Posted on 06/29/2013 1:31:50 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
Another entry for the "Only in Germany" department: Edeka supermarkets are selling men's and women's sausages. The gents' meaty treats are described as "hearty, strongly-spiced," while the ladies' sausages are "lean."
In a marketing move ignored by the German press - but described in a blog post from feminist journalist and political scientist Antje Schrupp - the women's sausages were made half the size of their masculine counterparts, and are significantly more expensive.
To further catch the eye of male and female sausage-lovers respectively, the packaging is also gender- if not particularly sausage- appropriate.
The male sausage features an alluringly-clad woman - in front of a flaming background - while lady shoppers are being drawn to part with their hard-earned cash by a topless gentleman with excellent muscle tone in front of a serene, cloudy background.
In her blog post, Schrupp quoted a long letter of complaint sent to the Edeka Group by journalist Susanne Enz, outraged by what she called "dull sexism."
The sausages' marketing, she said, implied that "men eat a lot and heartily, while women mainly want to be thin… Women are there to please, while men are allowed to enjoy."
"Of course it's not the end of the world, it's just a sausage," her letter continued.
"Of course you can react to it as if it's just a joke, and presumably most sausage-buyers will do that. But your choice of name and accompanying advertising is still the expression and promotion of a - in the best case - thoughtless normative sexism, which gives each gender a 'right' role to play, with a built-in hierarchy."
"And that affects the perceptions of people, even in small, seemingly trivial, playful contexts, and stands stubbornly in the way of gender equality."
"I found the whole thing really quite unbearable, and I showed it to my partner, and she got really angry," Enz told The Local in an email.
"So I said to myself, if these sausage-sexists make my partner so angry, I can't just let it go! I wanted to at least tell them my opinion."
"I think it's important to talk about everyday sexism and its consequences in as level-headed a way as possible if you want to raise sensibilities to it in broader society," she added.
"Otherwise the criticism isn't taken seriously."
"It's a general problem," Schrupp told The Local. "I've seen women's and men's mustard as well. Often for children, of course."
Two different Edeka representatives responded to Enz's letter, but refused to address her central point: one would only "what he understood of her letter," - the question of why the ladies sausages were more expensive, (because they contain "particularly lean meat, high-quality vegetables" all packed in an "especially delicate skin").
The other said the matter had been referred to "the responsible regional official."
Beat me to it...
I really thought those sausages were going to be round like donuts.
When "Brunhilde" is used to sell cars, THEN women can claim a real gender shift.
My husband predicted that one day there would be an ad (for whatever) showing JUST A WOMAN'S CROTCH, no undies, of course, and it would read: BUY A CHEVY, or BUY whatever.
I can't think of a man of ANY age who wouldn't like that.
Men are pigs and women WALLOW.
I knew I had to be quick on this one.
First thought...schnitzengruben....LOL
Sometimes, an sausage is just a sausage. -Sigmund Freud.
“I am not from Havana, baby...”
LOL, just perfect, and on the first reply!
FReepers are getting back in old FReeper form. There was a while there when I thought we were losing it.
Lol!!! That was such a great movie.
I never sausage nonsense...
fukengruven
Soon to be Mayor Weinie of NYC might want to consider the packaging as he seems to be extraordinarily popular with NYC females and female wannabees (queers).
She says that like its a BAD thing.
I don’t want to ever hear one more Dumbocrat woman complain about sexism again if Weiner is erected to office. (Yes, I’m aware of how I spelled it.) All the women who vote for him forever invalidate all of their bitching about how men are pigs.
Where, thank goodness I'm a card carrying GOP er.
Not all men are pigs, as I wrote, and there are just as many SOWS as there are HAWGS.
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