Man-up

I was watching tv this morning, and I saw a commercial that annoyed me a little bit. The commercial is for Miller Light (an awful, piss flavored beer but that's beside the point). A guy walks into a bar, orders " any light beer" from a female bartender who tells him that when he's ready to "take off his skirt," he should order a Miller Light. The guy walks away (he is wearing a skirt). Then it cuts to him and his friends, he's wearing pants and drinking a Miller Light. The voice man says something like "when you're ready to MAN-UP" drink a Miller Light.

It's the man-up that I have a problem with. First, the designation of "girlie" drinks vs. man-drinks (beer) always confused me b/c in my experience, "girlie drinks" get you a hell of a lot more wasted a hell of a lot faster. And yet, men take pride in their ability to consume multiple beers in a night (which I can't do b/c I'm a small person and only so much liquid fits inside me at any given moment.) Girls who "drink with the men" get automatic major cool points.

Second, the phrase "man-up" says that being a man (white and straight) should be our ultimate goal. No one ever says "woman-up" because only by maning-up do you take on the role of a man (so you are better, faster, stronger etc). Although I usually argue for Equal Opportunity, I don't think that we should start using the phrase "woman-up". Instead, we should stop establishing such rigid standards of perfection for gender. I shouldn't have to man-up and compare myself to a man nor should I woman-up and try to be a perfect woman.

Third, since this message comes from a commercial, the media continues to reinforce these ideas about gender. (see The Librarian's post about the influence of the media which I completely agree with)

As always, think about it ('cause clearly I think about things way to much).

Lots of love,
Lady Lola