Going On in These Images
Carol J. Adams, in her books The Sexual Politics of Meat and The Pornography of Meat, points out how ads regularly treat women and animals as objects in similar ways. When you look at these three pictures, it’s hard not to notice how food ads keep gender stereotypes going. They strengthen the idea that some bodies—whether they’re human or animal—are just meant to be eaten.
1. The Dodge Durango “Big Fat Juicy Cheeseburger” Billboard
This advertisement makes a clear link between masculinity and eating meat. The phrase “A big fat juicy cheeseburger in a land of tofu” establishes an obvious contrast: Real men eat meat, tofu is weak, unappealing or unmasculine. In “The Sexual Politics of Meat,” Carol J. Adams writes about how meat-eating has been associated for centuries with patriarchal values — where meat consumption represents strength, power and dominance, while plant-based diets are associated with “feminine” or lesser, status. Here a car is not just a car; it’s a whole idea of what makes a “real man.”
2. “Best Butts in Georgia” – When Pigs Wear Heels
This mural is disturbing in a way that’s almost too obvious. It’s a cartoon pig—but she’s wearing tight denim shorts, heels, and posing in a sexualized way. The phrase “Best Butts” works as a double entendre, referring both to pork cuts and to the objectification of female bodies. This is exactly what Adams talks about: the way women and animals are reduced to their body parts for consumption. It also reinforces the unrealistic beauty standards placed on women—because even cartoon pigs are drawn with exaggerated curves and feminine clothing.
3. “My Taison” – The Buff Chicken
This butcher shop advertisement is curious, in that, unlike the previous two, it does not feminize or sexualize the animal; rather, it takes the hypermasculine route. A bodybuilder chicken does not stand to reason and verges on the absurd, but it brings to light the power and dominance associated with meat. And even if this image is humorous, it ultimately adds to the perception of meat as exclusively masculine. At last, however, strong as the chicken may have looked, he has to be sold because it’s food, proving how even the masculine hybrid the animals in question still devolve into mere commodities meant for consumption.
PART 2
I chose the Burger King Super Seven Incher ad because it perfectly illustrates what Carol J. Adams discusses about the intersection of food, gender, and objectification. The ad uses blatant sexual innuendo, showing a woman with her mouth open in front of a large sandwich, reinforcing the idea that both women and food exist for male consumption. Just like how animals are reduced to meat products, this ad reduces the woman to an object of desire. Seeing images like this makes me realize how deeply ingrained these messages are in advertising and society.